Map
24 plans, by travel time
30 min to 45 min
3 plans
Besalú: bridge, Jewish quarter and basalt
Medieval town on foot 2 h+Catalan cooking facing the bridge €€€
The fortified bridge, the Jewish quarter and Sant Pere in the morning, lunch facing the Fluvià and, in the afternoon, the village hanging from the basalt. 40 minutes from Girona.
Fageda d'en Jordà: beech forest and farm
Guided beech forest 1 h 30+Medieval bridge+Catalan buffet €€
A morning in medieval Besalú, a Catalan buffet lunch and, in the afternoon, a guided walk through the beech forest on lava with a farm visit and tasting. 40 minutes from Girona.
Peralada: Dalí, winery and mill
Dalí Museum 1 h 45+Winery and tasting 1 h 30+Empordà cooking in a mill €€
The Teatre-Museu Dalí first thing, the Perelada winery with a three-wine tasting and a long lunch in an 18th-century mill between Figueres and Peralada. 45 minutes from Girona.
45 min to 1 h
3 plans
Peratallada and the Iberian city of Ullastret
Iberian city 1 h 45+Medieval old town 1 h 30+Courtyard lunch €€
The largest Iberian city in Catalonia on top of a hill, the old town of Peratallada inside its rock moat and lunch in a courtyard among walnut trees. 50 minutes from Girona.
Pals: rice fields, Gothic quarter and beach
Rice route 1 h 45+Gothic quarter 1 h+16th-century farmhouse €€€
A little train through the rice fields to the mill, the Gothic quarter and its viewpoint over the Montgrí, lunch in a 16th-century farmhouse and a walk along the beach. 50 minutes from Girona.
Vic: square, cured meats and inn
Old town 1 h 30+Square cooking €€
A morning on foot through Vic's Plaça Major and old town, the medieval museum, lunch of Osona cooking and the cathedral painted by Sert before heading back.
1 h to 1 h 30
7 plans
Caldes de Montbui: Roman baths and a thermal soak
Thermalia and Roman baths · €5.30+Set menu €35 to €50 €€€+Thermal bath 1 h · €8
The fountain that spouts water at 74 °C, the Roman baths with a guided visit, Catalan food at Robert de Nola and an hour of thermal bathing for €8. Half an hour from Barcelona.
Montseny: beech forest, summit and chestnuts
Les Agudes 11.5 km+Chestnut cooking €€€
The classic climb to the roof of the Montseny, from the golden Santa Fe beech forest to the ridge of les Agudes and the Turó de l'Home, and a chestnut lunch in Viladrau. An hour from Girona.
Montseny: guided mushrooms and the inn
Guided mushrooms 4 h+Mountain inn €€
Four hours in the forest learning to recognise mushrooms with the park's guides and a grilled lunch at the inn in Montseny village. Only certain autumn Sundays.
Montseny: easy beech forest and grill
Easy beech forest 2 h+Grilled meat €€
A flat walk round the Santa Fe reservoir, among beeches that turn copper in autumn, and a grill lunch in the mountains. By car, or by train and Bus Parc.
Montseny: Gothic castle and chestnuts
Climb to the castle 1 h 20+Free guided visit+Chestnut cooking €€€
A climb through the forest to the Gothic castle of the Viscounts of Cabrera, a free guided visit and a lunch with Viladrau chestnuts all over the menu. An hour from Girona.
Ripoll: two monasteries and a greenway
Two monasteries 2 h 30+Seasonal cooking €€€+Flat greenway 1 h
The 1251 Descent from the Cross in Sant Joan de les Abadesses, the portal and cloister at Ripoll, lunch with Ripollès produce and a flat stroll along the old mining railway. An hour from Manresa.
Rupit: waterfall and inn
Salt de Sallent 1 h 15+Village and bell tower 1 h 30+Mountain inn €€
An easy walk along the stream to a 115-metre waterfall, the stone village with its suspension bridge, the bell tower and lunch at a 1930 inn. An hour and twenty from Manresa.
