Vic: square, cured meats and inn.

Vic is the Sunday plan that does not depend on the weather. Plaça Major has arcades on all four sides, the museum and the cathedral are under cover and the old town can be walked in full in an hour and a half, without a single hill. You arrive in an hour from Barcelona, eat well and head back in mid-afternoon.

The day, hour by hour

9:45 · Departure. It is 69 km along the C-17 dual carriageway, a little over an hour without traffic. Park in one of the free public car parks on the edge of the centre: the one by the station, behind the tracks, or the Miramarges one, opposite the Parc dels Estudis. If you prefer to leave the car under the square, the paid car park at Plaça Major is open 24 hours.

11:00 · Plaça Major. It is the town's great arcaded square, with houses of all periods around it. On Sunday it is quiet: the market is set up on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Call in at the tourist office, on Plaça del Pes, next to the square (on Sundays it is open from 10:00 to 14:00): it gives out the map of the centre and hires out an audio guide of about 90 minutes in Spanish. From October to May a themed guided tour, different each month, leaves from there at 11:30.

11:30 · The old town. From the square go down the narrow streets towards the cathedral. On the way you will see the Temple Romà, a 1st-century temple that was hidden inside the Montcada castle and was not discovered until 1882, when the building was demolished. On Sunday morning it is closed, but can be seen from outside; it opens from 18:00 to 20:00, free.

12:15 · Museu d'Art Medieval (MEV). Next to the cathedral, on Plaça del Bisbe Oliba. It holds a very large collection of Romanesque and Gothic painting and sculpture. On Sundays it is open from 10:00 to 14:00 and the ticket costs €8.50; under-10s do not pay. An hour and a quarter is enough to see the panel-painting rooms without rushing.

14:00 · Lunch at El Jardinet. It is on Carrer dels Corretgers, in the old town, between Plaça Major and the cathedral: five minutes' walk from the museum. It opened in 1980 and since 2000 has been run by the cook Ivan Vilanova and Fanny Plans, front of house. The menu changes with the season, but rice dishes and fresh fish are always there. On Sunday it is open at midday only, from 13:00 to 15:30, and is closed on Mondays.

16:00 · The cathedral and Sert. After lunch the cathedral reopens, from 16:00 to 19:00 from October to April and from 16:30 to 19:30 from May to September. Entering the nave is free, and it is where what you came to see is: Josep Maria Sert's murals, twenty-two compositions in ochres and golds that the painter finished in 1945. The full visit, with the Romanesque crypt, the ambulatory and the 14th-century Gothic cloister, costs €5. The Espai Sert, with the sketches for his three projects for the cathedral, is closed on Sundays and Mondays. It cannot be visited during masses.

17:00 · Return. You are in Barcelona around six.

What to order

Osona is pork and cured-meat country. At El Jardinet, order the Riera Ordeix llonganissa with coca bread as a starter and follow with a paella to share, the chicken and Dublin Bay prawn one or the lobster and prawn one. In autumn the menus of the comarca fill with mushrooms. Book by phone two or three days ahead: on Sundays the tables in the centre fill with people from all over the comarca.

If you prefer a longer lunch, VIA occupies the main floor of Casa Fontcuberta, on Carrer de la Riera, with 18th-century frescoes on the walls. Chef's cooking with Catalan roots, a menu strong on fish and seafood and several set menus, including a tasting menu for the whole table. On Sunday it is open at midday only, from 13:00 to 16:00, and closed Monday and Tuesday; book on its website. Before heading back, buy a llonganissa at a delicatessen in the centre to take home.

With children and with a dog

The whole route is flat and can be done with a pushchair. The square's arcades are a good place to run about when it rains. The MEV organises workshops for families and does not charge under-10s. With a dog, the square and streets are fine; in the museum only assistance dogs are admitted.