Girona and Tarragona

Well, this past spring I was in Barcelona for 9 days, my first visit. I spent 6 days in Barcelona itself, took one day trip to Figueres (Dali Museum) and Girona, another day trip to Tarragona, those days both by train, plus a day bus tour to 3 Medieval Villages (Besalu, Rupit and Tavernet). Everything was enjoyable and worthwhile, and there were still many sites and experiences in Barcelona that I could not fit in. All depends on your preferences and priorities. Barcelona is a very big and busy city, Girona and Tarragona are mid-sized cities, and of course the villages were very small and in rural areas. I liked the variety.

I stayed overnight in Girona; I highly recommend that. I wandered around on my own in the arrival day and signed up for a walking tour the next day starting around 1000; a great experience. I visited the cathedral on my own. I cannot recall my hotel name now but could look it up, it was super cheap, small room and clean, walkable from the train station.

I took a Viator tour from BCN that included Tarragona. It was a day tour that included a trip to an aqueduct; wonderful Roman work. The tour included time in Sitges for a late lunch; a lovely seaside village.

Enjoy BCN. I loved the Gaudi sites especially Parc Guell which must b booked ahead for timed entry. It is on a hill; I took a cab there & walked downhill to take the metro back to the hotel.

I spent several days based in Girona, taking a day-trip to Cadaques during that time. Girona is lovely (don't skip the small but very good art museum), but there is so much to see in Barcelona itself. I left things undone in that city after 10-1/2 days.

Girona and Tarragona are both well-served by transportation from Barcelona and can be visited on the spur of the moment. I'd research the sights in those places for tentative trips but wait to see how Barcelona went. Be sure to check closing days, though. Most of the big sights in Barcelona are open every day. That isn't the case in Girona; I don't know about Tarragona.

I haven't been to Tarragona, but highly enjoyed my day trip to Girona.

My daughter and I went to both towns during our recent visit to Spain and, if you have the time, they're both great places to visit, in our opinion.

Girona is a charming town with a medieval feel to it and nice to walk around.

Personally, I thought Tarragona had more to it. The overall feel is more modern than Girona but the Roman sites were more interesting than I expected them to be (we've been to Rome already) and the Cathedral and cloisters were incredible. Also, Tarragona has pretty beaches with real sand.

We took a private bus tour to Girona so I can't comment on the transportation. We took the Rondailes commuter train to Tarragona from Barcelona Sants, trains run to and from all day and it's about an hour's trip, so it would make and easy day trip, although we chose to stay the night.

Enjoy your trip!

thankyou all for your informative replies - will have loads more questions as we plan our tour of Spain/Portugal!

A peek:

GIRONA http://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/activitats.php | video
TARRAGONA: http://www.tarragonaturisme.cat/en/ | video

But here in Catalonia, visiting our cities, towns and villages is always much more than sightseeing ruins, buildings, museums, shops and people... note too that both cities celebrate numerous festivals and celebrations along the year, some of which are really interesting, such as:

In Girona...
in March-Apr > Holy Week in Girona | video | the impressive procession of the Burial of Christ, featuring legions of Ancient Roman soldiers and much more (video from 1'40")
in May > Temps de Flor: www.gironatempsdeflors.net | video | when over 100 sites of the city as well as many streets get beautifully decorated to greet the arrival of the Spring
in Sep > Napoleonic Sieges Festival: http://www.girona1809.cat/guardies_catalanes.htm | video | when the city remembers the fierce sieges that the Napoleonic armies enforced upon the city.
in Oct > St Narcissus Festival, patron of Girona: http://www2.girona.cat/ca/firesdesantnarcis | video | ...trade fair, carnival, musical performances, street fairs and markets, a parade of "giants", a street fireworks festival (correfoc) and much more in a display of Catalan culture and heritage.

In Tarragona ...
in March-Apr > Holy Week in Tarragona | video | a solemn display of religious fervour of Tarragona (video from 8'40")
in May > Tarraco Viva: www.tarracoviva.com | video | remembering the glorious past of the former capital of the Roman province in Iberia
in Oct > Final contest of the season of Castellers: http://eng.concursdecastells.cat/ | video | the most breathtaking display in the capital of the human towers.

Do not forget also that there's life beyond the main cities, we have a rich tapestry of culture and heritage elsewhere in each of the 947 municipalities of Catalonia.

Enjoy!

I very much enjoyed a day trip to Girona, the medieval quarter is well-preserved and the Jewish museum is excellent. It's easy to combine that with a visit to the spectacular (what other word could describe Dali?) museum in Figueres.

I was expecting impressive Roman ruins in Tarragona and was disappointed. I did love the cathedral's cloisters. With hindsight, I'd have enjoyed spending more time in Barcelona, or maybe getting out to Montserrat. I did enjoy the train ride, for a good portion of the journey, the tracks run close to the seashore and the views were very pretty.

Overall, my advice is not to commit to more than 1 day trip in advance, there is just so much to see and experience in Barcelona.