1 h 30 to 2 h
11 plans
Codorníu: cellars by train and lunch in the tower
Heritage Tour 1 h 15 · €25+Cava Centre 1 h+Market cooking at the winery €€€
Puig i Cadafalch's Modernista cellars toured by underground train, the village cava centre and lunch in the estate's tower. 45 minutes from Barcelona, by train too.
Penedès: cava and a table among the vines
Visit and tasting 1 h 30+Winery restaurant among the vines
A morning in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia to understand cava, a winery visit with a tasting and a long lunch with the vines in front of you. Best by train: that way nobody drives.
Penedès: a walk through the vines and an aperitif at the winery
Camí del Vi 3.5 km+Aperitif at the winery €€
The Camí del Vi in Vilafranca, flat between the vines, then wine and tapas at aperitif time on the terrace of a family-run winery in Sant Sadurní. Home by mid-afternoon.
Núria: rack railway and snowshoes
Guided snowshoeing 2 h+Catalan food by the sanctuary
You ride up to Núria on the Cremallera rack railway from Ribes de Freser, snowshoe for two hours with an Oxineu guide and eat Catalan food at El Racó de la Vall, with the cable car included in your ticket.
Montserrat: horse, table and rack railway
Horse riding from €30 an hour+Catalan cooking €€+Rack railway €15
A horse ride in western style at the foot of Montserrat, Catalan lunch in Marganell and an afternoon at the sanctuary, going up on the rack railway from Monistrol Vila.
Berga: viewpoints and a mountain table
Easy walk 1 h+Mountain inn €€
A morning of effortless viewpoints beside the Queralt sanctuary, a long lunch of Berguedà cooking and coffee in the old town. You are home before dinner.
Berguedà by motorbike: Coll de la Creueta and a mountain table
Mountain pass 100 km+Mountain inn €
A hundred kilometres of bends between Berga and a pass at almost 1,900 metres, with stops at La Pobla de Lillet and Castellar de n'Hug, and an inn lunch on the way back.
Garraf: coves and rice by the sea
Coastal path 1 h 30+Rice by the sea €€
A tiny village at the foot of the cliffs, the beach of the huts, a path above the sea and a rice dish to finish. Half an hour from Barcelona by train.
Montserrat: cable car and Sant Jeroni
Aeri return €15+Sant Jeroni 2 h 30+Buffet with views €€
The 1930 cable car up to the monastery, the Sant Joan funicular and a two-and-a-half-hour circuit to the roof of Montserrat, with a buffet and the basilica afterwards. Half an hour from Manresa.
Montserrat: flat path and mató
Walk to Sant Miquel+Traditional cooking €€
Go up by rack railway, walk early to the Sant Miquel viewpoint, hear the Escolania and buy mató with honey at the farmers' market.
Sitges: seafront promenade and rice
Seafront promenade 1 h+Rice €€€
The seafront promenade from end to end, the old town of the Punta and the Cau Ferrat, and a rice dish facing the sea. By train from Barcelona, without thinking about parking.
Driving time without traffic from central Girona to the town or the car park for the plan, calculated with an OpenStreetMap road router, with no stops.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is there within an hour of Girona?
Besalú and Castellfollit de la Roca, Peralada with the Perelada winery and the Dalí Museum in Figueres, Peratallada with the Iberian city of Ullastret, Pals with its rice fields and its beach, and Vic.
Which plan is best with children?
Pals, for the little train through the rice fields and the beach; Besalú, flat and with the bridge; and Rupit, for the short walk to the Salt de Sallent waterfall.
What if it rains?
Peralada and Figueres: the Dalí Museum, the winery and lunch are all indoors. Also Ripoll, with its two monasteries.
Can we go without a car?
To Besalú, with the TEISA buses towards Olot; to Figueres, by train. The rest need a car.
Do we need to book for lunch?
Yes. The villages of the Empordà and the Garrotxa get a lot of visitors on Sundays and the restaurants are small.