Girona, Catalonia, Spain

Girona, with its 80.000 inhabitants, is considered one of the best 3 cities in Spain for quality of life. The city is separated by the Old town and the New town. The centre of the Old Town, the “Casc Antic”, is the historical centre of the city. The Town Hall is located on the imaginary line that separates the old and the new part of the city .

Girona is north of Barcelona in the Ter river valley, between the mountain of Las Gavarres and Las Guilleries. This made it an important stronghold in times gone by. The 12C saw the construction of many outstanding Romanesque buildings. During the Gothic period the city expanded and enlarged its city walls. And through to the 16th and 17th centuries there was the continuing military building of fortresses and barracks.

The walled area is preserved in almost its entirety, withstood the sieges of 1808-09 from Napoleon's troops. Within the walls is the Cathedral, built over many centuries. The cloisters and the Carlemany Tower contain fine examples of Romanesque art. The Gothic nave and the main façade shows Baroque influences. Chapter Museum inside the cathedral has on exhibition a manuscript of the Apocalypse (10C) and the famous embroidery known as 'The Creation' ( 12C ).

Other buildings of interest include

• The former Episcopal Palace is now an Art Museum.This contains some fine sculpture, gold and silverwork, paintings and sketches, as well as special rooms given over to works of art from medieval times
• the Convent of Sant Doménec (14C-16C);
• the Church of Sant FéIiu, with a Gothic vault, and contains the Chapel of Saint Narcís -the city's patron saint
• the 12C Monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants, now the Archeological Museum with an important collection of Jewish steles that came from the cemetery of the ancient Hebrew community who lived in medieval Girona;
• the Romanesque Chapel of Sant Nicolau:
• the Convent of La Mercé - today the technical school.
• Fontana d'Or, a mansion dating from the Romanesque period which has later Gothic additions.
• The 'old town' around the area of La Força in Los Alemanys and Ciutadans streets, with a fine collection of aristocratic buildings
• The Jewish quarter, known as 'Call', runs parallel to La Força street and occupies in a maze of small, narrow and steeply sloping streets which still maintain their medieval atmosphere. It was begun in the 9C, and inhabited by the 1000 Jews until their expulsion in 1492.
• “Banys Arabs” (Arabic baths), a Romanesque building, is an imitation of the Muslim medieval baths.
• “Rambla de la Llibertat”, for a coffee in one of its terraces or shopping in its many shops.
• The Stone Bridge (“Puente de Piedra”), has also has historical interest, and joins the old part of the city with the new part
• The new part of Girona, has impoerant buildings like the building “la Farinera Teixidor”, or “la Punxa”, works of the architect Rafael Masó.
• In May there is the traditional Flower exhibition, when the whole “Casco Antiguo” is full of flowers
• At the end of October there is the “Fiestas de Sant Narcis” (the patron saint of Girona)
• Hotels in the area
  
  
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