A colorful row of buildings sprawls along the river (Riu Onyar) in Girona and designates part of the border of Old Town Girona. At least as far as my better half & I noticed, Old Town is on the left bank while on the right bank there are modern buildings, also impressive town houses, maybe more than 100 years old, shopping areas … just the modern life we all know. There are many bridges for pedestrians only to allow an easy access of any bank.
Old Town means going back into the age of Charlemagne and the following centuries. The quarter seems rather undamaged from any flow of times although it is a busy quarter with lots of shops and restaurants, cafés, bistros … whatever – and many people live in this quarter.
The most important spot is the cathedral whose first stone laying was about 1000 years ago. The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Girona is a very impressive monument with varied views when walking around.
My better half & I made 2 trips to Girona in July. It was hot – so we always started early in the morning & tried to get back to the coast short after noon before the sun got too violent. Both times we enjoyed the Old Town quarter which is rather widespread with its narrow, dark & shadowy alleyways.
Let’s start with some impressions of the cathedral area.
This is the main entrance … about 90 steps lead to the portal. It’s the highest point of Girona as I read. (To all fans of Game of Thrones: Some scenes were realized around the cathedral and the steps …)
Some details of the cathedral and another portal …
There is also a cloister forming part of the cathedral. All the typical features like the garden in the cloistered court, the well … mortal remains … found their places.
Old Town was once surrounded by a defense wall – and it is still: the wall Murallas exists & you may climb up & walk on top for almost a semicircle around the Old Town area. It’s another part of the border …
It’s not only the cathedral you’ll get a view of in full, but also of the Basilica de Sant Feliu which is quite near of the cathedral (although it doesn’t seem so in the photo). The wall is filled with loopholes which are overgrown with creeping plants.
Inside Old Town there are alleyways, alleyways … and more filled with small shops and cafés. Although the buildings are old when regarding their fronts it seems that renovation was busy to transform them into modern living and working spaces. Glimpses of modern interior design are everywhere when you are able to take a look inside of a building.
It’s relaxing to stroll along the narrow lanes, under round arches between buildings, having a coffee i. e. café solo or cortado …
Be sure that I took lots of photos to capture all the details of Old Town and its buildings – too many for this post. I’ll drop them continuously on Instagram …
For now – don’t miss a visit of Girona if you are in Northern Spain.
