Girona in the north of Spain is a lovely place in itself to visit or you may choose to fly in there with one of the budget airlines on your way to other parts of Catalonia.
But close to Girona you can visit a famous lake, a volcanic landscape, a monastery and enjoy walking in a Natural Park and visit medieval towns… so don’t just bypass this lovely area and head straight to the coast, hop in the hire car and explore instead!
Climbing north
Spend a little time in Girona wandering the cobbled streets and enjoying the graceful town, before heading north and towards the Garrotxa mountains.
London will be hosting the Olympic games this year but 1992 was the turn of Barcelona, and the lake of Banyoles was the scene for the main rowing events, thus earning it a firm spot on the map and opening up an opportunity for tourism along the shoreline. Previously quite untouched, a few developments and restaurants bars and cafés sprung up around the body of water. You can enjoy dinner with a stunning view of the lake, watch the sun go down changing the colours.
The town of Banyoles itself is ancient, and at only 12kms or half an hour on the bus from Girona it makes a great place to visit, especially if you like 13th century architecture.
Nearby Girona
Around town
In the centre of town is the Monastery of Sant Esteve, Beedictine and founded in 812. The town plaza is peaceful and dotted with little cafés and restaurant where you can sit outside under the porticoes and do a bit of people watching, whilst enjoying a cold beer or a café con leche. Most of the townsfolk travel into Girona to work so it’s a peaceful and reflective sort of place to visit. Take a trip to the Regional Archaeological Museum – closed Mondays. There’s a Neolithic jawbone on display here, and if you fancy more of the same then take a trip to visit the nearby caves at Serinyá. If you would like to stay in Banyoles, have a look at a villa or a country house for the whole tribe, here are some lovely choices for holiday rentals, no caves though!
ancient places to visit
Watering hole
But the big attraction is certainly the lake, created from a natural tectonic depression and largest lake in the whole of Catalonia. Besides the aforementioned Olympic games, today many international rowers train here amongst the carp, tench, black bass and eel that live here in the depths that reach to 43 metres. So bring the camera in case you catch some British Olympic hopefuls exercising and toning their quads and biceps…you never know...!
Messing about on the water
Bordering the lake on the western side, mooch along over to the pueblo of Porqueres and visit the church of Santa María which has stood here since the 12th century. The style of the buildings is Romanesque and very pretty.
Lake Banyoles, an unbelievable blue
On to Olot
Cross the mountains and see for yourself the fantastic landscape of this area. It’s quite unreal and known as the Garrotxa – in ancient times it trembled with dozens of volcanoes, which have left behind some enormous craters, and a strange but beautiful light. You can happily picnic between the basalt boulders and feel quite safe these days as eruptions are a thing of the past!
The local government have declared the whole area – which includes a wooded area of Beech trees actually rooted in lava – an Integral Geobotanical Reserves and officially a Natural Place of National Interest. The area has in the past inspired painters and poets, and is a lovely place to picnic or walk.
A school of Fine Art has been located in nearby Olot since the 18th century, popular with international and Spanish students, famous artists of the future, perhaps? Olot itself lies just 50kms from Girona. The name is from the word wing in Catalan and the coat of arms features a white wing.
Visit the Carmelite Cloisters, where the art school is situated, admire the Modernist architecture including the Casa de Solá Morales, and the many fine examples of sculpture around town. It’s a truly lovely place, surrounded by mountains and sitting pretty on the river Fluvía. Choose to eat a local lunch of seafood croquettes with the local green beans on the side, called fesol.
Further down that river lies stunning medieval Besalú, with it’s unusual bridge and hairy troll (!) - you can read more about it in a post by clicking here.
So, next time you visit Catalonia and all that this corner of Spain has to offer, take a day away from the rugged coast or the sights of Barcelona to make a trip to the blue lake of Banyoles or the stunning lunar landscape of the Garrotxa – some like it hot!
photo credits to : Wiki Commons and Josep Renalias also Flickr and MorBCN/Jordi Chueca /
