Barcelona is wonderful and overwhelmed. The crowds on the Ramblas and around the Sagrada Familia have reached the point where locals protest about them, and the city can feel like a theme park in high season. An hour or so north by fast train sits Girona, a smaller Catalan city with much of the charm and almost none of the crush, increasingly known to food lovers but still blissfully calm.
What it offers
Girona's old town is a steep tangle of medieval streets, one of the best-preserved Jewish quarters in Europe, and a cathedral reached by a grand sweep of steps, all enclosed by ancient walls you can walk for a view over the rooftops. The painted houses along the river, reflected in the water, make one of the most photographed scenes in Catalonia, and the whole place can be explored on foot in a day.
Eating well
- Girona punches far above its weight for food, home to one of the world's most celebrated restaurants and many more accessible places.
- Walk the old city walls for the views, then descend for lunch in the lanes below.
- Use the city as a base for the Costa Brava coast and the villages of the Catalan interior, both an easy drive away.
Getting there
The high-speed train from Barcelona takes under 40 minutes, so you can even visit on a day trip, though it deserves longer. Girona has its own airport too, served by budget flights from the UK.
Stay a night or two and you get the old town in the evening, lamplit and quiet once the day visitors have gone. Girona is the smart traveller's Catalonia: the architecture, the history and the food, at a gentler pace and a lower price than its famous neighbour. Barcelona will always be there, but Girona is where you actually relax.