Girona Travel Guide: What to Know Before You Go

Girona’s Jewish community, El Call, was continuously inhabited from 982 to 1492. After the expulsion of Jews from Spain, the quarter was sealed and largely left unrebuilt; the street plan you walk today is the 12th-century original. That’s a more useful frame for the city than its Game of Thrones filming locations, though both are accurate. Girona’s old town is genuinely medieval in a way that most European cities can only approximate.

El Call, the Jewish quarter

El Call occupies a tight network of lanes in the shadow of the cathedral, on the steep hillside between the river and the city walls. The community lived here for 510 years, one of the longest continuous Jewish presences documented in any Iberian city. The Bonastruc ça Porta Centre, housed in what was the main synagogue, functions as a museum of medieval Catalan Jewish life and the broader Sephardic heritage.

The quarter’s preservation is an accident of history rather than conservation planning. After the 1492 expulsion, the Jewish community was gone but the streets and buildings were simply absorbed into Christian use. The small scale of the lanes, the absence of major rebuilding, and the surviving inscriptions on doorways (Hebrew texts, mezuzot housings) are what make it different from the restored Jewish quarters you find in some other European cities. This one was sealed and left.

Walk El Call slowly. The specific experience is narrow lanes, heavy stone walls, and glimpses of the cathedral rising above. The museum at Bonastruc ça Porta is small but carefully done, worth the 30 minutes inside.

The cathedral, the widest Gothic nave in the world

Girona Cathedral’s nave is the widest Gothic nave ever built. The claim needs context: Gothic convention called for multiple parallel aisles to distribute the structural loads of a high stone vault. Girona’s cathedral chapter voted in 1416 to build a single nave instead, an engineering argument that continued for decades, with leading architects giving conflicting opinions. The single nave won, and the result is 23 metres of uninterrupted width under a vault 34 metres high.

Stand at the entrance when you arrive. The scale of the empty space registers immediately. Without the interruption of column rows, the building reads as a single volume in a way most Gothic cathedrals don’t.

The cathedral’s treasury museum contains the Tapestry of Creation, an 11th-century Romanesque embroidery depicting Genesis around a central Christ figure, considered one of the finest surviving examples of Romanesque textile art. It’s less famous than it deserves to be.

The medieval walls and the city from above

The Roman walls of Girona were extended and rebuilt through the medieval period and survive in substantial sections. The main wall walk runs along the eastern edge of the old town, on the hillside above the Barri Vell (the Onyar is on the far, western side), from the University building north to the Gironella tower. The circuit is about 1.5 kilometres; parts are well-maintained walkways, and parts are narrower stone paths.

The views from the walls look out over the old-town roofs and the cathedral towards the Onyar river on the far side. The best section is the stretch nearest the cathedral, where the relationship between the old city, the river, and the building becomes legible from above.

The Onyar river and the colourful houses

Girona’s most reproduced image is the row of houses overlooking the Onyar, painted in ochre, yellow, red, and terracotta. The current palette dates from the 1980s municipal rehabilitation of the river facades, when artists and architects chose the colours.

The Pont de les Peixateries Velles (the Eiffel Bridge, named for the engineering firm involved in its design) crosses the Onyar in the centre of this view. It’s a modest iron footbridge, not a monumental structure; the name is bigger than the object. The standard view of Girona, with the painted houses reflected in the river, is taken from further south on the Pont de Pedra.

The Arab baths (that aren’t Arab)

The Banys Àrabs were built in 1194 in the Romanesque style. They are not Arab. The name reflects the influence of Arab bathing culture (the sequence of cold, warm, and hot rooms) on the medieval Christian builders who constructed them. What you see is a Romanesque building in the hammam functional tradition, built by and for a Christian community that had absorbed the bath culture from Moorish Spain.

The interior is well-preserved and easy to understand: the changing room (apodyterium) with its octagonal pool ringed by eight columns under a lantern, then the cold, tepid and hot rooms. The visit takes 20–30 minutes. The building is small, specific, and interesting precisely because of the historical confusion its name represents.

Day trip from Barcelona or stay overnight?

