Girona / The verdict
Are Girona old town and the city walls worth it?
Yes: Girona's Barri Vell is one of the best preserved medieval quarters in Spain, and the free rampart walk on the Carolingian walls is the single best hour in the city, stringing towers, rooftop views and the cathedral skyline into one walk. The reports keep repeating that wandering beats monument-ticking here, with the Onyar's colored houses, the iron footbridge and the Jewish quarter lanes all inside a half day; the cautions are cobbles and steps, midday day-trip crowds and thin museum labeling rather than the quarter itself.
By The Real Traveler Experiences team. We earn a commission if you book through our links. It never changes a verdict.
The Girona story
Girona is the Catalan city that punches hardest above its size: a walled old town of stacked stone lanes, a cathedral with the widest Gothic nave in Christendom, one of Europe's best-preserved Jewish quarters in El Call, and a restaurant scene anchored by triple-starred El Celler de Can Roca. The Passeig de la Muralla walls walk and the colourful Onyar riverfront houses give it a scale and a look all its own.
The verdict in 30 seconds
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Yes: Girona's Barri Vell is one of the best preserved medieval quarters in Spain, and the free rampart walk on the Carolingian walls is the single best hour in the city, stringing towers, rooftop views and the cathedral skyline into one walk. The reports keep repeating that wandering beats monument-ticking here, with the Onyar's colored houses, the iron footbridge and the Jewish quarter lanes all inside a half day; the cautions are cobbles and steps, midday day-trip crowds and thin museum labeling rather than the quarter itself.
Go if
- You want a compact medieval quarter that rewards aimless walking more than checklist sightseeing.
- You like free viewpoints: the wall walk is the city's best panorama and costs nothing.
- You are coming for the filming locations, which all sit inside this quarter, or pairing Girona with a Barcelona stay.
Skip if
- Steps and cobbles are a hard no: the wall walkway has stepped towers and uneven stones, and the quarter climbs steeply in places.
- You want big-city spectacle and nightlife: the Barri Vell is small, quiet after dark and works as a slow wander.
- You have already done several medieval Catalan or Andalusian quarters and only have a couple of hours between trains.
What it costs
- City walls walk (Passeig de la Muralla): €0 (free; open daily, 8:00 to 21:00 September to May and 8:00 to 23:00 June to August; several stepped access points including Jardins dels Alemanys and near Placa Catalunya). Official source, checked Oct 2026.
What travelers report
Based on 16 traveler reports (Jan 2025 to Jun 2026) and the official sources linked on this page. 0 were negative.
What people like
- The free wall walk is the most repeated praise: tower viewpoints over the cathedral, the terracotta roofs and the hills beyond, with reports calling it the best hour in the city.
- The quarter's preservation wins consistently: reports describe the Barri Vell as one of the best kept medieval quarters in Spain or Europe, with lanes that have barely changed in centuries.
- The Onyar riverfront gets its own applause: the colored houses and the iron footbridge are the photo every report leads with.
- Reports love the scale of the place: everything walkable, the station under 20 minutes away, and no public transit needed inside the quarter.
- The filming-location hunt delights even casual viewers, because the spots sit on streets you would walk anyway.
- Dusk transforms it: reports describe lanterns coming on lane by lane and the quarter emptying after the day-trippers leave.
What people complain about
- The surfaces are the main complaint: cobbles, polished stones and stepped towers make the quarter hard on knees, wheelchairs and strollers.
- Midday crowds on summer weekends and during the May flower festival read as a tourist conveyor to some reports.
- Several reports flag thin English-language interpretation inside the quarter's museums and monuments.
- Recent reviews warn of a bird-droppings distraction scam used by pickpockets on the walls, so keep bags closed there.
- A minority find the quarter too quiet: little nightlife and an early-closing rhythm outside high season.
How to do it right
- Walk in from the station side: the old town edge is under 20 minutes on foot, and the iron footbridge over the Onyar gives the famous colored-houses photo before you climb into the lanes.
- Do the wall walk early: the free Passeig de la Muralla opens at 8:00 year round (until 21:00 September to May, 23:00 June to August), with stepped access at the Jardins dels Alemanys and the cathedral side; the towers over Sant Domenec give the widest views.
