Hey all, I’m going to be in Girona 21-28 September while my wife is riding horses. I’m bringing my road bike with me and am wondering what some of the routes and sites I should/must hit. I’m a fairly strong rider and am definitely interested in some good climbs. What are your thoughts?
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I would say: Hincapié loop is the classic route to follow, with the Els Angels climb - which I am a big fan of, but you might find it too mellow.
The other key climb is Rocacorba, so I’d look for routes with that in it. As well as going to the coast with a longer ride (see the Komoot link). For an easier day out, I’d suggest riding to Banyoles.
Don’t know if you’re into the Girona cycling café scene. I would say Eat, Sleep, Cycle is like the epicentre of cycling activity with social rides starting there.
If that interests you, you can also visit the Tactic (mini) factory, where you can buy cycling kit and see them designing and manufacturing “live”. I find it good quality kit, and less hyper/overpriced than the stuff from the city center cycling boutiques!
And finally, for dinner I recommend Casa Marieta: Google Maps
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It depends on how much time you have, and what distances you want to cover
Hincape-els angels is shortish classic,
My favourite rides were over san grau and then along the coast either cutting up at saint filleux or keep going calogne then home across els angels.
For ‘big’ climbs Rocacorba is iconic with amazing views. We also went out to Mare de Deu del Mont which is further out but I enjoyed the climb more.
The great thing about Girona is there are so many shops and tourists you can just rock up and you can get advice and sometimes even join a group ride.
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I can send you some GPX files of my rides in Girona - I just cant upload them here. If you want to provide an email or whatsapp contact I will send them through.
There are good rides down to the coast and back and out the west to Sant Hilari that are all about 120-140km.
Getting to and from Rocacorba is a bit painful (maybe I need someone to send me a good GPX route for next time) but the climb itself is a great challenge.
When I went I just googled and stole routes from various websites. I think part of the reason Girona is so popular is that you can go in pretty much any direction and find some nice rides. My top suggestions would be:
- Rocacorba, taking in a stop at Banyoles (Cafe Aquarium is nice).
- The “Hincapie loop”, which includes Els Angels.
- Head down to the coast. Various options to get there and back, but the stretch between Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Tossa de Mar is the nicest bit of coastline.
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+1 to the suggestions for the coast road between Sant Feliu and Tossa de Mar. A former pro who lived in Girona for a number of years described it to me as a “top-5 all time stretch of road” and I’d agree. It’s incredible riding even if the views weren’t all-time, which they are. You can also access/escape it at about the halfway point via the Sant Grau climb (which is worthwhile in and of itself). The stretch north of Sant Feliu is much more urban/less pleasant so I’d avoid that. If you do the Hincapie loop, there is a village on the east side of the Gavarres called Monells that has an amazing little plaza (like so many things in Catalunya, called “Jaume I”) with a cafe or two and a fountain that’s a good halfway stop.
I’d also recommend Hors Categorie for post-ride snacks/drinks/coffee and as a fun hangout. Velodrom is an unreal bike shop (and incredible space in general, I think it used to be a theater) and worth the visit while you wander around old town even if you don’t need to buy anything (they also have coffee). Wandering around old town is one of the delights of Girona. Lots of good cafes, restaurants, shops, etc. to stop in.
A few recommendations for food in Girona:
Pizza: Bartali Pizza (pretty close to Eat Sleep Cycle)
Fancy: Restaurant Normal, you’ll likely need reservations (there are also Michelin-star-fancy places if that’s your thing, but get reservations very very early)
More classic Catalan: Brots de Vi
And if you like to start your day with a pastry/sugar bomb, find and eat all of the xuixos you can. There are a handful of places to get them around town.
If you’re willing to mix in a little gravel, you can expand your options, but “gravel” is a very broad category around Girona. Some nicely packed paths that would be fine on 28s and some much rougher and more adventurous, so if you do include some gravel in your route planning, make sure you know what kind you’re getting.
Enjoy!
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There are many great rides around Girona, (save a little time to walk the Girona Wall) and here are a couple of my favourites:
Not sure where you’re from, but as a Canadian and history fan, Tossa de Mar is a must ride. I’ve been to Europe several times, but riding up to the lighthouse and taking some time to look out at the Mediterranean for the first time was very emotional for me and the ride along the coast is stunning. This route climbs up to Sant Grau, rather than riding to Sant Feliu, but if you can, do both.
