Girona; Saturday, 05 November, 2022

Breakfast completed and I headed out into town, wandering in a different way so that I could cross over the river on a bridge further up into the old-town.

I had a little walk through the old town and then headed over to the city walls to take in the walk and the views in the daylight. The walls were quite a bit busier during the day than they were when I walked along them on Thursday evening, so it actually took quite a bit of time to walk the whole length as everyone had to stop quite often to let others squeeze past.

I was also able to get some very good views over the city and surrounding countryside from the top of the various towers, something which had been missing in the dark.

I came down off the walls and then wandered back through the old town keeping up relatively high close to the walls, it meant that I could explore some of the narrow passageways that run up into the upper part of the old town, including through the former Jewish neighbourhood. After walking along a couple of steep passageways I emerged out into a viewpoint located next to a falling down ancient tower and some very empty buildings which had views out over the roofs of the old town.

I walked on a little further and eventually came out by the Cathedral and Art museum, so I descended down the cathedral steps and stopped off at the same café I had done the previous day to have a slightly better timed lunch and to work out what to do with my time.

There were only really a couple of museums left to see and if I did them today I’d have to pay, where as they would all be free tomorrow as it was the first Sunday of the month, so instead I had a quick look up on things to do near Girona and found that the town of Figueres, about 40 minutes away by local train looked like a good bet. After finishing lunch I headed down into town and onto the station to buy tickets and wait for the train.

The train meandered through the Catalan countryside and eventually arrived in Figueres and from the station it was about a 10 minute walk to the centre of town. Once there you are soon made very aware of who the most important son of the town is. Born in Figueres in 1904 Salvador Dalí is what the town is about. The former Theatre, which was destroyed in the civil war, was rebuilt and converted by Dali in the 1960s to become a Theatre-Museum dedicated not only to his works – the largest collection of Dali pieces in the world, but as well as his private collection of other works. It’s also where Dali was buried following his death in 1989.

The museum is, as one would expect from Dali, a slightly surreal and odd place. Dali had designed it for people to wander through at will to experience the works, so it’s a bit of a snub to the man that the museum now has numbered every room giving the option to walk through a pre-prepared route (though you’re still welcome to go your own way round the site).

After taking in the museum I had a bit of a wander around the rest of the town centre in the fading light before stopping off at a café near the museum and the 1000 year old parish church for a quick tapas and beer before heading back to the station to catch the train back to Girona.

Back in Girona I wandered back to the hotel and had a quick snack and drink from the bar before turning in for the night.