The high-speed AVE train from Barcelona Sants to Girona takes 38 minutes. The regional Rodalies service takes 1 hour 15 minutes and costs around a third of the price. Both drop you at Girona station, a 10-minute walk from the old town.

The practical question is whether to stay overnight. The old town of Girona empties significantly after 6pm when day-trippers leave for the return train. The city that remains (smaller, quieter, restaurants filling with local diners) is a different experience. The cathedral square in the evening, the old town lanes without tour groups, and the riverside at dusk represent a version of Girona that a day trip from Barcelona doesn’t reach.

For most Barcelona-based visitors, a day trip covers the core: El Call, the cathedral, the walls, and the river views. One full day is sufficient to see everything without rushing. An overnight stay adds the evening character and the option of a morning in the Barri Vell before the day-trippers arrive.

Eating in Girona

El Celler de Can Roca sits on the edge of the city and has held three Michelin stars for over a decade. The waitlist for dinner runs 11–12 months ahead; bookings open on the first day of each month, up to 11 months ahead, and fill quickly. If this is the reason you’re coming to Girona, the booking system is worth understanding before you plan. Lunch is slightly more accessible; there’s no walk-in option for either.

Rocambolesc is the Roca brothers’ ice cream shop on the Carrer de Santa Clara, in the old town. No reservation required. The flavours follow the same creative logic as the restaurant; the prices are reasonable. It’s the practical way to experience what the Rocas do with food.

Catalan cuisine in Girona’s restaurants: look for botifarra (Catalan sausage), pa amb tomàquet (bread rubbed with tomato and oil), and local fish dishes from the Costa Brava coast to the east.

Girona as a Catalonia region hub

Figueres is 40 minutes north of Girona by train, the home of Salvador Dalí and the Teatre-Museu Dalí, the largest surrealist object in the world, designed by Dalí himself as his own museum and tomb. It’s worth combining with a Girona visit if you’re spending more than a day in the region.

The Costa Brava coast (Cap de Creus, Cadaqués, Begur, and the fishing villages) is 50–70 minutes east of Girona by car. Tarragona to the south is 1.5 hours by train and offers Roman ruins (including an amphitheatre) of a different character from Girona’s medieval fabric.

Frequently asked questions

Is Girona worth visiting? Yes, as either a day trip or an overnight from Barcelona. The old town is genuinely medieval, El Call is one of the best-preserved Jewish quarters in Europe, and the cathedral’s nave is architecturally distinctive. It’s not a generic tourist stop.

How do I get from Barcelona to Girona? The AVE high-speed train from Barcelona Sants takes 38 minutes. The regional Rodalies train takes about 75 minutes and costs significantly less. Both services run frequently throughout the day.

Is Girona a good day trip from Barcelona? Yes. One day is enough to cover the main sights: El Call, the cathedral, the walls, the Arab baths, and the riverside. The train journey each way is short enough that a full day in Girona works easily.

What is Girona known for? Historically, its medieval Jewish quarter (El Call) and its cathedral with the widest Gothic nave ever built. In contemporary travel culture, its Game of Thrones filming locations (King’s Landing streets). The medieval heritage is the more durable reason to visit.

Is Girona’s Jewish quarter the best in Spain? El Call is among the best-preserved in Spain, alongside Toledo. Its particular quality is that it was sealed after 1492 without significant rebuilding: the 12th-century street plan survives intact, with original inscriptions and architectural details still in place.

How long should I spend in Girona? A full day covers the core comfortably. Four to five hours is the practical minimum for the main sights without feeling rushed. An overnight stay is worthwhile if you want the evening city rather than the day-trip version.

Is Girona the Game of Thrones city? Partly. Several old-town locations were used in season 6, standing in for King’s Landing, Braavos and Oldtown. The cathedral steps, the Old Town lanes, and the Plaça dels Jurats all featured. The Game of Thrones connection draws visitors but is a minor part of what makes the city interesting.

What is El Celler de Can Roca? A three-Michelin-star restaurant on the outskirts of Girona, run by the Roca brothers since 1986. It has consistently ranked among the world’s top ten restaurants. Bookings open on the first day of each month, up to 11 months ahead, and fill quickly; the waitlist extends 11–12 months ahead for dinner service.