The comarca of the Gironès, few places can enjoy the proximity of La Garrotxa, Pla de l'Estany, la Selva, L'Empordà and at the same time enjoy the heritage of the city of Girona.
The great attraction of Girona is undeniable, with it’s excellent and unknown cultural heritage, together with the events that take place throughout the year and the great landscape makes this city and area a perfect place to discover and enjoy.
Environmental tourism resources:
Les Gavarres: massif of Gavarres is classified as an Area of National Interest since 1992, with a total of 28.548h. This territory had an important role in ancient times with a large number of human activities (coal, cork, etc). Almost inhabited nowadays, you can find houses, churches and cultural remnants scattered throughout this area, rich in oak trees. It has well-marked trails and the mountain bike centre of Baix Empordà.
Volcán de la Crosa: Area of Natural Interest. Is the volcano with the largest crater of the peninsula and one of the most fatty of Europe (1250 m in diameter) formed about three million years ago, inside the crater there is a second crater smaller product of an explosion later and has a horseshoe shape.
Park de la Font de la Torre, Canet d’Adri: The stream of Canet passes through a gorge of volcanic pools with waterfalls and lush, a pleasant journey by foot and where you will find an old mill dam and two ancient stone bridges.
Cultural Resources:
Girona: city that gives name to the region. It’s dimension allows visitors to enjoy all its charms bye foot. The Old City is an important historical centre as it contains a wealth of artistic and architectural heritage. It was the heart of the Roman city of Gerunda, surrounded by parts of the old wall, now forming a path that we can walk (Paseo Arqueológico y el Paseo de Muralla), with a spectacular view over the city. You can also visit the Arab baths of XII century (Romanesque style) and different religious buildings such as the Monasteri de St. Pere de Galligants or the Basílica de St. Feliu. In addition, Girona offers many museums, leisure areas, restaurants...
Main visits in Girona:
- Cathedral of Girona: Cathedral called Santa Maria, situated on the highest part of the city, the impressive cathedral was built between the XI-XVIII centuries and has the widest Gothic nave in the world. We also find other styles such as Baroque, Romanesque and Renaissance architecture.
- Onyar Houses: houses hanging over the river Onyar, were built over the centuries and painted with vivid colours and are a beautiful and colourful image of this city.
- The Jewish Quarter: the historical centre of Girona, is one of the best and extensive preserved Jewish quarters in Europe. Until the fifteenth century a Jewish community lived in this steep narrow streets and nowadays we can enjoy of this architectural legacy and the medieval atmosphere. Ça Porta Bonastruc Center is considered the former synagogue, now converted into a study centre and museum. It is essential to get lost in these streets and squares.
Sant Pere de Llorà: beautiful religious set of the village of Llorà, next to St. Martí de Llémena. This is a XII century church of Romanesque style and recently restored, with a square tower and wall paintings of the early twelfth century of great beauty.
Cervià de Ter: monumental Benedictine monastery founded in 1053, with Romanesque church with three naves and three apses and a Romanesque cloister. Also note the medieval walls of the Tower of the Hours and the Arc in the town.
Outstanding celebrations and activities:
Girona Temps de Flors: in the middle of May the old town of Girona is adorned with flowers and artistic works, that decorate the streets and places giving a colour and an extraordinary life to this district, meanwhile there are many of activities all around the city. During these days the Park of Devesa also offers a sample of natural art.
Festival of Religious Musics of the World: at the end of June and until half-full of July, in different emblematic spaces of the city (Gardens of Francesca, stairs of the Cathedral,…) there are many concerts and activities of religious folk music worldwide.
International Festival of Amateur Theatre: it is celebrated the last week of August. Point of contact of many theatre groups and companies worldwide.
Ecological market of Sant Martí Vell: Sant Martí Vell is a small and pleasant town on the foot of the bulk of the Gavarres, great part of the municipality has been declared Space of Natural Interest. Every second Saturday of every month, during all the morning in the Place of the Church.
Active tourism:
In this region there are up to 29 Routes of Natural Interest for hikers (one of the
most outstanding rutes, el Camino de St. Jaume) and for BTT fans, we have the Centre of BTT of Gironès, located in Quart, where we will find a welcome point with information and services and more of a hundred of km of itineraries completely signalized and all of them of free access. There are several outstanding bike rutes:
Via Verda (literally, "green-ways") between Girona and San Feliu de Guíxols (39 km) and the historical green route of the Carrilet, that unites Girona and Olot.
Ruta del Ter: route that follows the course of the Ter river from the Pyrenees to the coast, going through different regions from the northeast of Catalonia. The central part of the route has several stages for the region of the Gironès.
Other sports that we can practice are the canoeing, Pitch & Putt, quads etc.
Outstanding routes:
By foot: the Volcano of the Banya del Boc, gorges de la Font de la Torre, volcano of la Crosa a Estanyol, Congost and mountain of Sants Metges, Puig de Cadiretes, ...
By car: recommended the small route that unites the Gironès with the Baix Empordà, a pleasant highway GIV-6701 with lovely landscape and villages: Sant Martí Bell, Madremanya, Monells…
Close to Gironès...
Medes Islands: This group of islands located about 900 meters in front of the town of L'Estartit are protected by the Plan of Areas of Natural Interest due to its number of fauna and flora that lives in this area. Is one of the Mediterranean's most important natural areas. This islands offers caves and cavities of great beauty where all kind of natural species and animals lives, such as red coral. It is a strictly protected area where you can visit by boat or diving.
Pals: a few kilometers from the coast you will find this villa high on a hill, which is characterized by his beautiful medieval structure. All the old town is well preserved, with cobbled streets, defense walls and several Gothic buildings as the church of St. Pere that makes this town a Historic Artistic Site.
Dance of death in Verges: every Holy Thursday, Verges celebrates a remarkable representation of a tradition that goes back to the European Middle Ages. Different religious personages parade on this day, highlighting the dance of the skeletons and the different sounds that accompany the procession. This festival is considered Festival of National Interest.
Banyoles Lake: the largest natural lake in Catalonia and one of the few in the entire peninsula. It represents the most emblematic image of the town of Banyoles. It’s a lake with outstanding features, and nourished by underground springs that flow from its depths. It is a space with a great ecological value, rich in fauna and flora and is integrated into the Plan of Areasof Natural Interest of Catalonia. You can walk, bike all around the lake (8km)
Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà: This wetland area is one of the most important and emblematic parks of Catalunya. After a great struggle to prevent urbanism in this natural landscape, in 1983 got his protection. It is a wetland created by the end of the river Muga and Fluvià (between St. Pere Pescador and Castelló d'Empúries) where we can find a great diversity of fauna and flora, especially bird species. Its almost 5000 ha consist of lakes, areas of crop (rice), ponds, etc. Is possible to walk in the park through different paths, on foot, horse or by bike and in certain areas we can find bird watching huts, ideal to observe them in freedom.
Ruins of Empúries: located in an incomparable setting, next to L'Escala, we can visit the ruins of the old Greek city and Roman city of Empúries. Founded around the 500 BC, this was the front door of these two important cultures in our peninsula. At the moment we can make a visit to the archaeological deposit and the museum, where we can discover objects and the history of this city.
Theater-Museum Dalí, Figueres: one of the most visited museums of Spain, dedicated completely to the famous author and constructed on the rest of the old theater of Figueres. This was restored at the beginning of the Seventies, with the participation and help of the artist, who was personally in charge of each one of the details. The surrealistic building hosts a great amount of art works, like paintings, sculptures, photography’s of the author, etc. Under the main level of the building, we can find the crypt of the author.