The city of Girona is the largest northern city in the province of Catalunya. It district is mountainous with pine, oak and chestnuts forest also has numerous mineral springs. The city is located in a valley approximately 36 kilometers from the town of Palafruguell which is on the Mediterranean Coast. Girona is divided by the river Onyar, on the eastern bank of the river on the steep hill of the Capuchins  is the Old Town. I was called Gerunda by the Romans and lay on the Via Augusta, the highway from Rome to Cadiz.  In the time of Charlemagne it was wrested temporarily from the Moors, who were driven out finally in 1015. It was besieged by the French under Marshal Hocquisicourt in 1653, under Marshal Bellefonds in 1684, and twice in 1694 under de Noailles. In May, 1809, it was besieged by 35,000 French troops under Vergier, Augereau, and St. Cyr, and held out obstinately under the leadership of Alvarez until disease and famine compelled it to capitulate, 12 December of the same year. On the western shore of the river linked by several footbridges and roads is the modern Girona

There are many beautiful sights to see in Girona and too little space for me to tell you about them. I have taken a Panoramic Views of some of these places. The locations to these Panoramas are numbered on the map, click on the names at each description and you will be presented with a panoramic view of that area.

Panoramic Views (3)

Cathedral (Java), (QT.mov) (No 1 on the map) The ancient Cathedral is one of the great churches in Spain. Begun in1312 on the site of a previously built mosque used by the Moors, and after their final expulsion was either entirely remodelled or rebuilt. The present edifice is one of the noblest monuments of the school of the Majorcan architect, Jayme Fabre, and one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture in Spain. The best way to approach the cathedral is via eighty-six steps that constitute the rococo staircase raising from Plaza de la Catedral. An aisle and chapels surround the choir, which opens by three arches into the nave, of which the pointed stone vault is the widest in Europe (73 feet).

Iglesia the San Feliu (No 2 on the map) is Girona's second great church and it is located downhill from the Cathedral. The 17th century main facade, with its landmark single tower it is easily recognised because of its broken spire, damaged by lightning in 1581, and it is located on Plaza de San Feliu and the entrance is around the side. Built over the tomb of Feliu of Africa, a 4th century Bishop of Girona is a mixture of architectural styles the nave has 13th Romanesque arches but 14th to 16th century Gothic upper levels.

Arab Baths (No. 3 on the map) The Arab Baths although modelled on earlier Muslim and Roman bathhouses, is actually a 12th century Christian affair in Romanesque style. They are one of the best preserved public baths yet discovered from medieval Christian Spain where, in reaction to the Muslim obsession with water and cleanliness, washing almost came to be regarded as ungodly. The most impressive room is the Apodyterium (QT.mov)or changing room, with an octagonal pool at its centre beneath a domed skylight supported by eight columns. From here you can follow onto the Frigidarium (cold chamber) and Tepidarium (warm bath) and the Caldarium, a kind of sauna.

Other sites well worth visiting in Girona are:

• Passeig Arqueologic. Across the street from the Banys Arabs (Arab Baths), eteps lead up into lovely gardens that follow the city walls up to the 18th century Portal de Sant Cristofol gate, from which you can walk back down to the cathedral.

• Monastir de Sant Pere de Galligants. This 12th century monastery is also a archaeological museum which contains an interesting collection of artefacts from prehistoric to medieval times.

• Iglesia de San Nicolau. This is a pretty little Lombard-style 12th century Romanesque church in front of the Monestir de Sant Pere de Galligants is unusual in that it has an octagonal tower an three apses laid out in a trefoil plan.

• The Call. Until 1492, Girona was home to Catalunya's second most important medieval Jewish community (after Barcelona), and its Jewish quarter, the Call, was centred on Carrer de la Forca.

• Passeig de la Muralla. This walkway along the old city ramparts offers marvellous views over the city. It begins near the Plaza the Catalunya and continues toward the old convent of Sant Domenec, where another path beside the walls leads to the ruined watch tower , Torre Gironella.

  Acknowledgements: Lonely Planet Spain (ISBN 1 -86450-192-8) 3rd Edition