Besalú: bridge, Jewish quarter and basalt.

Besalú fits into a morning and that is the beauty of it: there is no need to rush. You enter over the fortified bridge across the Fluvià, go down to the Jewish quarter, cross the two squares and sit down to lunch with the bridge in front of you. In the afternoon, fifteen minutes by car towards Olot, you look out over Castellfollit de la Roca, a village built on a wall of basalt. From Girona it is forty minutes; from Barcelona, an hour and forty.

The Day, Hour by Hour

9:30 · Departure. From Girona, take the N-260 towards Banyoles and the C-66 to Besalú, about 40 minutes. From Barcelona, the AP-7 to Girona and the same route: a little over an hour and a half. The old town has restricted traffic and the car park inside is for residents. Leave the car in the car parks outside, on the other side of the river, and walk in.

10:15 · The fortified bridge. Seven uneven arches resting on the rocks of the riverbed and a hexagonal tower halfway across. What you see is almost all Gothic, rebuilt after floods and wars, and restored in 1965. Cross it slowly and then go down to the bank to see it from the side: it is the photo everyone takes home. The tourist office is at the entrance to the bridge, on Carrer del Pont; pick up the map there and ask about the day's tour.

10:45 · The Jewish quarter, synagogue and mikveh. By the river, a few steps from the bridge, is the former Jewish quarter. You can see the excavated remains of the synagogue, and beneath it is the mikveh, the Romanesque ritual bath that turned up by chance in 1964: a vaulted chamber with a stairway going down to the pool. The interior can only be visited with a guide from the tourist office, which runs tours every day in several languages. Call beforehand or ask on arrival whether that day's tour includes the mikveh.

12:00 · Sant Pere, Sant Vicenç and Plaça de la Llibertat. Walk up Carrer del Pont and Carrer Major. First the Plaça del Prat de Sant Pere, open and spacious, with the monastery church founded by Count Miró in 977 and its lions on the façade. Then Sant Vicenç and the arcaded Plaça de la Llibertat, with the town hall. From the outside everything can be seen free and with no opening hours. An hour and a half gives you time to look around at leisure and have a coffee in the square.

14:00 · Lunch at Pont Vell. At the foot of the bridge, with the dining room facing the river. It opened in 1981 and is now run by the second generation: Anna Mercadé in the dining room and on the wines, Robert Mora in the kitchen, who goes to the Banyoles market every week. It is open at midday from Wednesday to Sunday, with last seating at 15:00, and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Book: it is small and fills up on Sundays.

16:30 · Castellfollit de la Roca. Fifteen minutes by car towards Olot. The village sits on the edge of a basalt cliff more than fifty metres high: two lava flows from some two hundred thousand years ago that the Fluvià and the Toronell have been cutting through. Climb to Plaça de Josep Pla, at the end of the village, to look out over the drop, then stop at the signposted lay-by on the road, on the way out, to see the whole wall from below. It is free and an hour is plenty.

17:45 · Return. In Girona around half past six; in Barcelona, shortly before eight.

What to Order

Pont Vell works with a seasonal set menu, with an aperitif, starter, main course and dessert to choose from, and a short à la carte list. In autumn, the speciality is sweet-and-sour rabbit with raisins, pine nuts and baked apple; there are also free-range chicken cannelloni, autumn rice with duck sweetbreads and mushrooms, for two, and oxtail in Empordà red wine. For dessert, bread with oil, chocolate and salt. If you are with children or in a hurry, Restaurant Oliveras, at the entrance to the village, serves an all-you-can-eat Catalan buffet every day at midday, from 12:30 to 16:00, with the aperitif included at weekends.

With Children and Dogs

Besalú works with children: everything is flat, the bridge impresses them and between one stone and the next is the Museu de Miniatures, with pieces you can only see with a magnifying glass. At Castellfollit, the viewpoint has a railing, but keep an eye on them at the edge. With a dog you can do the whole route along the street, on a lead; inside the mikveh and the museum, no.