A medieval city, Girona,  a few hours away from a popular tourist destination Barcelona.  A hidden gem in the Costa Brava region.  Colourful buildings lining the river that runs through, this is Europe.  Catalonia is made of four provinces which include Barcelona and Girona.

 

 

Cathedral of Saint Mary of Girona

The Cathedral is a must see in Girona.  It towers over the old part of the city.  The detail and architecture of this Cathedral is beautiful.  Inside we visited the cloister.  There were many columns and sculptures along the insides of the walls.  I can only imagine how long it took to finish each stone sculpture.  It really makes you appreciate the quality of building hundreds of years ago.  Different from today, where skyscrapers are built in a year.

 

There is a wall that surrounded most of the old city.  There were different entrances along the wall to get access.  Most of the city had cobble stone roads, staircases and alleyways.

On top of the wall, you could look out over the city.  During the day and night, far off in the distance you can see the Pyrenees mountains.  They separate France and Spain.  This will be on the list for the next time we are in the area.

 

La Casa Masó (The House Maso)

The famous architect in Girona Rafael Masó was born in La Casa Masó.  The house is made up of four houses that were combined by the family.  This house is open to the public for tours.  We booked a tour ahead of our arrival.  We had a private tour, as we were the only English speaking visitors at that time.  For 5€, we couldn’t have asked for a better tour.  Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly.

 

 

 

 

Our last stop in Girona, was the Arab Baths for 2€ you can’t go wrong.  The Baths are from the 12th century.  The Baths include an octagonal pool, cold room, warm room and a change room.  Visitors are allowed to go on the roof of the building.  I love spas, I think I would have enjoyed the Baths.  

You must visit Girona if you are in Barcelona, or the Costa Brava region.