This handsome city puts on its best face beside the Riu Onyar, where colourful buildings rise above the water. These were built in the 19th century to replace sections of the city wall damaged during an 1809 siege by French troops. Most of the rest of the ramparts are intact and make up the Passeig Arqueològic (Archaeological Walk), which runs around the city. Behind the houses, the Rambla de la Llibertat is lined with shops and cafés.
t Colourful apartment buildings lining the Riu Onyar in Girona
Experience Catalonia
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Amid the maze of alleyways in the old town is the former Jewish quarter of El Call. One of the West’s most important Jewish areas during medieval times, it is now home to the Museu d’Història dels Jueus, which gives a history of Girona’s Jews, who were expelled in the late 15th century.
The style of Girona cathedral’s solid west face is pure Catalan Baroque; the cloister and tower, Romanesque; but the rest of the building is Gothic. The single nave is the widest in the world. Behind the altar is a marble throne known as “Charlemagne’s Chair” after the Frankish king whose troops took Girona in AD 785.
The museum’s most famous item is a large, well-preserved 11th- to 12th-century tapestry, called The Creation. There are also Romanesque paintings.
Picture Perfect
Watercolour
Bridging the Onyar River, the Pont de les Peixateries is a great spot to snap a shot of Girona’s austere cathedral peeking over the colourful rooftops.
This former episcopal palace is one of Catalonia’s best art galleries, with works ranging from the Romanesque period to the 20th century, including ecclesiastical items. Highlights are 10th-century carvings, a silver-clad altar from Sant Pere de Rodes and a 12th-century beam from Cruïlles.
This museum is housed in a former convent and you can still explore the cemetery.
This Romanesque temple is worth a visit for its stone capitals, depicting a variety of motifs, including scenes from the New Testament, mythical beasts and geometric patterns.
Begun in the 14th century, this staunch basilica was built over the tombs of St Felix and St Narcissus.
A film buff’s paradise, the Museu del Cinema offers a wide selection of exhibitions. The Tomàs Mallol collection is particularly impressive, with around 20,000 objects that tell the history of the still image as well as motion pictures.
Despite their name, the Banys Àrabs were built under the Christian King Alfons I in the late 12th century, about 300 years after the Moors had left the area. The baths’ most striking feature is the octagonal pool, with a domed ceiling.
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