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The river Onyar in Girona, lined with painted houses, with the bell tower of Sant Feliu behind
The red Torre Galatea topped with giant eggs and the glass dome of the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres
A whitewashed room with a curved built-in sofa inside the Salvador Dalí House in Portlligat
The shop counter and shelves of jarred anchovies inside the Callol Serrats salting house in L'Escala

Things to do in Girona and the Costa Brava: 13 experiences

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Photo: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 4.0

Figueres

See the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, by day or at night

Check dates and prices

Photo: Enfo, CC BY-SA 3.0

Portlligat, Cadaqués

Book a slot at Dalí's house in Portlligat

Check dates and prices

Photo: CésarOP, CC BY-SA 3.0

L'Escala

Taste salted anchovies at an L'Escala salting house

Check dates and prices

Photo: Enric, CC BY-SA 4.0

Girona and the Costa Brava fill the north-eastern corner of Catalonia, between Barcelona and the French border. Girona, the provincial capital on the high-speed line, has a compact old quarter of city walls, cathedral steps and a medieval Jewish quarter, and is the easiest base without a car.

The coast runs north from Tossa de Mar and its walled old town, past the coves and cliff paths of Palafrugell and Begur, the Medes Islands off L'Estartit and the ruins of Empúries, to Cadaqués and the rocky cape of Cap de Creus. Figueres and Portlligat hold the two great Dalí sites.

Inland, the Baix Empordà keeps stone villages such as Pals and Peratallada, and the Garrotxa has extinct volcanoes and a beech wood around Olot. Summer is for the sea; spring and autumn suit the walks, the villages and Girona itself.

13 things to do in Girona and the Costa Brava

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The baroque facade of Girona Cathedral above its wide stone stairway

Walk Girona's walls, cathedral steps and Jewish quarter

Girona, Barri Vell

Half a dayNo booking needed

One walking loop takes you along the medieval walls, down about 90 cathedral steps and through the lanes of the Jewish quarter.

Tours in Girona and the Costa Brava
A flower installation between the columns of Girona's Arab Baths during Temps de Flors

Time a May visit for Temps de Flors in Girona

Girona, Barri Vell

Free

For about a week every May, Girona fills its monuments and normally closed private patios with flowers, and seeing them is free.

The red Torre Galatea topped with giant eggs and the glass dome of the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres

See the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, by day or at night

Figueres

Book ahead

Dalí built his museum on a ruined theatre, under a red tower crowned with giant eggs, and in August it opens at night.

Check dates and pricesEntry ticket to the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres
A whitewashed room with a curved built-in sofa inside the Salvador Dalí House in Portlligat

Book a slot at Dalí's house in Portlligat

Portlligat, Cadaqués

Timed entry

Dalí and Gala's home, a maze of small rooms grown from a fisherman's hut, with windows framing the bay.

Check dates and pricesSmall-group Dalí day with Figueres and Portlligat entries
The white Cap de Creus lighthouse under a cloudy sky at the end of the road from Cadaqués

Reach the Cap de Creus lighthouse by shuttle, bike or on foot

Cap de Creus, Cadaqués

No booking needed

Reach the easternmost point of mainland Spain, a rocky cape topped by a lighthouse, on foot, by bike or by shuttle.

Tours in Girona and the Costa Brava
A dusky grouper over the reef at the Tascó Petit dive site in the Medes Islands

Snorkel or dive the Medes Islands marine reserve from L'Estartit

L'Estartit

Book ahead

Groupers, morays and walls of gorgonians around seven protected islets, seen by glass-bottom boat, snorkel or dive.

Tours in Girona and the Costa Brava
The stone-edged Camí de Ronda path dropping between trees towards the sea at Calella de Palafrugell

Walk the Camí de Ronda from Calella de Palafrugell to Tamariu

Calella de Palafrugell, Llafranc and Tamariu

Half a dayFree

An old coastal path links three seaside villages in about 7 km, past a working lighthouse and coves to swim in.

The bay of Aiguablava in Begur seen from Fornells, with boats moored in clear water

Paddle a sea kayak into the Cova d'en Gispert from Aiguablava

Aiguablava (Begur) and Tamariu

Book ahead

Paddle almost 150 metres into the longest sea cave on the Costa Brava, to a chamber where Dalí held a private concert.

Tours in Girona and the Costa Brava
Stone foundations of the sanctuary of Asclepius in the Greek town of Empúries, with the god's statue

Walk the Greek and Roman ruins of Empúries by the sea

Empúries, L'Escala

No booking needed

The only site in the Iberian Peninsula where a Greek colonial town and a Roman city lie side by side, right on the shore.

Tours in Girona and the Costa Brava
The medieval walls and round towers of Tossa de Mar's Vila Vella, with the Torre de Joanàs behind

Climb through the walled Vila Vella of Tossa de Mar

Tossa de Mar

Free

The only fortified medieval town still standing on the Catalan coast, free and open around the clock, up to a lighthouse.

