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Other destinations outside of Girona. The list of places below is just a start! There are numerous Catalan towns, villages, coastal and mountain resorts waiting to be discovered and mentioned in these pages. So, for now these are a few places that we've been to since we moved here, and worthy of a mention.
Barcelona
I'll only mention it briefly here as there will be a dedicated section just on Barcelona later on. The Catalan capital has numerous attractions like it's famous Gaudi designed Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, the port, beach area, its Rambla and of course the shopping! From Girona you can drive down the AP7 motorway which will cost you about € ?in tolls each way, or the slower route on the N-11 for free, or catch the Catalunya Expresss train which takes about 75 mins. and costs about 12€.
Banyoles
North of Girona, about 15 km and best known as the site for the rowing events during the 1992 Olympics it's got a huge natural, volcanic lake set amidst pretty countryside, and well worth a visit, especially if you have kids.
There's a wide footpath that goes all the way around the lake which is great for joggers and cyclists. The Club Nautic (sports club) is perched right on the edge, if you walk through the entrance it has a nice lakeside restaurant and outdoor cafe which anyone can walk in and use. During the summer months there's a roped-off area for lake swimmers and the water is shallow in places for kids. They set aside a grassy lakeside area for lounging or sunbathing which has some shade, a kiosk with snacks and beers (plastic glasses) and its popular at weekends with families. We tried it once during August, the water was quite warm and clean! At the time there were many forest fires and we watched as planes came down over the lake to collect water to dump on the fires beyond our view.
Further along there's a large cafe called La Carpa which faces the lake, has an outdoor area and serves food till late. When we tried it the food was fine but not exceptional, its mainly snacky-type stuff like burgers and pasta. Nearby there's also another bar with outdoor seating that extends right out to the lakes edge (above, centre pic).
Banyoles has undergone a lot of recent renovation work to its old quarter (Bari Vell) of cobbled streets and small squares, and is worth walking around. The tourist information office is located at the front of the lake in a former fishing house (pesquera).
Nearby is an archeological site with a recreation of a village from the early Iberian times. Two museums of note are the Archeological museum Museu Arqueològic Comarcal de Banyoles Pl. Font 11, situated in the Gothic palace of Pia Almoina.
www.banyoles.cat (good, informative website with an English option). I've also heard that every summer, in Spetember they hold a large swimming race across the lake!
Tossa de Mar
There's paid car parking on the beachfront and one end has some interesting rock pools and rocky outcrops for kids to explore.
Plenty of places to eat here, we found one place in the old town just off the main street which is full of restaurants, up near the castle tower with some great views out across the bay. Well worth the find, typically Catalan menu, but closed during the winter, re-opens in May. Nearby is a bronze statue of Ava Gardner who starred in the movie that was filmed here called ' Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" in the 1950's.
Tourist Information Office, Av.Pelegri 25 Ed. La Nautic Tel.972 34 01 08 www.infotossa.com
S'Agaro
Further along the beach there are some posh looking seafront apartment blocks, and at one end a gated entrance for cars to a swanky hotel and residential area although you're free to enter on foot. There's also a nice coastal path that will take you as far as Platja de Aro if you fancy going that far, and a sailing club that hires small boats and windsurf boards (16€ per Hr.) I tried it once, but watch-out for the shoals of jelly-fish further out the harbour, amongst the moored boats.
It also has an annual music festival (2008 dates, 19th July-23rd August).
Monells
Monells main square
This really is worth a visit, it'll take you about 25 mins by car from Girona. Head out eastwards from Girona on the C-66 road signposted Palamos until you reach the edge of La Bisbal. Lookout for the Monells sign, and turn right for a few kms. Leave your car in the public car park on the edge of the village and walk into the centre of Monells.
It feels like you're walking back into the Medieval past, along narrow streets full of old stone houses set above numerous stone arches.
There are one or two restaurants (open just summertime) in amongst the side streets, with set menu's at around 25 euros each, but no outdoor seating.
There's also two more basic bar/restaurants (open all-year round) that both serve food and snacks, in the double-porticoed square, traffic free, which is great if you have kids that just want to run around while you eat! Summertime can get busy so make a reservation. The two main hotels here are:
Hostalet 1701 is a restored old building that faces the central plaza and is well worth just walking in and having a peek at lots of artifacts that decorate the reception area, walk through and you'll find a charming, small pool area at the rear of the ground floor. On our last visit in August 2007 the reception area had been turned into a clutter-free contemporary art gallery.
The other Hotel is on the edge of Monells and is more modern looking, low level building with what looks like a grass roof! and a restaurant at the side called Restaurant Monells, tel 972 630 318. We ate here once, outside on its summer terrace, the setting however was better than the food except for the first course of snails (cargols).
We went to Monells on one sunny Sunday in February to watch a local Fiesta that involved loads of horseriders and people dancing the traditional Catalan Sardana dance, in the main square.
Madremanya
Nearby there's also a small village called Madremanya where they hold English services in its church once a month and were we also attended an English carol service in early December (an annual event).
St. Pere Pescador
Go in a northerly direction from the coastal resort of L'Escala, going through villages like St.Marti d'Empuries and following signs for the village of St.Pere Pescador (which is actually inland but the beaches are due east). Hugging the coastal road and passing some camping sites you then turn right, which ends at the beach where free parking is plentiful and access to the beach is just a few metres away.
The sand is fine and the water is shallow for quite a way out, across the water you can see places like Roses and Empuriabrava. The beach has one beach-bar which closed about 7pm, a red cross cabin and a freshwater shower.
See the 'More places to visit' page for additional info.