Cycling stops in Girona

29 places · 8 routes · Catalonia, Spain

No town in Europe has more pros per capita. Girona's old quarter is where the WorldTour lives between races, and its café scene was built by the riders themselves: Christian Meier's La Fábrica and Espresso Mafia, Robert Gesink's Hors Catégorie, and La Comuna.

Ride out and the classics start immediately: the Els Àngels loop with its summit sanctuary restaurant, Rocacorba for the long test, the coastal roads of the Gavarres.

Cafés

Banys VellsCaféBanys Vells is a lakeside terrace bar and cafe on the Estany de Banyoles (Lake Banyoles), a stop on cycling routes through the Girona countryside near Serra …Café AquariumCaféRiders roll onto Café Aquarium's terrace at Passeig Darder having just finished, or about to start, Rocacorba, the 13.8 km climb at 6.5% average gradient tha…DvisiCaféDVISI is a fine dining restaurant on the ground floor of Hotel Casa Vincke in Palamós, led by chef Jordi Simón, whose signature cuisine blends Catalan roots …Espresso MafiaCaféSpecialty coffee bar and roastery on Carrer de la Cort Reial in Girona's old town, opened in 2016 by retired WorldTour pro Christian Meier and his wife Amber…Federal CaféCaféAn Australian-style brunch café on Carrer de la Força, the old-town lane climbing to Girona's cathedral.FontanéCaféFontané is the restaurant at the Roca brothers' Esperit Roca hotel, set on the upper floor of the old fort atop Sants Metges hill above Sant Julià de Ramis.Grava PalsCaféGrava Pals is a bike café and restaurant in the village of Pals, built around the local cycling community.Hors CatégorieCaféHors Catégorie is a cycling-themed cafe and restaurant in Girona co-founded by Dutch professional cyclist Robert Gesink.La ComunaCaféRiders climbing out toward Sant Daniel, Rocacorba, or Els Àngels pass right by La Comuna's spare, stone-walled façade at the edge of Girona's old town, and t…La FábricaCaféLa Fábrica has been a fixture of Girona's road-cycling scene since it opened in the old town in March 2015, and riders still gather here before heading out t…La Maglia Coffee & CoCaféLa Maglia Coffee & Co is a specialty coffee shop in Platja d'Aro built around cycling.Mooma SidreriaCaféMooma is a cidery and restaurant on a farmhouse amid apple orchards outside Palau-sator, home to Catalonia's first cider maker.Oniria CaféCaféOniria Café is a small specialty coffee shop near Girona's Plaça de la Independència, opened in 2021 by Nora Salvat and Jannik Schäfer.Rustik EmpordàCaféRustik Empordà is a bakery and café in Bellcaire d'Empordà, running since 2018 on a breakfast-and-brunch concept that mixes tradition with a house "Rustik La…

Food

Restaurant Can PolFood stopGrinding up the Els Àngels climb out of Girona, the gradient eases briefly about halfway, at a garden restaurant with views back over the city, the natural p…Santuari dels ÀngelsFood stopThe Santuari dels Àngels is a hilltop sanctuary and restaurant at 484 metres in the Gavarres massif near Girona, reached by a road popular with cyclists and …

Climbs, views & nature

el MontPeak · 1124.8 mEl Mont rises to 1,125 metres, the highest point of the eastern Alta Garrotxa on the Alt Empordà-Garrotxa border.

History & landmarks

Castell del MontgríCastleFour corner towers and a 31 metre square of wall stand on the bare limestone summit, visible for miles across the flat Empordà plain, and that is the whole o…Catedral de GironaCathedralGirona's cathedral rises above a Baroque staircase of ninety steps, built between 1690 and 1694 by master builder Pere Casas.Església de Sant Pere de GalligantsMuseum · GironaThe Archaeology Museum of Catalonia is housed in a Benedictine abbey.Mare de Déu del MontPlace of worshipThis Gothic sanctuary, built between 1311 and 1318 for the abbot of the nearby monastery of Sant Llorenç de Sous, sits atop the Mont summit with panoramic vi…Monestir benedictí Sant Feliu de GuíxolsMonasteryThe Benedictines chose this bay in the first half of the 10th century for reasons a sailor would recognise: a good natural harbour, hills close behind to fle…Monestir de Sant EsteveTempleMonestir de Sant Esteve was founded in 812 as a Benedictine monastery and gave rise to the town of Banyoles itself, built over the remains of a late Roman te…Museu d'Arqueologia de CatalunyaMuseumNeolithic material from the lakeside settlement of La Draga, Iron Age metalwork from Iberian sites across the province and a white Carrara marble sarcophagus…Museu d'Història dels JueusMuseumFormer synagogue on Carrer de Sant Llorenç, now the Bonastruc ça Porta museum documenting Girona's Jewish history.Museu del CinemaMuseumMuseu del Cinema, on Carrer de la Sèquia in Girona's old town, opened in 1998 as Spain's first museum devoted to cinema and now holds one of Europe's largest…Sant Miquel de CruillesPlace of worshipSant Miquel de Cruïlles is a Romanesque church built in the first half of the 11th century, once a Benedictine monastery placed under the Italian abbey of Sa…Sant PereChurchTwo carved stone lions flank the large window crowning the west portal, which is framed in turn with geometric and plant motifs.Via AugustaRoman roadThis stretch of paved road is part of a secondary route built in the 1st century AD, branching off the Via Augusta from Empúries.

Climbs

Coll de Bracons9.3 km · 7.0%Els Àngels10.6 km · 3.4%Mare de Déu del Mont (from Besalú)21.2 km · 4.5%Rocacorba10.5 km · 7.0%Sant Grau d'Ardenya6.2 km · 5.9%Sant Martí Sacalm (from Amer)8.5 km · 7.0%Sant Pere de Rodes5.3 km · 7.4%Vallter 200011.8 km · 7.3%
FOOD
Santuari dels Àngels
elsangelshotelrestaurant.shop (their website)
Santuari dels Àngels
elsangelshotelrestaurant.shop (their website)
Santuari dels Àngels
elsangelshotelrestaurant.shop (their website)
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Santuari dels Àngels

Girona

The Santuari dels Àngels is a hilltop sanctuary and restaurant at 484 metres in the Gavarres massif near Girona, reached by a road popular with cyclists and used as a training climb by professionals. Its summit hosts the podium celebrations for an annual hill-climb time trial up the roughly 10-kilometre western ascent, and the restaurant serves Catalan rural dishes such as Els Àngels rice and Catalan-style cod.

On 8 August 1958, Salvador Dalí and Gala were married here in a secret ceremony witnessed by only five people, then rode down into Girona for their wedding lunch at a restaurant in the old town. The sanctuary itself is far older: a rector from Sant Martí Vell obtained a bishop's license to build the hermitage in 1409, and by 1683 a confraternity had added a hostelry beside the chapel for pilgrims climbing the massif. The buildings were sacked during the Wars of the Spanish Succession and burned again by French troops during the 1809 siege of Girona, which is why what stands today has been rebuilt more than once. The restaurant keeps to old Catalan rural cooking, weighted toward local, seasonal ingredients, and the terrace looks out over the plain toward the Pyrenees and the sea.

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What you'll see

The chapel and hostelry sit at the highest point of the Gavarres, with a terrace opening onto a panorama of the Girona plain, the Baix Empordà and the Pyrenees beyond.

Worth knowing

Salvador Dalí and Gala married here in a secret, five-witness ceremony on 8 August 1958, then celebrated their wedding banquet at a restaurant in Girona.

Checked 26 July 2026

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Photo: elsangelshotelrestaurant.shop (their website) · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Sources: OpenStreetMap