For many travelers, Girona is a postcard: pastel houses leaning over the Onyar River, the great cathedral rising above medieval walls, or cobbled lanes where history lingers in every stone. For me, it has always begun — and perhaps always will — at a table in El Celler de Can Roca.
Run by the three Roca brothers — Joan, Josep, and Jordi — the restaurant has held three Michelin stars for years and has often been named the best in the world. But accolades don’t quite capture it. Dining there feels as if time itself has stopped.
I first visited Girona just weeks after El Celler de Can Roca was chosen the best restaurant in the world by the World’s Best Restaurants List. A smooth but jubilant mood swept through the restaurant and diners eyed each other with curiosity, knowing everyone had just won the culinary lottery.
EATING AT EL CELLER DE CAN ROCA AMIDST A STORM
Then I returned once again just before the pandemic, on a day when torrential rains battered Girona and floods spilled through the medieval streets. By the time we arrived for lunch at El Celler de Can Roca at exactly 1 p.m., after a four-hour drive from the Pyrenees of Aragon, we were damp, road-weary, and hungry. Yet the moment we stepped inside, the storm outside ceased to matter.
The dining room glowed with natural light, softened by the clouds, and the tables were dressed in crisp linen that seemed to demand a straighter posture. A low murmur of voices threaded through the space, reverent and expectant. From the first pour of cava to the final, playful dessert, each course arrived as theater — a composition for the eye before it revealed itself on the palate. Flavors carried memory, textures surprised with invention, and each wine told its own story in perfect counterpoint. Time loosened its grip. Hours dissolved into a blur of conversation and astonishment, as if the meal itself had suspended the clock.
By the time I thought to glance outside, rain still lashed the streets, but inside we had been transported elsewhere. Eight and a half hours slipped past almost unnoticed. When evening guests began to arrive at 8:30, we were still at the bar, digestifs in hand, reluctant to surrender the spell.
The next morning, Girona braced for disaster. Floodwaters swelled, and shopkeepers shuttered their doors against the rising current as we shopped for dinner provisions. Yet even as the city bent under the storm, nothing dimmed the glow of that stay — a visit remembered not for its weather but for the rare joy of losing track of time in Girona at all.
A real hacienda, not a luxury hotel — La Esperanza Granada in Andalusia, Spain
(Where mornings are slow, and sunsets feel earned.)
Visiting Casa Cacao in Girona
I began my visit at Casa Cacao, the boutique hotel and chocolate temple run by the Roca brothers. Over a cup of hot chocolate so thick it felt almost spooned from velvet, I shared the story of my love affair with El Celler de Can Roca with my guide. She smiled knowingly.
“Everyone says the same,” she told me. “El Celler de Can Roca is not only a restaurant. It is Girona’s soul, captured in one meal.”
Returning to an Old Town With New Eyes
This time, I came back determined to see more. Girona rewards those who wander without a plan, and each return uncovers something new. I had lunch at Divinum, a promising new-ish restaurant with a young team who created bold and playful Catalan flavors.
“This chef can cook, and he will go very far,” I said to myself, as I enjoyed the tasting menu for lunch. I still remember the main course: a deconstructed Beef Wellington that was unique and also divine.
Between meals, I let the city guide me through its labyrinth of narrow alleys and stone arches. I walked across bridges connecting neighborhoods over the Onyar, past houses painted in pastel colors.
Inside the Hospital Pharmacy of Santa Caterina in Girona
One of the most intriguing discoveries was the Farmàcia de l’Antic Hospital de Santa Caterina. Tucked inside the old hospital, the pharmacy feels suspended in time. Shelves lined with glass jars and carved wood counters recall centuries when this was Girona’s center for healing.
“People came here not only for medicine,” my guide explained. “They came for news, for advice, for comfort.”
It was easy to imagine them waiting patiently, exchanging stories as monks prepared herbal cures. The pharmacy may no longer serve the community, but it remains a reminder that Girona’s history is not only preserved — it is alive.
Five Things to Experience in Girona
- Walk the Medieval Walls (Passeig de la Muralla) – For sweeping views across Girona and to the Pyrenees.
- Visit Girona Cathedral – Home to the world’s widest Gothic nave and unforgettable Game of Thrones scenes.
- Explore the Jewish Quarter (El Call) – A remarkably preserved labyrinth of alleys and courtyards.
- Stroll Along the Onyar River – With its iconic pastel houses and Eiffel’s red iron bridge.
- Step into the Arab Baths – A 12th-century gem where history lingers in every arch.
Where to Eat in Girona
- El Celler de Can Roca – Legendary, and still my personal favorite.
- Massana – Refined and Michelin-starred, with a modern Catalan spirit.
- Divinum – Inventive menus that play with tradition.
- Bionbo Café Gastrobar – Seasonal, creative cooking in a relaxed space.
- Casa Marieta – A Girona institution for traditional Catalan cuisine.
Why Girona Keeps Calling Me Back
Every trip to Girona has given me a different gift. Once, it was a flood and a dinner that lasted through the rains that battered the city. This time, it was a cup of hot chocolate at Casa Cacao, the discovery of the Old Pharmacy, and afternoons along the river where sunlight touched the water like paint.
Girona is not a city to tick off a list. It reveals itself slowly. Every visit becomes its own story. And like all the best stories, it lingers long after you’ve left, still inviting you back.
Read more stories about Catalunya in Travelife Magazine
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