Girona - Continental Major
Girona made our list due to the fact that it is very conveniently located next to the airport.
The Wizz Air plane landed at Girona airport at 21:20. Having passed the control procedures, we found ourselves in the warm Catalan air a little after 10 pm. If we would have traveled to Barcelona, we would have ended up there at the station around midnight. And who knows what is there after midnight with the metro, and how the owners would have met us at such a late hour. It would be especially polite to call them for about an hour and say something along the lines of: “We just left the metro and are standing near 2 puddles, and there is a tree, but where is your apartment anyway? ". Of course, the Spaniards go to bed a little late, but I think they would not appreciate such humor anyway. Yes, and we would very much like to have a rest from the road, as a very stormy week was shining ahead on the Mediterranean coast.
In short, Girona suited us better than anything. Moreover, I flipped through a couple of booklets and found where to turn around.
The bus to Girona left the airport at 22:30. And at 23:00 he was already moored at the bus station in Girona on Placa de Espanya.
We found the bus schedule on sagales. com. But the ticket offices and the stop itself were at the airport in a slightly different place, as we read about on the Internet.
Once you pass through passport control, your bags will most likely be waiting for you on the belt. Go outside and immediately turn right. Walking along the windows of the airport, as you approach, you will notice that in fact everyone goes there. There is only one ticket office at the local bus station and it sells tickets to both Girona and Barcelona. Only some buses stand to the left of the ticket office, others to the right. Tickets are 2.60 and 15 euros respectively.
The bus was comfortable and drove quite confidently, it's a pity that there was absolutely nothing to look at the window. Getting off at the bus station, we prepared to look for our hotel with maps and a hotel finder.
But, not having time to prepare, we immediately found it. Hotel "Europe" was located on a street parallel to the bus station. As later informed the Internet at 240 meters. Very convenient, fast and fun.
The hotel, of course, is average, but clean, tidy and quite comfortable. In addition, the closest to the car and, concurrently, train. to the station. Our keys and printouts were waiting for us at the counter. The night manager handed us the keys and said that all the formalities are tomorrow, and now "sweet dreams". If the room were to change the color of the floor from bright brown to any other, then I would call it very pretty. Fortunately, we guessed to put a few sandwiches in the bag, otherwise going to bed on an empty stomach is not the best start to a vacation. Shower, dinner and sweet dream. Tomorrow the active part of our journey begins.
After a decent breakfast, we set off in search of impressions. The Onyar River divided the city from north to south into 2 halves - new and not so good.
The two halves are periodically connected here and there by bridges, allowing you to move freely between eras.
The old half was full of old streets, museums, as well as walls erected by the Romans along with the fortress at the beginning of AD. e. and not badly preserved today. And, of course, this is the Cathedral and the Church of St. Felia. Wealthy bourgeois live here, thanks to the efforts of which Girona was declared the city with the highest standard of living in all of Spain!
The new part of the city is full of modern buildings, among which the Museum of the Cinematographer hides and, which helped us so much, the tourism center, which will also help you if you go into it on the way to Place Catalynya. They always have fresh information on the menu with maps and opening hours of museums and exhibitions.
Attractions
The main attractions can be divided into 2 parts.
First of all, it is a complex of museums united under the name Gironamuseus and other optional shrines, Arab baths, the Jewish district, Roman walls and, of course, the famous colored houses above the river.
There are a couple of private museums, but other than the names, I don’t know anything else about them. If you stay in the city for more than a day, I recommend asking the tourism industry workers.
Let's start with the houses that they like to present on all Girona postcards. Built in the late Middle Ages, they are still inhabited to this day and are very photogenic on a sunny day. Despite the fact that the river in the summer is quite seriously shallow, this does not prevent scaly individuals the size of the hand of a well-fed young man from being found in it.
Church of Saint Philia
Built between the 13th and 17th centuries with its inviting exterior, visible from miles away thanks to its magnificent Romanesque tower, this church is just begging for a visit.
Inside she keeps 6 wonderful sarcophagi and the chapel of the patron of Girona - Saint Narcissus, along with his grave. According to legend, it was from his grave in 1285 (somewhere in the evening) that incomprehensible insects crawled out, which so exhausted the French soldiers who besieged the walls of the city that they decided to leave Girona alone and, having gathered tents and not forgetting to put out the fires, quickly rushed to your territory.
Unfortunately, we did not see where those most famous insects crawled from, since at lunchtime there was a protracted service and the doors were not opened for ordinary tourists.
But near the church and on the square in front of the Cathedral, we saw magnificent color paintings made of flower petals right on the paving stones.
It boasts the widest nave in all Gothic architecture. In the manner of many Gothic cathedrals in Spain, it is rather ascetic.
