Girona (city)

Introduction

Girona

© All Rights Reserved EmSlice

Girona is a city in the northeast of the Spain and capital of the province with the same name. The city itself has about 100,000 inhabitants. Located only about an hour from Barcelona, it makes for a great way to combine both cities and as there is a growing amount of flights it can be cheaper flying to Girona as well. The city is relatively small but has an attractive old town and some fascinating architecture, dating back to the old days as well some more art nouvea collections.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• The Eiffel Bridge was constructed at the junction of four rivers by the famous Gustave Eiffel just before the construction of Eiffel Tower in Paris.
• The Cathedral of Girona, perhaps one of the worlds most improtant Gothic monument was built between the 14th and 17th centuries. Its salient feature is the immense single Gothic nave, which is nearly 23 metres wide and is perhaps the broadest Gothic nave ever built. The cathedral museum contains some of the priceless works of the medieval European Art.
• Jewish Quarter is one of the best kept in Europe and is full of streets and squares. There is also a Catalan Jewish Museum which is worth a visit.
• The Cinema Museum has a collection of 30,000 objects relating to the history of cinema.
• The Collegiate Church of Sant Feliu
• The Benedictine Church of Sant Pere de Galligants
• Arab baths of Girona date back to the 12th century and are well preserved.
• Quart located around 5 kilometres from Girona is a traditional town, famous for making ceramics ever since the 16th century. These pieces are mostly balck with some decorations.

Events and Festivals

• Girona Film Festival - second week of October
• Temporada Alta - Theater and dance
• Festival of Religious Music of the World - First 10 days of July

Weather

Girona has a typical Mediterranean climate with warm and dry summers from June to September and relatively mild but wetter wintermonths from December to March. Average daytime summer temperatures are around 30 °C. Winters are a little colder compared to coastal cities like Barcelona though with temperatures at night around or close to zero.

Getting There

By Plane

The Girona - Costa Brava International Airport (international code: GRO) is located about 10 kilometers south of the city centre and is getting more and more popular as a start of a trip in the region as there are quite a few low-cost airlines serving the city. [[Ryanair serves dozens of cities in Europe, including London, Brussels and Rome. A few others include Jetairfly, Transavia and Star1.

To/from the airport

• Car: The airport can be reached by the E-15/AP-7 toll road (Perpignan, France - south of Spain), C-25 (Lleida - Girona) and N-11, (Madrid - Barcelona - Perpignan, France).
• Bus: Buses go to Barcelona (1 hour 10 minutes, departure times depending on flights. On Sunday the last bus leaves Barcelona at 7:15pm), Costa Brava/Maresme (Stops at Tossa de Mar, Lloret de Mar, Blanes, Malgrat de Mar, Santa Susanna, Pineda de Mar and Calella de la Costa), North Costa Brava (Stops at Figueres, Roses, Pineda de Mar, Calella de Palafrugell and Tossa de Mar), Girona city centre(25 minutes, one every hour) and Perpignan in France (6 times daily).

By Train

Trains to Barcelona leave regularly and take just over an hour. In the near future, Girona will be getting its share of high speed train services on the Madrid - Barcelona - Avignon (France) route.

By Car

Girona is near the main highways towards the coast, France and the south of Spain.

By Bus

Buses connect Girona to many provincial towns, but for longer distances it's better to use cars, train and plane.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

If you want to post a card, you can head to the post office (Correos). The Spanish post is not yet as efficient as colleagues in other countries so receiving a card can take a bit longer than the number of days that it should take. On the website of Correos, you can find the locations of nearby post offices.
Post offices are generally open from 8:30am to 2:00pm, although times can vary and the main post office usually is open until the early evening. Most will also open again on Saturday mornings, but in the smaller towns will close as early as 12 noon. When posting a letter, look for a yellow box and, if possible, post at the post office itself where there will also be divisions for local, national and international mail. Be prepared for long queues at the post office. This is why tobacco shops sell stamps and many will also have the facility to weigh packages.
Standard letters/postcards of up to 20 grams sent within Spain are €0.34. However, non-standard letters/postcards of up to 20g are €0.39. Letters/postcards of 20 to 50 grams are €0.45. In the case of international shipping, the price is €0.64 to most countries within Europe for standard envelopes (letters/postcards) up to 20g, for a few European countries and outside Europe it is €0.78.