This is a beautiful ride through the countryside to Mare de Déu del Mont, a sweet climb to the peak of the Mont, where stunning views and cold Fanta awaits.
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@Paul_Radford , that would be great! E-mail is jaworskisc@att.net… if you want to just send me a Strava, Ride With GPS, or Garmin route link, that would be awesome as well. I don’t plan on riding gravel… the bike is a Tarmac SL5, and I’ll have 28’s on. In theory I should be able to ride every day for 3-6 hours, so I’ll be able to hit several routes. Will also be looking to join some group rides as well.
My first attempt at an email failed because the file sizes were too large. I tried against just now with 3 emails. Can you confirm receipt please.
@Paul_Radford Could you forward me that same email? Heading to Girona for a guys trip in a couple months!
Here are Strava links
https://www.strava.com/activities/9678101236
https://www.strava.com/activities/9665119028
https://www.strava.com/activities/9652023697
https://www.strava.com/activities/1110633075
https://www.strava.com/activities/1108885097
https://www.strava.com/activities/1107718446
https://www.strava.com/activities/1104004680
There are a couple of bike shops in town that do shop rides a that are a good way to be guided out of town the best way and to meet some fellow riders.
Girona just has an awesome vibe and I would spend more time there if my wife was a cyclist too.
I am sure you have figured out the coffee and food scene but let me know if you want some tips.
I am not an expert on the town, just know what we liked.
Paul
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Biking heaven. Plan for brunch at La Fabrica, coffee at Espresso Mafia and Maglia Rosa (at Velodrome, which is a must see), and that’s the tip of the iceberg!
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I’m also going to Girona this summer and taking my gravel bike. Anyone have recommendations for routes that aren’t too chunky (and don’t have Santa Vall river crossings)? And @Scot_Jaworski is your wife riding near Girona? If so I’d love to know the name of the stable or tour organizer.
Rick, I’m not sure of the stable exactly but the organizer is Globetrotters. They do organized rides all over the world ranging from the somewhat difficult to the extremely difficult. This one is a bit more moderate, but she’s going to be on a horse for hours every day. I’m lucky that this is one of the events that non-equestrian partners can tag along!
Thanks Scot. When I’ve done the Rift in Iceland my wife has ridden the highlands on Icelandic horses, a breed unique to the island and with a gait no other horse has. Highlight of her trip.
I was riding in the area last September for a week - I’m sure you’ll have a great time. Plenty of good advice on here already but I want to point out a stretch of road which is probably the most fun I’ve had on a bike in 20 years of riding all over Europe. It heads northeast from Saint Hilari Sacalm to Angles following a river gorge. It’s a twisty 20km of ~4% downhill where you can really hold speed as you carve your way around. Guaranteed to put a massive smile on your face and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Works well at the back end of a ride where you can cruise back into Girona afterwards.
Plenty of gravel route suggestions floating around t’internet. I found The best gravel routes around Girona | Velodrom.cc , Gravel cycling in Girona – 12 cycling routes in Spain - Farawayistan and Great Rides Girona - Trek Bikes (GB) to be useful, and then played around with Strava heatmaps and komoot.
Happy to share the exact routes I did, but I would say they were all pretty pleasant but somewhat unremarkable - largely just rolling through farmland.
Thanks for sharing those. I’m particularly interested in the forest roads east of town and have found some Google street views of some, like Pista Carena, that don’t look like they’d end with an air evacuation back to the States… If you have any routes out toward Madremanya and south of Els Angels I’d love to see them.
We currently live in Girona. In addition to the excellent ideas above, Ridewithgps has a ton of ride info/ideas for both road and gravel. There is a group road ride Wednesdays and Fridays at 10AM that leaves from the post office by Plaza Independencia (among other group rides). Riding around town, particularly Barri Vell, consider honoring the traffic laws to help reduce the growing dislike of bike tourism.
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Justin, sounds good… I try to be especially careful of traffic laws when I’m in Europe if only because Europeans seem a lot more tolerant of bikes then the US is. As we get closer, I’ll reach out.