Time of visit. October 2025.
The city of Girona (also known as Gerona) is the province of Girona’s capital. Population, 106,000 (2024). It is located 60 miles northeast of Barcelona, which equates to 1 hour 20 minutes by car or just 40 minutes by high-speed train. The city has 2 main rivers; the Ter, which flows through the north of the city and the Onyar, which flows south to north. Girona’s strategic location, with France to the north and Barcelona to the south, accounts for its long and turbulent history, too detailed to recount here but if you’re interested, you can follow the link, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girona#History.
Girona. A city with grit, as well as a certain charm.
To be honest, as our bus pulled into the car park on the edge of town, my first glimpse of Girona left me underwhelmed. The eclectic mixture of architectural styles gave the impression of a place that had grown in fits and starts, with minimal thought given to continuity of profile. But I quickly reminded myself that this was no quaint village with a population of a couple of thousand souls. Today’s city is the sum of over 2,000 years of development, or to be more precise, turmoil, siege and conquest. Girona has seen no less than 25 sieges in its time. No wonder then, that what the visitor sees today is the result of buildings and structures built out of necessity for survival; the need to please future visitors with an attractive façade was not at the top of anyone’s list of priorities. Don’t get me wrong. Girona is home to some jaw dropping architecture and parts of the old town ooze character but in parts in seemed dark, almost ominous. Maybe some of my photos will translate my thoughts a bit more clearly.
Giant stone steps in unexpected places and dark archways punctuate the warren of narrow streets.
Brighter streets on the periphery. A girl in a red dress providing a striking contrast.
There is something intriguing about photographing strangers. Their anonymity creates mystery, despite just being ordinary people going about their daily business.
Climbing the steps through the almost oppressive atmosphere of the dark streets, something struck me. In autumn and winter, the sun sits lower in the sky and never reaches the narrow passages of Girona’s old town. There were reasons that towns were built in this way, the most obvious being defensive considerations. For example, a narrow street can’t accommodate attacking invaders on horseback. Having resolved some of my inner questions, we emerged into the sunny upper reaches of the old town and made our way up onto the city walls. Girona from this vantage point takes on a new persona. The spires of its cathedral and churches, the stone walls and tall, slender cypress trees swaying in the breeze give the city that romantic medieval look that appeals to the tourist in search of something inspiring. And to photographers in pursuit of a captivating shot!
A view from the city walls of the Catedral de Santa María.
The city walls provide a bird’s eye view of Girona but the climb can be challenging in parts.
Cyclists resting on the steps (90 in total) of Girona cathedral. The city is a favourite of cyclists and some famous proponents of the sport, such as Lance Armstrong, have lived there.
Crossing the river Onyar takes you to the flatter and more modern side of the city. The first thing you notice is the striking colours of the facade of the houses flanking the river. These are known as the ‘Onyar Houses’ and are synonymous with today’s Girona. The idea for the multicoloured scheme was devised by local artists Enric Ansesa and James J. Faixó. The palette of 29 colours represents the transition from the Franco dictatorship (which ended in 1975) to a brighter future. The restoration of the facades, including the addition of colour, was realised in 1982. One of the houses is known as Casa Maso, birthplace of the architect Rafael Masó í Valelentí.
The Onyar houses provide a colourful contrast to the rest of Girona. The vibrancy of the colours vary with the time of day and the position of the sun.
Crossing over one of several bridges took us to the most modern part of the city where the main attraction is the Plaza de la Independencia. The plaza is a porticoed square with a central monument dedicated to the defenders of the city during the sieges of 1808 and 1809 during the war for Spanish independence.
Plaza de la Independencia.
Girona is definitely worth a visit for a couple of hours but what you get out of it depends on what you are looking for. It is a working city with all the shops, businesses, offices etc. that you expect to find in any city. The historical architecture in the old town is impressive and the colourful houses standing on the banks of the Onyar are eye catching. If history is your thing, then you could probably spend days here. But there is an underlying feeling that you are in a place that has underinvested in catering for visitors. One small but important illustration of this is the lack of public toilets. We found only two and one of them was out of order. Yes, you can always go and buy a coffee and use the facilities while you’re there but it’s not an ideal solution. It may be that the city has prioritised expenditure elsewhere but there are definitely improvements to be made. I don’t want to end on a negative though. While we were slightly underwhelmed by Girona, it is important to consider the context. We visited 5 locations on this trip and places like Collioure, Pals and Cadaqués set a very high bar and left Girona in their shadow. Would I revisit? Probably not but glad I experienced it.
Bleeding Dove 