tourist information – Walking without a donkey

2024

Girona is a small, attractive and friendly city in Cataluña / Catalonia, 105 kms from Barcelona. Popular with tourists, it has almost all the facilities you need for a holiday – an array of cafés and restaurants (including lots of vegan ones (@b12_bar on Instagram) and a Natural Wine bar), a host of sights and museums and a beautiful park – de la Devesa.

I will be adding photos and information to this blog over time but for now, here’s some useful stuff and pretty pictures.

Culture

The Bolit Centre of Contemporary Art is excellent. All the exhibitions I’ve seen there have been interesting and inspiring. Helpfully, it’s next to the Tourist Information on Rambla de la Libertad.

‘Forats para a fer un requiem’ by cabosanroque exhibition at Bolit Centre for Contemporary Art July 2024

The Jewish Museum and the Museu Trésor de la Catedral (next to the Cathedral) are both well worth a visit.

Tourist Information behind Monumento a Carles Rahola Llorens, journalist, historian, politician

Trains

It is not hard to get to Girona overland. Please consider ditching the plane in favour of the climate and saving carbon emissions.

Here is one way to get to Girona: Eurostar train from London to Paris (book in advance and take advantage of offers by email if you can, as tickets are very expensive.)

SNCF train from Paris to Toulouse overnight (my late June ticket cost €20 (not a typo!) booked well in advance, with a Carte Avantage (senior). The return day-ticket (single) cost €104, also with a Carte Avantage (senior). The SNCF app works much better now.

SNCF train Toulouse to Port Bou via Perpignan (1 hour stop-over) €21.40. Fast train Girona to Barcelona €18.

View towards the city walls – there are lots of steps! Girona, Cataluña

There are two types of trains – slow, stopping ones (eg Port Bou to Llançà to Camallera and Girona (ends at Barcelona)) which are cheaper; and high-speed ones which are more expensive. It’s hard to book tickets online (RENFE is the national company), so better at the station. Do it in advance (note that, as with the correos / post office, you’ll need a queue ticket from the machine which is in Catalán so, again, allow time to use your translate app if you don’t have the language). The machines that are used to book your tickets are slow, you will need your passport, and the staff tend to be brusque. You may find someone who speaks English.

Pride, Plaza de Independencia, Girona, Cataluña

At the Spanish train stations, the process of ‘getting on’ is more like an airport procedure than that which we’re used to at a British station, so allow yourself time to put all your luggage onto the conveyor belt. There is also a slow and careful ticket checking system. This applies in Girona and Barcelona.

Beautiful views of the Barri Vell, the old town, Girona, Cataluña

On the plus side, the Barcelona-Paris train guard announces in French, Spanish and English, and addresses you as, ‘dear passengers’.

Changing money

You cannot change £ stirling into € euros at the Correos / post office. Nor can you do so at the Santander Bank unless you already have an account with them. Note: they and Caixabank both charge €7 to take money out of the ATM, so you are advised to get fewer, bigger amounts at one time rather than smaller sums more often. The ATM at the train station only charges €5. It’s not in the main concourse, but in the building through the car park, the bus / train station, downstairs.

À city on top of a tower. View from the station Estación de tren, Girona, Cataluña

You can change money at the airport, so I’m told though I haven’t tried. Also it’s possible at the big El Corte Inglés department store on Barcelona Street a bit out of the centre (worth a visit if you like shopping or have to replace something that got broken in your air bnb!)

Night scene – a good example of Dpain’s renowned roundabout art, Girona, Cataluña

Shops, cafés etc take cards and cash so if you’ve remembered yours / have enough, you’ll be fine.

By Millo in the Germans Sàbat neighbourhood, Girona, Cataluña

Buying stamps

Although you can buy postcards all over the city, you can only get stamps from the post office / el Correo. It is open all day until 8pm and has a book swap.

Other people’s blogs

10 Top Things to do in Girona

Please note that driving in the centre of Girona is not at all recommended – the streets are very narrow and even if you can get in you might not be able to get out again! There is a very large car park by Park de la Devesa (see link in opening paragraph).

Morisco architecture with Arabic inscriptions at sides, Girona, Cataluña

A second blog about Vienna – photos, food, safety for women, tourist services and more.

I was visiting this elegant, dolls-house city for the first time for the purposes of attending the largest European Shiatsu Congress ever held. There were over 600 participants from very many countries including Greece, Norway, the Netherlands, Italy, Scotland, England, Germany, Switzerland and of course Austria.

It was truly wonderful to meet up with friends I made in France and Spain during the last year; spend time with colleagues from previous meet-ups; and forge new acquaintances.

In the same way that Gill, fellow practitioner, helped me find friends and hosts in Spain, Sabine was my guide and support here. I am grateful to her, her mother and Ursula for their kindness, generosity and friendship.

Palmenhaus (palm or glass house) for overwintering plants years ago, now a cafe.

Trying to find the Tourist Information I was drawn to a certain loudness which turned out to be a slightly pop version of Gloria In Excelsis Deo. On October 31 1517 Martin Luther nailed 95 theses on the gates to the Wittenberg Castle Church. Thus began the Reformation whose 500th anniversary was this year. I had stumbled across the preparations for this event.

Useful facts: The ITI Tourist Information in Schmerlingpl. 3 is not the one you want, despite what Google maps tells you. Find the website for the right place and follow the link from there. And note that they cannot tell you anything about anywhere outside Vienna, including treks which leave the city or well-known pilgrimages.

All very grand and gold but the sun cannot usually get down to street level.

There are a lot of men in statue form standing high on rooves looking down at us mortals.

She was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma.

Whereas I thought Goethe just looked fed up and resigned.

I liked the patterned roof of St Stephen’s Cathedral.

But the roccoco church of St Peter was altogether in a different league.

I walked all over the city day and night and believe it is safe for solo women. I even made one very early walk alongside the metro line U6 which is raised up above the road level, and there were many men who looked ‘down at heel’, but no-one bothered me at all.

Controversial tourist carriages. There are rules in place to protect the horses from the heat and boredom but not everyone is convinced.

The Viennese speak great English which made it tricky to try my schoolgirl German. There are 1000s of tourists so most people you stop to ask the way have no better idea than you!