# Holy Week from Girona: getaways from Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday Four getaways with a night away and three day trips from Girona for Holy Week, Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday: the Verges procession, Romanesque monasteries, the Núria Rack Railway, the Rupit cliffs and the Garrotxa by balloon. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/girona/getaways/easter-holy-week · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Origen: Girona - [A weekend in the medieval Empordà, based in Peratallada](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/peratallada/itineraries/medieval-weekend-peratallada-emporda.md) (2 nights, Peratallada): On the night of Maundy Thursday, Verges, about fifteen minutes from Peratallada, holds its procession with the Dansa de la Mort in the Plaça Major. Sleep in Peratallada and walk back to bed; parking in the village is paid in Holy Week. - [A weekend in the Ripollès: Romanesque monasteries and the Núria rack railway](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/ripoll/itineraries/ripolles-romanesque-monasteries-and-nuria.md) (2 nights, Ripoll): The portal at Ripoll and the Descent from the Cross at Sant Joan de les Abadesses are Holy Week in stone. Up above, Núria often still has snow: the Rack Railway is bought online and in these days it fills. - [A getaway to Rupit and the Collsacabra cliffs](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/rupit/itineraries/rupit-collsacabra-cliffs-one-night.md) (1 night, Rupit): In spring the Salt de Sallent runs with water and the Collsacabra cliffs are green. In Holy Week the village fills at midday: sleep there and stroll the suspension bridge first thing. - [A getaway to Besalú and the volcanic Garrotxa, with a balloon flight](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/besalu/itineraries/besalu-garrotxa-one-night-balloon.md) (1 night, Besalú): In spring the balloon flies at dawn with the green Garrotxa volcanoes below, and the central days sell out. If you do not fly on Easter Monday, Besalú is open just the same: the bridge, the Jewish quarter and its mikveh are seen on foot in half a morning. - [Peralada: Dalí, winery and mill](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/peralada/itineraries/peralada-dali-museum-and-winery-from-girona.md) (Day itinerary, Peralada): The Dalí Theatre-Museum is the plan under cover if April's weather turns. In Holy Week there is a queue from mid-morning: buy a timed ticket and go in first thing, before the winery and lunch. - [Montserrat: flat path and mató](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/montserrat/itineraries/montserrat-flat-path-and-mato.md) (Day itinerary, Montserrat): The Escolania sings at Montserrat until Holy Week and its holidays begin afterwards, so in these days you hear it. Go up on the first rack railway: in Holy Week the sanctuary fills from mid-morning. - [Vic: square, cured meats and inn](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/vic/itineraries/vic-square-and-inn.md) (Day itinerary, Vic): On the weekend of Palm Sunday, just before, Vic holds the Mercat del Ram in the Plaça Major. If you go in Holy Week, the square is quiet; bear in mind that the medieval museum closes on Sunday at 14:00. ## Four days that in Catalonia are five In Catalonia Holy Week has one day more than in most of Spain: to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday is added Easter Monday, which is a holiday across the region. Thursday is not one in Catalonia, so whoever works that day has Good Friday to Easter Monday, four days, and whoever takes it off, five. It is the longest getaway of spring, and allows two nights in one place and a third in another: Peratallada and the Garrotxa, for example, are less than an hour apart. The date changes each year, from late March to late April, and that changes the trip. If Easter falls early, in the Ripollès and Núria there is still snow and the afternoons are short; if it falls late, the Empordà already smells of summer and the balloon goes up earlier. ## Processions that are not Seville's This province's Holy Week has its strangest scene a quarter of an hour from Peratallada. On the night of Maundy Thursday, Verges holds its procession, with the Dansa de la Mort: skeletons dancing through the streets to the sound of a drum, a medieval tradition that survives only here. The procession is free; chairs in the square for the performance are bought beforehand. With the two-night getaway in Peratallada you go back to sleep without taking the motorway. In Girona, Good Friday's is that of the manaies, the Roman soldiers who parade through the Barri Vell. If you stay in the city that day, go out on Saturday. ## Romanesque, cliffs and water Spring is the season of water inland. The Salt de Sallent falls 115 metres from the Collsacabra cliffs and in April it carries flow; so do the springs of the Garrotxa. In Ripoll, the portal of Santa Maria is a stone book with biblical scenes, and in Sant Joan de les Abadesses the Descent from the Cross of 1251 fits these days better than any other work in the province. From there you go up to Núria on the Rack Railway. ## What sells out first What fills first is the small: the inns in Rupit, the rooms inside Peratallada and Besalú, and the balloon on the central days. Book in February or March. The Núria Rack Railway is bought online with a time, and in Holy Week the mid-morning trains sell out. For the Dalí Theatre-Museum, a timed ticket; without it, a queue in the street. ## April, by turns In April it can be short-sleeve sun on Pals beach and snow in Núria the same day. Bring clothes for both. If it rains, the afternoon is saved under cover: the Dalí museum, the Perelada winery, the two monasteries of the Ripollès. With tramuntana, the balloon does not fly. ## Greenway, waterfall and a taxi in the rain The greenway from Ripoll to Sant Joan de les Abadesses is flat and takes pushchairs. The walk to the Salt de Sallent is short, a little over an hour, for children from about four. In Núria there is snow to play in if Easter falls early; if it falls late, lake and meadows. And in the Dalí Theatre-Museum, the Rainy Taxi and the Mae West room work at any age. ## Easter Monday jams The return is Easter Monday afternoon, with all of Catalonia coming back at once. The C-17 from Ripoll and Vic, the C-66 from the coast and the AP-7 get heavy from mid-afternoon: return before lunch or after dinner. In the villages, car parks are paid in Holy Week in Peratallada, and in Besalú they fill before eleven. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Is Easter Monday a holiday in Girona? Yes, across Catalonia. Maundy Thursday, on the other hand, is not. ### Which procession is worth seeing? Verges's, on the night of Maundy Thursday, for the Dansa de la Mort. Chairs in the square are bought beforehand. ### Will there be snow in Núria? If Holy Week falls at the end of March or early April, it is likely. Check the resort's report before leaving.