What's on in Girona, Spain through the year

Busy — Christmas holidays in Spain, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Calcot season

  1 Jan – 31 Mar · usuallyForaging season

  Charred spring onions eaten by hand with romesco, in farm restaurants out towards the Emporda. It is a winter meal, booked in advance, and it ends when the onions do.

Still on: The tramuntana (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Cycling spring, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Cycling spring

  15 Feb – 31 MayCrowdedBook early

  Half the professional peloton lives here and trains the Rocacorba and Els Angels climbs from February. Cafes, bike hire and apartments all price for it.

Still on: Calcot season (1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually)), The tramuntana (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Cycling spring, Semana Santa

• Holiday

  Semana Santa

  29 Mar – 6 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook earlyClosures

  Good Friday is a national holiday and every region adds Holy Thursday or Easter Monday. Spain travels in large numbers, so trains, flights and hotels book up at higher rates, and processions of some size close streets in almost every town. Source ↗

Still on: Calcot season (1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually)), Cycling spring (15 Feb – 31 May), The tramuntana (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Cycling spring, Semana Santa

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Cycling spring (15 Feb – 31 May), Semana Santa (29 Mar – 6 Apr)

Peak crowds — Cycling spring, Temps de Flors

• Festival

  Temps de Flors

  9–17 MayArts festivalCrowdedBook early

  For nine days in May the old town's private courtyards, staircases and the cathedral steps are given over to flower installations, and the whole thing is free to walk. Beds go months ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Cycling spring (15 Feb – 31 May)

Busy — Summer holidays in Spain, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Peak crowds — Sant Jaume (Saint James's Day), Summer holidays in Spain

• Holiday

  Sant Jaume (Saint James's Day)

  25 JulReligious feastClosures

  One of only two official local festival days on the city's own calendar, alongside Sant Narcis in the autumn. Shops and council offices close for the day. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Costa Brava August, FITAG amateur theatre festival

• Holiday

  Costa Brava August

  1–31 AugSchool holidaysCrowded

  The city is the inland stop for a coast running at capacity, so the day-trip traffic peaks while the residents are away and some of the good restaurants are shut. Source ↗

• Nature

  Emporda grape harvest

  25 Aug – 5 Oct · usually

  The vineyards between here and the Alberes are picked from late August, early because the tramuntana dries the fruit. The cellars around Peralada open for it.

• Festival

  FITAG amateur theatre festival

  25–30 Aug · usuallyArts festivalCrowded

  An international amateur theatre festival organised by the provincial council, bringing companies from around nine countries to Girona's stages each August. Source ↗

Busy — Summer holidays in Spain, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Emporda grape harvest (25 Aug – 5 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Temporada Alta, Fires de Sant Narcis

• Festival

  Temporada Alta

  15 Oct – 15 Dec · usuallyArts festivalCrowdedBook early

  Spain's leading performing arts festival, staged jointly with neighbouring Salt since 1992: contemporary theatre, dance and circus running from autumn into December. Source ↗

• Festival

  Fires de Sant Narcis

  23 Oct – 3 Nov · usuallyReligious feastCrowded

  The city's own ten-day fair around the patron's day on 29 October: barraques by the river, a fairground on the Devesa and the whole province in town after dark. Source ↗

Still on: Emporda grape harvest (25 Aug – 5 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Temporada Alta, Fires de Sant Narcis

• Season

  The tramuntana

  1 Nov – 31 Mar · usuallyWind seasonRisk

  The north wind funnels down off the Pyrenees for days at a time in winter, which is why the sky is so clear and why nobody sits outside while it blows.

Still on: Temporada Alta (15 Oct – 15 Dec (usually)), Fires de Sant Narcis (23 Oct – 3 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Temporada Alta, Christmas holidays in Spain

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Temporada Alta (15 Oct – 15 Dec (usually)), The tramuntana (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))