Girona & Besalú

The landscape will help you understand the history of our region; after passing the many factories, we’ll come to the mountains of the Montseny, and in Besalú and Girona, we’ll get a view of the nearby Pyrenees.
Girona is a lovely small city further inland in Catalonia. It takes about an hour to get there from Barcelona; we will drive along the main highway to France. This highway, like many others in Europe, still follows the path of the old Via Augusta that the Romans built over 2,000 years ago.
In Girona, we recommend visiting the Cathedral and, of course, the Museum of Jewish History to broaden your knowledge of Judaism in medieval Catalonia. If you prefer, we can have a nice walk around the old city with its medieval buildings and streets, enjoying the views from the top of the stairs of the Cathedral or walking down some of the narrowest streets that are so typical in old cities. We highly recommend having lunch in Girona; there are many mouthwatering options, especially if you want to try traditional Catalan cuisine.
Besalú is only half an hour away from Girona, and is a hidden gem of the Catalan countryside. Often when you think about Europe and its small towns, you imagine them all built in stone, with old churches and homes, maybe an ancient stone bridge… well, Besalú has all that, as well as probably the best-preserved remains of a “mikveh” (a communal bath) from medieval times. If you travel with kids, they’ll love it too; both places are mostly pedestrian, and the kids can have fun pretending to be knights while learning about ancient history.