Things to See and Do in Girona
Girona is a superb place to go to on your first trip to Spain. It’s a city of a quite a few attractions and hence is an effective place in its own right. Some people just land up here because it is close to Barcelona. But when you’re going to have a Spanish tour, you may easily spend your first day and night here.
The city has three museums so that you can visit. There’s one on Art, one on Cinema and one on archeology. The Museu de Cinema is actually the only one of its kind in Spain. It is a current development and features exhibits that date as far back as nineteen seventy.
Simply these three museums can take a complete day to fully appreciate. Then there are vibrant squares in the city which can be fascinating locations to go to and sit at. There are modern cafes and bars all around these locations so it’s also possible to take pleasure in a heat café environment while watching the world go by. The squares which might be beneficial for this are Plaça del la Independencia and Plaça del Vi. Plaça del Catedral is one other excellent spot for this.
If you intend heading for Barcelona then a handy way of getting there is to utilize a automobile rent Girona service. Girona Airport is about a 100 kilometre drive from Spain. Drive time needs to be round one hour. Barcelona definitely doesn’t should be the extent of your travels however as there’s much to see in and round Girona.
You possibly can then go to the Cathedral which has the widest Gothic Nave in the whole of Europe measuring in at twenty three meters. It is a stunning structure and is actually worth a visit. The Cathedral may be reached only if you climb ninety steep steps. It is true 17th century baroque model architecture. The Cathedral itself dates method again to the 14th century and hence is an efficient mixture of Gothic, Roman and Catalan Baroque styles.
The Cathedral additionally homes a museum and a cloister. The Museum displays items that date from the tenth as much as the 13th century which is totally remarkable and makes for an thrilling visit.
Right beside the Cathedral is one other glorious site – the Passeig Archeologic. It’s a lovely set of gardens that are certain to mesmerize you at first sight.
Eglesia de Sant Feliu is one other major cultural attraction that it’s essential to go to while you are in Girona. The Churches dates between the 14th and the seventeenth century and will be discovered on the Pujada de Sant Feliu. The church was built over one thing that was then believed to be the tomb of none aside from Feliu of Africa.
So when you land in Girona, you will see that there’s actually loads to do here. So take your time and luxuriate in this lovely city.
Trips from Girona
FIGUERES
Is 47km from Girona along the C-250, N-11 and N-260 motorways.
It is the birthplace of the great artist Salvador Dalí and a very attractive town, with shops, open-air cafés and some majestic houses.
The Dali Theatre-Museum in the town centre has the distinction of being the largest surrealistic object in the world. The site originally housed the Municipal Theatre which was destroyed at the end of the Spanish Civil War. Where everyone else saw ruins, Dali saw an opportunity to create a piece of history and built his museum which currently houses approximately 1,500 pieces of art ranging from sculpture to painting and drawing, from engraving to photography and much more.
Some of the works being exhibited include Galarina, The Spectre of Sex Appeal, Atomic Leda; Rainy Taxi, the Mae West room and the figure of Gala.
The Dali Theatre-Museum is child friendly and a great way to spend an afternoon because it is crammed with optical illusions, stunning sculpture and unusual paintings.
OLOT
Is an 80km drive from Girona via the N-11A, C-66, E-15/AP-7 and A-26 / N-260 motorways.
It is an historic town of Olot situated in an area of dormant volcanoes, with the last eruption occurring 11,000 years ago. It does suffer from earthquakes with the last major one being in 1427 when the town was virtually destroyed.
During the 18th century Olot had a thriving textile industry which led to the Olot School of art which was founded by a group of local artists led by Joachim Vayreda. They produced some stunning fabrics decorated with coloured drawings which can be seen in the Museu Comarcal de la Garrotxa, in the 18th century Carrer de l’Hospici 8. Here you can also see a diverse range of paintings and sculptures by such local artists including Ramón Amadeu, Miguel Blay, Josep Berga I Boix and Joachim Vayreda.
The charming narrow streets of Olot’s old town are clustered around the Plaça Major and the Sant Esteve church, where you will find a number of small and unusual shops and art galleries. Nearby is the Rambla (Passeig Miguel Blay) which is an attractive walkway lined with smart cafés and tree-shaded tables for dining or having a coffee and watching the world go by. The 19th century Teatre-Principal and some fine Modernist architecture are on the Rambla.
Other places to visit in Olot include the Casal dels Volcans (House of Volcanoes) which describes the volcanic history of the town: the Jardí Botanic (botanical gardens), and the Museu Interactiu (Carrer Dr Zamenhoff), which is an interactive museum offering information on the bird and animal life in the area.
