Muralles de Girona

Ever wish you could travel in a time machine? Walk the 9th century walls of Girona and it might feel like you've stepped back in time. I've developed a fear of heights in my old age, but that only meant it took me longer. There's no charge (!) for this amazing historic site, you really want to spend a few hours strolling (and climbing). Make sure your phone or camera has a full charge.

Walking around the old city area of Girona was one of the highlights of our Barcelona trip, and walking on the old city walls was the pinnacle of that experience, both literally and figuratively! The wife and I visited Girona during the off-peak season, and it was nice to be able to stroll around the picturesque old city without running into too many people. Most tourists were hanging out around the shop/restaurant part of the city and around places like Girona Cathedral. Passeig de la Muralla, the old walls, is rated on TripAdvisor as the #1 thing to do in Girona, yet it saw only a fraction of the foot traffic. Which was great for us! Girona's walls were originally constructed by the Romans, with foundations dating to possibly the 1st century BC. Much of the present-day walls were constructed between the 9th to 17th centuries. The walls offered protection from the outside and a sweeping view of the city inside. Parapets interspersed along the walls, accessible via circular stairs, offer even better views still. The walls look out loftily towards old landmarks nearby and the modern city and large park (Parc de la Devesa) behind. The walkaway on top is fairly narrow, so two people have to squeeze past each other. There are several access points to get up onto the walls, but they do require being able to walk up some stairs. The unsupervised, simple and beautiful experience is what makes a visit to Passeig de la Muralla so wonderful. Definitely worth a visit, but shh, don't tell anyone else.

Walk along the old Roman walls and get to know the city. Plenty of viewpoints, quite a few hidden gardens and towers, and just charming!

The Girona City Walls (Les Muralles de Girona) are an open, unsupervised attraction allowing tourists and locals to freely walk on top of the city's famous 9th-century stone barrier including long straight stretches and distinguishing towers. The 3/4-mile walk called "Passeig de la Muralla" offers a free, healthy, and impressive array of excellent views from various vantage points of the city and surrounding countryside with Pyrenees mountains in the distance. Of course, the Girona City Walls are also historic and considered the longest Carolingian walls in Europe. Some sections date back to Romans during the 1st century, but most of the wall was built during the 9th century or restored after being destroyed by invaders or city growth. Numerous entry and exit points exist along the wall, so, feel free to start at one end (say by Catedral de Girona) to walk the entire distance or simply join the wall walk wherever you discover it. Either way, Les Muralles de Girona are a free 5-star attraction for walking and seeing history of northern Catalonia's largest city.

Girona has one of the most complete set of city walls of any large town in Spain, and they have recently completed a programme of works to make them accessible for visitors to walk: in fact, it is possible to walk around almost the entire old part of the city. Although not for those with a fear of heights - the walls are very high and very sheer in places - the parapets actually provide perfectly good protection, and they afford excellent views across the city, as well as providing a bird's eye view of many gardens and courtyards, so you can see how locals really live! Note: a complete tour of the walls requires some stamina, as there are a lot of steps.