Girona: Exploring the Spring Flower Festival, Temps de Flors

Posted On May 25, 2016

The Temps de Flors (Time of Flowers) festival in Girona is held every year in May for two weekends. The old part of the city (Barri Vell) is transformed with beautiful flower displays and homages to Mother Nature and the spring season. My favorite part of the festival is being able to explore otherwise private interior courtyards, which neighbors decorate and open up for the public to view. Maps are posted throughout the old quarter pointing out nearby places of interest, flower expositions and the city’s gardens and natural parks.

source: Girona TurismeTV YouTube Channel

During the festival many museums, cultural sites and expositions with entrance fees open their doors to the public for free, this includes various churches, the museum of the Girona cathedral (build between the 11th and 17th centuries) and the banys Árabs (Arab baths dating to the 12th century). Both the Girona cathedral and the Arab baths are now quite famous amongst tourists for having been used in the hit television series Game of Thrones. I wrote quite a few articles all about GoT filming locations in Girona and it’s even possible to take a Game of Thrones tour of the city with the Barcelona iVenture Card.

The architecture in Girona is amazing in itself and the addition of colorful flowers creates a beautiful backdrop, which brings with it a refreshing feeling of springtime. The old quarter is a mixture of Baroque, Medieval and Roman architectural styles.

The highlights of the area are the gardens and fortification, which transport visitors back into medieval times when knights guarded the city from high up on the historic wall. The wall was first built during Roman times and has since been added to with a medieval extension during the 14th and 15th centuries. It is the longest preserved Carolingian wall in Europe and visitors can take a walk with the stunning panoramic views and observe the flower festival from above!

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Useful advice

• Visit the festival on a weekday. Weekends are extremely crowded all day long as many of the old streets are narrow and winding. On the weekend it will be difficult to find a place to eat between 13:30 and 15:00, lunchtime in Spain.
• Be prepared for stairs, uneven walkways and uphill areas.
• Don’t forget your camera!

Getting to Girona

• By Air – Girona/Costa Brava Airport (GRO) is a hub for many low cost European airlines and an easy way to get in and out of Catalunya without having to go through the busy Barcelona El Prat (BCN). A Taxi to the city center takes 25 minutes and will cost 25 to 30 euros.
• By Car from Barcelona – About one hour
• By Bus from Barcelona – 14 euros one way and takes about an hour and 20 minutes. Sagales company
• By Train from Barcelona – Takes about one and a half hours to the city center and costs between 18 and 30 euros one way depending on ticket. Renfe company

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