Photo Essay: Girona Gerona

We went online and booked Ryan Air from Milan to Barcelona, feeling very smug about how little we paid. And then discovered that, as with other Ryan Air destinations, what you book is not exactly what you get. In this case, what we got was Girona, 112 kilometers north of Barcelona. We loved it.

Girona (local Catalan spelling, Gerona in Spanish) has a modern no-frills airport just a few minutes from the medieval centre of this beautiful little city. It’s a much softer landing in Spain than bustling crowded Barcelona.

The Onya River winds along the edge of the small walled old town centre where you will find as much history as you can usefully absorb in a few days. Maybe because Girona is on the road to everywhere (pun intended) the Iberians, Romans, Visigoths, Moors and Charlemagne all took a turn at ruling here.

The 86 step climb to the beautiful old Cathedral in the heart of the old town looks daunting until you see joggers taking the steps up to the top two at a time. It has the widest gothic nave in the world, a rare 11th century tapestry and if you could lift up its skirts you would find that it was a mosque before Charlemagne took Girona from the Moors.

We found one of Europe’s best preserved Jewish Calls, established between the 12th and 13th century and housing a thriving community until the Catholic Kings expelled the Jews from Spain. It is now full of galleries and quaint little shops where you can buy anything from the latest gadgetry to boots of Spanish leather.

A few days in Girona is a good way to steel yourself before facing the full on world of a brash big city like Barcelona, perfect for Spain novices like we were.

Here you can be introduced to the niceties of ordering a coffee - and coffee as good as any in Italy can be found in the small bars. The favored style here is the cortardo, a single shot of espresso served with steamed milk in a 100ml cup .

We spent a morning in a crowded bar/cafe in a small side street on the way to the train station, experimenting with the breakfast doughnuts, thick custardy hot chocolate and cortados. Around us groups of what we thought were unemployed men and women ate, drank, smoked and argued.

As they straggled out of the shop we realized they were all heading into the police station across the road. The plain clothes police officers of Gerona too need a strong hit of coffee before they begin a day of fighting crime.

There appears to be no shortage of accommodation, in whatever style and price bracket tickles your fancy. We stayed at the new AC Palau De Bellavista, a ten minute walk up from the old town. It boasts views across Girona to the Pyrenees, sharp modern lines, a free minibar and helpful English speaking staff.

With their help it was a breeze to get to the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, a short train ride to the north (it’s the one Dali built himself, “the largest surrealist object in the world”).

Girona is also close to the Costa Brava and El Bulli - considered by some to be the world's best restaurant.