Girona
A medieval town in full bloom
Girona was a surprise destination for Charlie. When she stayed at Kalima Coliving she realized how close this city was. There was a good train connection and exactly at that time was their biggest festivity of the year: Temps de Flors, a flower festival. It would have been rude of Charlie not to go to Girona for a day.
The historic centre of Girona
The old town of Girona is a representation of all the phases of the history of Spain and Catalonia, apart from maybe one: There are no elements of the Arab times on the peninsula. Other than that, you can find every historic element from fossils in the rocks that form the walls, to Roman structures, medieval architecture and remnants of Jewish times.
The Roman settlement of Gerunda
The free walking tour of Girona began at the Independence Square that honours the independence from France in times of Napoleon. To get to the old town, you cross the river on one of the multiple bridges. Inside the historic centre, you can see structures that are more than 2000 years old and were built by the Romans. They created a bastion on the river and called it Gerunda. The Cathedral of Girona is in the same place where the Roman temple was. It was a strategic point that allowed for views over the surroundings and to the sea. Still today, you must walk up a hill or take 90 stairs to reach the cathedral. From the bottom you can clearly see that the cathedral had been expanded over time. It looks a bit as if somebody had built a wall around a church. The different styles of architecture are clearly visible.
From the Middle Ages to modern Girona
Girona was expanded to the size of what is todays historic centre in the Middle Ages and another wall was built. This medieval wall is still there today, and you can walk it. From up there you can see all of Girona and enjoy views all the way to the Pyrenees.
As you walk through Girona you can spot the different periods of time in the walls. The original wall that was built by the Romans was used later to form walls of buildings. At the same time, additional houses were built on the strip of land between the fortifications and the river edge. This is today’s image of Girona: houses in pastel colours on the river and the towers of the cathedral and the San Felix church in the backdrop.
In the middle of the old town, exactly at the crossing of the roads that mark the place where the original Roman fort ended, is a lively square. You find bars and cafés and some souvenir shops. The guide of the free walking tour, Dani, was very proud of the fact that all the businesses around the square are locally owned, small businesses and that the old town is a place where locals and tourists come together.
What you might not see at first, is that some of the bars and cafés have small balconies at the back of the building. If you can’t get a seat at the square, it is worth passing through the café to the other end. Maybe you find a table on the balcony overlooking the lower street. Charlie did exactly that at a café called Brot.
The Girona Flower Festival: Temps de Flors
Every year in May, the biggest festival in Girona takes place. Over nine days, the whole town is decorated with flowers and there are around 150 installations in different places. It is the perfect opportunity to get inside buildings or inner courtyards that are usually closed to the public. At the entrance to the old town, you can get a map that shows all the locations of the flower installations.
There are helpers at all access points, and they count the number of visitors inside the old town. In some parts, there are one-way-systems in place, and you also might have to queue to get inside a building. If you can, you should rather go to the flower festival during the week and avoid the weekends.
How to get to Girona
The city of Girona has a well-connected train station, and you can get to different cities in Spain and France. There are multiple trains per hour to and from Barcelona. It takes 40 minutes on the fast train, 1.5 hours on the regional trains. From the train station it is a 15-minute walk to the old town of Girona.