Inside there are several interesting stained-glass windows, and what surprised me the most was the chants in Russian. I trusted my hearing, but just in case, I looked for support in the back rows. Everything was right - in Russian, damn it! Inside, of course, photography is prohibited. But I managed to shoot the shutter a couple of times without a flash from my shoulder. From the cathedral you can go out into the courtyard, which will lead you to several rooms with exhibitions of bishops' clothes and a rich collection of medieval gold and silver items.
Entrance to the cathedral is paid - 5 euros. Plus, you can also grab a three-ruble note and an audio guide that will explain what's what. True that Sunday afternoon admission was free.
girones. cat
Romanesque buildings built in 1194 imitating the Muslim baths popular at that time.
Since that time, they were destroyed during the siege of 1283, restored, given to private hands for various needs, and only since 1929 were they acquired by the state and restored into a complex of ancient baths.
By paying 2 or 3 euros for entry, you can gradually follow the law of thermodynamics about the transfer of heat by bodies. In total, there are 4 large rooms with a fifth reserved for the boiler. M-yes, this is not a Finnish sauna with its 3 square meters. m.
First of all, all museums are united by a discount. The system is very simple. Having visited the first museum, you pay a full ticket, after which all other museums will cost you 2 times cheaper. You will be given a reusable ticket valid for 6 months, where each museum will stamp you with a visit. Ticket prices in the amount of 4-5 euros at the start, and therefore then will be 2 times less.
Since it was a Sunday, the museums worked on a shortened schedule. And so we would visit them all.
The transfer time between museums, even with a parallel count of crows in the sky, is no more than 15 minutes. But inside you can linger.
Museo d'art
museuart. com
Pretty decent five-story museum that has collected paintings by artists for more than 1000 years. Quite interesting and informative about the art of local artists. Very organized and convenient for viewing, although, as for us, it does not represent anything outstanding.
Located 2 steps from the Cathedral.
Museo d'Arqueologia
It is located in the building of a Romanesque monastery, not far from the Arab baths, and contains valuable archaeological collections.
Unfortunately, due to lack of time, we did not have time to visit it.
Museo d'Historia de la Ciutat
girona. cat/museuciutat
Another museum waiting for our visit. Perched on the steps to the Cathedral, he is ready to take you on a journey through Girona from its inception at the beginning of the era to the present day.
Museo d'Historia dels Jueus
girona. cat/call
Located in the heart of the Jewish quarter. According to the records of contemporaries, Jews inhabited the El Call area from the time of early Christianity until 1492, when, by order of the king, all Jews had to come to the recruiting station and, with money, board a ship that sailed away from Spain. By the way, Columbus, who sailed the next day with his 3 ships, begged for most of the money from the wealthy Jewish population of Spain, who had departed the day before.
The museum tells about the history of the Jewish community, their activities and outstanding personalities, their achievements in science, as well as traditions.
There are some interactive elements and, unlike other museums in Girona, a lot of people.
Museo del Cinema
museudelcinema. cat
He will tell about the history of the moving picture from shadow theater to modern movie stunts. We were advised to come to this museum with children.
Since we were without a daughter, we decided not to spoil the impression, but to return with the child on the next trip.
Wandering around the old town, you will certainly go to Forca street. There are a lot of cafes with friendly waiters and standard prices for a combo menu for lunch for 10 euros. In fact, this is not the worst proposal and we regretted that we did not agree. While walking around the new city, we found similar cafes on Placa Independencia, but the prices there started already from 14 euros and more. As a result, we dined in some nondescript cafe for 15 euros for two, but we did not get pleasure from this. Yes, by the way, there is also a branch here, which helped us out a lot in Barcelona, a Swedish-style cafe (and why it is so popular for these Swedes to overeat) - chew until you chew everything for 11 euros. It really works from 12 to 16 (in my opinion), and is located near the hotel "Europe". If you go north along the same Joan Maragall street.
There are, of course, other cafes on Place Catalynya where you can roll up beer and wine and have a bite of tapas. But this is an amateur. Also, I have never approved of eating tapas, although a very good way for establishments to get rid of old products. They will put you on tiny plates of the remnants of former luxury after yesterday's party and chew. There may be olives, maybe french fries, fried sprat, some sandwiches. It looks like chips to me. Just stuff your stomach.
After a tour and a light lunch, we hurried to the station, as our train to Barcelona left at 15:30. Find out the train schedule on renfe. es. Communication with Barcelona is well established, just pay attention to the cost of tickets. Ours was the cheapest Regional train at 7.40. Everything else will be more expensive.
The procedure is simple.
You take a ticket directly at the station from the cashier on the 1st floor and, having previously stamped it in a yellow box in front of the escalator, fly with a ticket to the platform on the 2nd floor. Be careful, inspectors are walking. Of course, they are not animals, but they speak English badly!
