Called the “city of the four rivers”, Girona dazzles with its historic quarter, dominated by cMedieval constructions and Roman, Arabic and Hebrew reminiscences. Its privileged location between the Pyrenees Mountains and the Costa Brava makes possible a multitude of excursions to both localities and natural spaces worthy of mention. However, when the darkest clouds are looming, there is also plenty to do.
The Arab Baths of Girona
At the foot of the Girona Cathedral, a small dome rises above a stone building. It is the lantern of the Arab Baths of the city, a small medieval jewel. The building is captivating for the simplicity of its forms and, once inside, for the beauty of the game between light and shadow. The construction is Romanesque in style but follows the model of the Roman bathsthe Muslim baths and the Jewish mikva from a tradition that was recovered during the 11th century, with the development of urban centers and the need to improve hygiene.
The building is structured in various rooms that allow you to go from the area with the coldest water to the hottest. The visitor enters through a small hall that leads to the apodyterium (costumes). This is, without a doubt, the most emblematic space of the bathrooms, with a central stone pool with 8 sides and 8 columns crowned with precious decorated capitals. Until the 14th century the building maintained its activity as public baths. Already in the 20th century, the Arab baths are restored to return them to their original appearance.
cinema museum
Open since 1998 in a building in the center of the city of Girona, a visit to the permanent exhibition allows you to a journey through 400 years of moving image history and learn about the background of cinema as a technique and as a visual spectacle, and how the beginnings of the seventh art were until the advent of television. It also shows the roots of our visual culture, so important and so present in our current reality.
The interactivity of the assembly guarantees that the visit is recommended for public of all ages. The Tomàs Mallol Collection of film and pre-film objects is the basis of the permanent exhibition. Assembled for more than thirty years by Tomàs Mallol and acquired by the Girona City Council in 1994, it is one of the most important collections worldwide of its genre.
Chapel of Saint Nicholas
Built in the San Pedro cemetery is this curious little Romanesque church dating from the 12th century. The chapel has a single nave with a plan in the shape of a Latin cross. The interior is devoid of decoration but on the outside there are a series of blind arches with lesenas that surround the dome.
After the confiscation of 1835, the chapel was used as a leather warehouse and later as a sawmill. Currently the temple is used as contemporary art exhibition hallafter being acquired by the City Council.
Sunset Jazz Club
This venue located in the historic center of Girona has been dedicated, for more than thirteen years, to offering the best live jazz performances in the city, both national and international artists of the highest level. Although its activity is not limited only to concerts, it also offers a selection of the best cocktails.
For jazz fans from outside Girona who want to attend one of the concerts organized at the Sunset, the establishment offers the Jazz Weekends: a tourist package that includes dinner in a nearby restaurant, the entrance to the concert, accommodation in a tourist apartment and breakfast in front of the cathedral.
Cover photo | Dovile Ramoskaite
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