About
Girona and surroundings
GIRONA. More than a thousand years of history watch over this small,
harmonious city, which has managed with the utmost of care to preserve
the legacy of all the eras and sensitivities that have left their mark
on the city: in an old quarter that takes pride in each and every one
of the stones that dress its medieval facades, the most notable
attractions include the Jewry, an exemplar of the Jewish quarter that
is unique in the world, the cathedral
(http://www.lacatedraldegirona.com),
a singular
example of Gothic architecture, its museum, with the Creation Tapestry
and the Beatus, the wall enclosing the old quarter, and the recently
inaugurated Cinema Museum, the only one of its kind in Europe.
If you have never been to the regions
of Girona, then we must start by
explaining that the word that best defines them is DIVERSITY. Don't
expect to find one landscape, one light, one vegetation... what you
will find is a multitude of changing landscapes, evolving as you
advance in one direction or another. Like a kaleidoscope, your senses
will receive an avalanche of sensations, shapes, colours. And not only
your eyes - your ears, your nose, your skin and your heart will absorb
a multitude of impacts capable of producing the most pleasant emotions
and the most diverse experiences.
The city of Banyoles (http://www.banyoles-agenda.com/ingles.htm),
is
situated 20 km. from Girona. Its most famous landmark is the lake of
Banyoles: a stopping off point of unndeniable interest for tourists
thanks to its beautiful surroundings, its natural heritage due to its
ecology, and of great importance to the world of sport in its being
able to offer the ideal environment for both training and competition.
The city of Figueres, is situated 40
km from Girona, is known
world-wide for being the site of the Dalí Theatre Museum, one of
Spain's most frequently museums, which houses a great deal of the
painter's works. From here, one can embark on a journey covering the
life of Salvador Dalí (http://www.salvador-dali.org/),
including
a visit to the Púbol castle (in the Baix Empordà region)
and to his home in Portlligat, in Cadaqués. Other interesting
attractions in Figueres include the Catalonia Toy Museum, which
displays all kinds of miniature toys made by the world's most
prestigious toymakers.
The coast of Girona, the Costa Brava (http://www.costabrava.org/)
includes picturesque coastal towns and fishermen's havens like
Cadaqués, the charm and scenery of which captivated the maestro
Salvador Dalí himself, or like Calella de Palafrugell, whose
winding streets and coves echo the sounds of the "Habaneras". you also
can visit the Cap de Creus Natural Park, whose landscape suggests what
the earth must have been like in its origins, or the marshes of the
Aiguamolls de I'Empordà, the Medes islands (in L'Estartit) and
the coves and inlets of Begur and Palafrugell, and the citadel of
Roses, the Greek and Roman ruins of Empúries (in L'Escala) or
the medieval villages of Pals and Peratallada, and the Iberian remains
of Ullastret, the old town of Tossa de Mar and the beautiful botanical
gardens of Blanes and Lloret de Mar.. What we're getting at, in a
nutshell, is that at the Costa Brava, you probably enjoy the biggest
concentration of enchanging sights and experiences in the shortests
possible distance.
In the Pirineu de Girona you will
find all the shades of green: the
mysterious, deep green of mountain lakes and streams; the soft,
soothing green of the fields and meadows the bold green of the treetops
as march up sheer mountainsides...
Everything in the Pirineu de Girona
speaks of nature, of life, of
scenery. Amidst this mighty, sometimes fierce setting an authentic,
warm spirit has thrived, capable of inspiring a mountain culture based
on honesty, peace and respect for things and people.
It is thanks precisely to this
respect that today it is still possible
to retrace the medieval steps from village to village and from
monastery to monastery, following the Romanesque Route through such
extraordinary sites as Ripoll or Sant Joan de les Abadesses.
The mountainous region of Girona
stretches in an east-west direction
from theMediterranean up to the Cadí-Moixeró Natural
Park. Its proximity to the Mediterranean is what provides such a bening
clime to thid part of the Pyrenees.
Beneath these natural skyscrapers,
the territory spreads out like an
enormous vegetal stain towards the Pre-Pyrenees areas which offer such
notable treasures as the Garrotxa Volcanic Area (with its spectacular
beech forest known as Fageda d'en Jordà), Beget, Oix,
Besalú, Santa Pau... It would be unreasonable to overfill this
introduction with the great number of villages, towns and sites that
can be sited, but we would not want you to turn the page without us
getting the chance to recommend, once again, one of the area's most
cherished treasures: its cuisine. There are so many restaurants where
cooking has achieved an art form that you will not have to go out of
your way or sacrifice other activities to enjoy the delicious local
fare. Whether you're in the Cerdanya a region or in the Camprodon
valley, or visiting Núria valley (http://www.valldenuria.com/),
enchanted by the unique scenery that unfolds before you as you climb
the miraculous layout of the only rack railway in Spain, or if you
reach Olot drawn by its pictorial tradition and by its galleries and
exhibitions... be loyal to our cuisine, and you will thank us for it
when you think back on your holidays.
Finally, the city of Barcelona (http://www.bcn.es/english/ihome.htm)
is
situated 100 Km from Girona, Barcelona is a city shaped by the '92
olympics with a Roman subsoil and living in the 21st century, where
Gothic architecture stands alongside the most contemporary buildings
and modernism constructions by Antoni Gaudí and other
architects, where economic dynamism blends with intellectual
effervescence, and where the sea is a stage and the mountain its
backdrop. Today's Barcelona is living one of its finest moments.