One of the most popular excursions for our clients, among the must visit to Barcelona, is the city of Girona. Less than one hour away from our hotels, this charming city has a lot to offer to the travellers: the beautiful views of the hanging houses over the Onyar River, to discover the hidden treasures of the old quarter and the mediaeval city, Saint Mary's Cathedral or a walk through the jewish quarter are just a few of the things you can do in Girona.
© Rosa Estévez
But there is a time when specially you can't miss the visit to this city! If you are staying with us through 12th to 20th May, you have to go to see Girona and its festival "Temps de Flors" (Time of Flowers). The city is embelished with vibrant colors and aromes all over, and also some old houses and buildings of historic interest that you can't see very often (now they are private properties) are open. This popular event was held for the first time in the city in 1954 created by two young enterpreneurs that decided to oganize a first edition of what they called "Province Exhibition and Contest of Flowers at the "Saló del Descans" of the Municipal Theater". It had such a good response by its visitants, that has continued since then yearly, until it has become the actual international festival of Girona, an activity that attracts people from all over the world.
Taks in mind that this is one of the most popular and solicited events in Girona, we reccomend you to go in the early hours of the morning and to plan in advance the places you want to see. There are more than 150 spots with decorations! For example, a good place to begin is between the "Passeig Arqueològic" (points 83-89) and the "Muntanya de la O" (point 66), as there is a route of 3km where you can enjoy beautiful art merged with nature, or land art. This article of the newspaper La Vanguardia will help you to plan your route, and this map of the floral spaces that are open and their timetables will be helpful too. It will be much more relaxed to visit the city from Monday to Friday, and the most quiet hours are in the early morning and at lunch time. The best option to get there is to use public transport, you can go by train from the stations in Malgrat de Mar and Pineda de Mar with the line R1. You can find the trains timetables here. A great experience that you can't miss! ;)