Two Days in Girona: A Real Trip Plan

This is what a real trip looks like. Not a curated itinerary designed to look good, but a trip that was actually planned and ridden.

September 2023. Two riding days in Girona as part of a longer European trip. This is what was booked, what proved useful on the ground, and what I would change next time.

Getting there

The Girona leg was part of a longer trip: Madrid, San Sebastian, Majorca, then Girona, arriving from Majorca by ferry.

The practical option from Barcelona to Girona is the Sagales bus. It runs direct to Girona city centre. Book in advance, particularly if you have a bike box. The service is reliable and the journey takes roughly 90 minutes.

The train is also available, but the bus is simpler for most arrival points in Barcelona. If you are coming from the airport, the bus is usually the more straightforward option.

Where to stay

The base was Hotel Carlemany Girona, Plaça Miquel Santaló. More broadly, this is the kind of practical base decision discussed in how to choose a base for a cycling trip.

The location is useful: close enough to the old town to walk to dinner, but easy enough to get out of on the bike in the morning without spending the first 20 minutes dealing with traffic lights and city navigation. That matters more than it sounds. Girona is genuinely awkward to navigate on a bike the first time. The less of that you have to do before a big ride, the better.

The hotel is set up for cyclists. Bike storage is available, the staff are familiar with what riders need, and the logistics of coming in from a long ride are straightforward.

If Carlemany is not available, look at Trivago or Airbnb options in the city centre. Girona has good accommodation options, but it is worth booking early if your trip coincides with a major cycling event in the region.

Where to get coffee

Three places were worth knowing in advance:

La Fabrica — good espresso, central location, popular with locals and riders. Manageable early, busy later in the morning.

Federal — another solid city-centre option. Consistent quality. Good for a pre-ride coffee or a post-ride second coffee.

Hors Categorie — closer to the riding territory north of the city. Useful if you are heading out toward the hills and want to stop near the routes rather than in the city centre.

Bike logistics

The Service Course Girona is the obvious bike shop for riders staying in the city. It is centrally located, understands what road riders need, and is set up for maintenance and hires if something goes wrong.

If you are taking your own bike, confirm with the hotel that bike storage is available and whether you can bring the bike to your room if the dedicated storage is full. If there is a lift, it is also worth knowing the weight or size limits. These details matter more than they should.

If something goes wrong with the bike, Girona has multiple shops. The Service Course is the known quantity.

The riding plan

There were two full riding days available. The original structure allowed for three days, but one was consumed by travel from Majorca. In practice, that meant two riding days across three nights.

That is enough to make Girona worthwhile, but it forces choices.

The planning logic was simple: identify the iconic climb, pair it with a second ride of a different character, and keep a recovery option available if the travel cost more than expected.

The route options

The route plan included several options rather than a single rigid schedule.

Rocacorba The classic Girona ride. Every rider who comes to Girona eventually rides Rocacorba. It is the test piece of the region: a sustained climb of roughly 20 kilometres at a consistent gradient, steep enough to hurt and long enough to require pacing. Start early. The road is quiet in the first hour and busier by mid-morning.

[Strava route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3061903883831359246]

Hincapie Loop via Els Angels One of the better all-round Girona rides. The climb to Els Angels is not long, but it is regular and consistent. The monastery at the top is a useful landmark and a reasonable stop. This works well as a proper effort without becoming the whole day.

[Strava route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3062215489351985536]

The Coast Ride A different kind of ride from the hill routes. Flatter initially, then rolling as you get closer to the coast. Good as a lower-stress day or as a contrast to the bigger climbing rides.

[Strava route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3128504296080297178]

Banyoles Lake Easy terrain. Flat loop, quiet roads, minimal climbing. Useful as a recovery ride or a leg-opener if the travel cost more than expected.

[Strava route: https://www.strava.com/routes/15349982]

Saint Marti A solid warm-up ride if you need to shake out after travel. Nothing too demanding. Good for confirming the bike is working and that the legs are responding.

Saint Hilari A longer option with a steady climb, good surfaces and minimal traffic in the mornings. A strong alternative if the legs are good and you want a bigger second day.

[Strava route: https://www.strava.com/routes/15351624]

What worked

The hotel worked. It was close enough to the city to be practical but easy to ride out of.

The coffee shortlist helped. Knowing where to go before arriving meant the first morning was not spent searching.

The Service Course mattered. Even if nothing goes wrong, knowing where to go if it does is half the solution.

Most importantly, the trip was structured around Rocacorba first. That was the known quantity and the ride the Girona leg was really built around. Once that decision was made, the rest of the planning became much easier.

What I would do differently

I would add a third riding day. That is really the same duration question explored in how many days you actually need in one cycling location.

Two days is enough to do the core rides. It is not enough to find the roads locals actually ride, absorb one bad weather call, or give yourself much flexibility if the travel is more tiring than expected.

Next time I would plan four nights minimum — three riding days — to allow for the key ride, a second ride of different character, and one day for either exploration or adjustment.

I would also try to arrive in Girona earlier in the broader trip. The transfer from Majorca consumed time and energy that could have become a meaningful extra riding day. Once the comparison piece is written, this article should also connect naturally to Girona vs Mallorca.

The Strava routes in full

Ride	Link
Saint Marti	[On file — confirm before riding]
Saint Hilari	https://www.strava.com/routes/15351624
Hincapie Loop (Els Angels)	https://www.strava.com/routes/3062215489351985536
Rocacorba	https://www.strava.com/routes/3061903883831359246
Coast Ride	https://www.strava.com/routes/3128504296080297178
Banyoles Lake	https://www.strava.com/routes/15349982

A better question to ask

Instead of asking "what rides should I do in Girona?", ask this:

What is the one climb I came here to do? What ride of a different character can I do alongside it? And do I have enough days to allow for weather, fatigue, and finding the roads that are not in the forum posts?

If the answer to that last question is no, add more nights.

That usually means a better trip.