Tours in Girona and the Costa Brava
A lamp-lit stone archway over a lane in the medieval village of Peratallada

Drive between the medieval villages of Pals and Peratallada

Pals and Peratallada, Baix Empordà

Half a day by carFree

Stone villages on the Baix Empordà plain: one cut from a sandstone outcrop, one with a lookout over rice fields to the Medes Islands.

Tours in Girona and the Costa Brava
Aerial view of the wooded crater of the Santa Margarida volcano, with its hermitage in the middle

Hike the Garrotxa volcanoes and the Fageda d'en Jordà beech wood

Santa Pau and Olot, La Garrotxa

35 minutes to a half-day hikeFree

Walk through a beech wood growing on a lava flow to a volcanic crater with a hermitage inside.

Tours in Girona and the Costa Brava
The shop counter and shelves of jarred anchovies inside the Callol Serrats salting house in L'Escala

Taste salted anchovies at an L'Escala salting house

L'Escala

Book ahead

Taste anchovies cured the way L'Escala has cured them for centuries, on bread rubbed with tomato with a glass of local wine.

Check dates and pricesSolés anchovy factory museum in L'Escala, with a tasting

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    Girona station is on the high-speed line: AVE and TGV trains reach Barcelona in under an hour and Paris in under seven, and high-speed trains also stop at Figueres-Vilafant, on the edge of Figueres. Girona-Costa Brava airport is 12 km from the city, with Sagalés buses to Girona bus station in about half an hour and Moventis Sarfa buses to coastal towns such as Tossa. By road, the AP-7 motorway crosses the province from south to north; Girona is 100 km from Barcelona and 65 km from the French border.

  • Getting around

    A car is the practical choice for Cadaqués, the inland villages and the Garrotxa. Without one, Moventis Sarfa buses link Girona and Barcelona's Estació del Nord with the main coastal towns, among them Tossa, Palafrugell, L'Escala and L'Estartit; local line 6 runs from Palafrugell to Llafranc and Tamariu, and Teisa buses serve Olot. In summer, check road rules before you drive: the road to the Cap de Creus lighthouse closes to cars on busy days.

  • How many days

    In must30's view, five days cover the essentials: one for Girona, one for Figueres, Cadaqués and Portlligat, two on the central coast for the Camí de Ronda, the Medes Islands and Empúries, and one inland for the Garrotxa or Pals and Peratallada. With a weekend, pair Girona with one Dalí day. Girona works as a day trip from Barcelona; the coast needs nights.

  • When to go

    July and August bring the warmest sea and the tightest rules: the Cap de Creus road is closed to cars every day, Portlligat and Púbol charge their summer prices, and the Dalí Theatre-Museum opens daily, with night visits in August. May, June, September and October suit the Camí de Ronda and the Garrotxa better, and Temps de Flors fills Girona with flowers for a week in May. In winter many sights shorten their hours, the Empúries mosaics are covered, and Portlligat closes from early January to mid February.

  • Where to base yourself

    Girona for trains, the old town and day trips to Figueres and the Garrotxa. Calella de Palafrugell or Llafranc for the central coves and the Camí de Ronda. L'Escala or L'Estartit for Empúries, the anchovy houses and the Medes Islands. Cadaqués for Portlligat and Cap de Creus, which are hard to fit into a day from further south.

Questions travellers ask

Is Girona worth a day trip from Barcelona?

Yes. High-speed trains reach Girona in under an hour, and the walls, the cathedral, the Jewish quarter and the Onyar houses fit into one day on foot. Stay longer if you also want Figueres, the coast or the Garrotxa, which are easier from a base in the province.

Do I need to book the Dalí museums in advance?

For the Salvador Dalí House in Portlligat, yes: every visitor needs a booking for a set time, and you must collect the ticket 30 minutes before it. The Theatre-Museum in Figueres sells its tickets online, which is the safest way in on summer days. Gala's castle at Púbol recommends booking online, which is also cheaper than the desk (€10 against €12 outside July and August).

Can you visit the Costa Brava without a car?

Partly. Moventis Sarfa buses reach Tossa, Palafrugell, L'Escala and L'Estartit from Barcelona and Girona, and a local line links Palafrugell with Llafranc and Tamariu. Cadaqués, Pals, Peratallada and the Garrotxa volcanoes are much easier by car.

Can you drive to the Cap de Creus lighthouse?

Not on busy days. In 2026 the road from Cadaqués was closed to cars every day from 20 June to 13 September and on many spring and autumn weekends, with a Moventis shuttle (line 33) from the Corral d'en Morell car park instead. Check the natural park's access page for the current calendar.

When is Temps de Flors in Girona?

For about a week in May. The 2026 edition ran from 9 to 17 May, and the city announces each year's dates and route in spring, so book accommodation as soon as they are out.

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