Girona

Heading to Girona this year for a wedding (not mine).

Hoping to sneak a day out on a hire bike to hit the hills.

Anyone been, any recommendations for a. Best one day ride out of Girona b. Holiday Stuff to do in the city and surrounding area

Cheers

Anyone?

For rides I'd grab some routes off Strava - check out Tom Baylis, Samuel Williams, Robert Gesink, James Oram, etc. etc.

Stuff to do - La Fabrica, the cathedral, explore the Old Town, old stone bridge over the river.

Bikebreaks Girona Cycle Centre for hire.

Hope that's not too late (probably is) and gets you or others started. Enjoy!

Thought I'd revive this thread as will be heading out to Girona in the near future with a couple of friends.

Anyone know a decent place to stay - we're thinking Air Bnbs et al? Also, any recommendation on bike rental places (after half decent road bikes).

@GwGs didnt take his bike

I went recently, I rented off bike breaks girona, and my mate rented off eat sleep cycle. Bike breaks has more bikes available (though they were all synapse’s) but eat sleep cycle were really nice guys and easier to deal with. Either will be fine.

Also stayed in a great Airbnb for cheaps. I’ll try and find out who it was, mate arranged it

I’ve got two decent routes on my Strava too which I can post when I’m on my comp

@Sparky always discourages me from cycling in Spain.

Defo stay in the old town. There is a bike rental place in the centre of the old town that does Cannondales.
Roc a cobra is the local mountain, it's a dead end at the top, worth doing. Nice walks round the city walls and out to local hills, tourist info have info.
Wear a helmet. I didnt and had got fined.

Brilliant thanks for the tips!

Sweet cheers!

Heading to Girona Friday. Rocacorba is on the radar, aiming for under 45mins.
Any other climb recommendations or avoids?

I’ve just returned from four days cycling, five nights in Girona.

I originally booked and paid for this in November 2019 for April 2020 with my club but due to Covid etc. I finally arrived in the city last week for a keenly anticipated trip.

Many of my cycling trips are with riding mates or with my two sons but this time I took my non-cycling wife with me. Girona is a beautiful city with plenty to do and she was more than happy to occupy herself during the day and meet up in the afternoon for a late lunch/early dinner so there was no guilt factor about enjoying myself while she was home alone. We also bolted 3 nights in Barcelona onto the trip so the lovely Mrs Idle is more than happy with me for the time being.

The club used The Service Course as guides for the week. I will often ride self-guided but it was great having the guides on hand for their local knowledge to make the ride run smoothly e.g. where are the best coffee stops en route, should we head up this mountain or that mountain depending on expected rain forecasts etc. (we never did get caught in any rain but it was useful anyway).

Highlights of the week in no particular order were:

• The Rocacorba & Els Angels climbs
  
• The coastal road from Tossa de Mar to Sant Feliu (again a guiding bonus was knowing which direction to ride this to make sure you are on the seaward side of the road for the best views)
  
• Having lunch at Ashley Moolman-Pasio’s beautiful 17th century villa and getting to say hello to her as well as the GCN team who were shooting a feature while we were there
  
• A guided walk around the old town with the non-cycling guide pointing out the apartment where Big Tex used to stay during his time there
  
  

The only slight disappointment was that after two year’s delay and having heard so much about Girona in the interim I was expecting to bump into pro-cyclists or ex-pros (David Millar et al) around every corner. This didn’t happen but it was clearly a cycling city with loads of top end cycle shops with plenty of bike pron to view, new kit to buy and lycra-clad riders on expensive bikes swanning around all the coffee shops.

The guides confirmed that in terms of roads to ride we had barely scratched the surface during the four days and as @hippy confimed on another thread the whole area is also teeming with gravel trails. For various reasons I had decided on road but others in the group were gravelling and were very effusive about the quality of the gravel routes.

So next time you are booking a holiday give Majorca a miss and go to Girona instead.

My wife and I are just now planning a vacation to Spain. We want to go there either at the end of August or already in the autumn.
Please, share the contacts of the guides who helped you in this trip.
Tell me, please, what places are worth visiting in Girona? What viewing spots and sights are there? I have already added the main attractions such as fortress walls and churches to the list. I love shooting the city and sights with a drone because it makes them more beautiful, but not all of them are worth shooting from a bird's eye view.

And also how much money on average can be spent on such a 4-5 day trip?

Please, share the contacts of the guides who helped you in this trip

• We used The Service Course but other cycling shops with guides are available e.g. Hors Categorie CC
  
  

Tell me, please, what places are worth visiting in Girona?

• mainly in the old town which is quite easy to find and signposted. Lots of churches and cathedrals, a Jewish quarter with some original Roman walls too. The best way to find out about everything was a walking tour which we did at the start of the week, one evening. It's about 2 hours but saves you hours of reading guide books etc. Best place for choice of restaurants is in the Independence Square but there are loads of restaurants dotted about town
  
  

And also how much money on average can be spent on such a 4-5 day trip?

• how long is a piece of string? Eat out every night and it can be expensive but prices are generally cheaper than the UK so a budget/self-catering holiday is also possible
  

Many thanks!

I also found information on the trapadvisor that the easiest way to calculate is like this:
1 person will spend an average of 100 euros per day.

It just coincides with the amount that we counting. We are counting on 800 euros for 4 days. Is it a lot or is it enough?

Has anyone ever gone from London to Girona by train with a bike?

At the moment it looks like too much cost/ hassle to even contemplate but I keep thinking it must be possible.

Eurostar is fucked for bikes so I think most "London to Europe by train" stories are shut down now. There used to be a night train from Paris to Barcelona. So you could've done that if Eurostar took bikes.

https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/paris-to-barcelona-by-sleeper-train.htm

https://www.timeout.com/news/these-brand-new-sleeper-trains-could-connect-london-and-barcelona-092421

SNCF says €160 from Calais bike 130x90

I flew with my bike to Barcelona and then got the train to Girona

Eurostar restarted their bike service last Wednesday.

Well, fuck me, they nailed the "summer restart" didn't they?

What are the conditions? Bikes only allowed onboard if they fit inside a Pringles tube and at the bargain price of £2300?

From Eurostar thread:
https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/eurostar-re-opens-cycle-carriage-service

Don't forget to drop it off 4 working days before travel.

I'm doing exactly this in April. Quick and easy Eurostar to Paris, change in Paris direct TGV to Girona. Door to door will be about the same time as flying, albeit more expensive.