- Then drop into the Barri Vell lanes: the Rambla de la Llibertat arcades for a coffee, the Carrer de la Forca spine, and the small plazas where the quarter opens out.
- Treat the filming spots as a scavenger overlay, not the reason: the cathedral staircase, the Pujada de Sant Domenec, the Carrer del Bisbe Cartana and the Arab Baths all double as scenes from the sixth season.
- Come back at dusk if you can: reports describe the quarter emptying once the day-trippers leave, with the lantern-lit lanes at their best in the last hour of light.
The trap to avoid
Coming only for the filming locations and skipping the walls: the television spots cluster in the quarter, but the reports keep naming the free rampart walk as the highlight, and it opens early and costs nothing. The second trap is timing: arrive midmorning on a summer weekend and you share the lanes with day-trip crowds out of Barcelona, while the same streets are close to empty at dawn and again after dark.
What to do instead
Why this verdict
The Barri Vell earns its reputation the old way: it is not a monument you tick off but a quarter you get lost in. Reports consistently rank it among the best preserved medieval centers in Spain, and its spine, the Carrer de la Forca, threads the cathedral quarter, the Jewish lanes and the arcaded Rambla de la Llibertat into a walkable knot of stone. The Onyar riverfront with its colored houses and the Eiffel-era iron footbridge supplies the postcard shot before you even climb anything.
The walls are the free multiplier. The Passeig de la Muralla follows the medieval ramparts for a raised walk of towers and lookouts, open daily from 8:00, closing at 21:00 in the September to May season and 23:00 in summer. Reports name it the best hour in the city: the cathedral towers from above, the rooftops, and the Pyrenees foothills when the air is clear. Entry points near the Jardins dels Alemanys and Placa Catalunya are stepped, and the surface is authentic rather than accessible.
The filming boom is real but secondary. The sixth season of the famous series shot its Great Sept staircase, Braavos lanes and Citadel exterior here in 2015, and the spots now draw a steady scavenger-hunt crowd. The consensus in the reports is that the locations reward fans without defining the quarter. The warnings are practical: cobbles and stairs, midday day-trippers, thin English labels, and a flagged pickpocket distraction trick on the walls.
Timing and tickets
The quarter itself is free and always open; the walls run official seasonal hours above. Museums around it, the cathedral, the Jewish-history museum and the small monuments, have their own pages. Day-trippers peak between late morning and mid-afternoon, especially on summer weekends and during the May flower festival; reports say dawn and dusk are when the lanes empty and the lanterns come on. The train station sits under 20 minutes flat walk from the old town edge, so there is no transit puzzle to solve.
Book or check times
The walls on the city tourism siteGirona city tourism portal
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Where to stay
Staying in Girona?
Which area of Girona to stay in, based on traveler reports. Search Girona hotels on Expedia partner site
Questions
Is Girona old town worth visiting?
Yes. The reports rate the Barri Vell as one of Spain's best preserved medieval quarters, and the free wall walk above it as the city's standout experience. It is compact: the lanes, the Onyar bridges and the walls fit inside a half day, with museums extending it to a full one.
Is the Girona city walls walk free?
Yes. The Passeig de la Muralla is free and open daily, officially 8:00 to 21:00 from September to May and 8:00 to 23:00 from June to August, with several stepped access points.
How hard is the Girona walls walk?
Moderate: the rampart path has stepped towers, stairs and uneven stones, and the quarter below climbs steeply. Reports flag it as unsuitable for wheelchairs and strollers, and fine for anyone comfortable on cobbles.
When is the best time to visit Girona old town?
Early morning or dusk. Midday on summer weekends brings day-trip crowds from Barcelona, while reports describe the same lanes as nearly empty at dawn and atmospheric after dark.
Where are the filming locations in Girona old town?
The sixth season cluster sits inside the quarter: the cathedral staircase as the Great Sept exterior, Pujada de Sant Domenec and Carrer del Bisbe Cartana for the Braavos scenes, the Placa dels Jurats theater space, plus the Arab Baths and Sant Pere monastery.
How far is Girona old town from the train station?
Reports put it at under 20 minutes on foot from the station to the old town edge, entirely flat until you reach the lanes.
Pack for it
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