A city with over 2,000 years of living history
Tapas, Empordà wines, and signature cuisine
Small, walkable, and with excellent connections
You can see Besalú in a few hours, but it asks to be walked slowly. It's a compact medieval town, with the whole old quarter inside the walls, so here you don't have to choose between monuments: you'll see almost all of them on one walk. These are the stops we never skip when we bring a group.
The Pont Vell is the image of Besalú: an angular Romanesque bridge that spans the Fluvià River and opens onto the old town. Crossing it takes a minute, but it's the best way to enter the town, with the defence towers rising up on the far side. Go early: by mid-morning it fills with people after the same photo.
Once past the walls, the centre of Besalú is a tangle of cobbled streets that meet at the arcaded square, the heart of the town. The centre is so small that getting lost never lasts long, but it's worth doing: the arcades, the passageways and the corners change at every step. Leave the map in your pocket for a while.
The monastery of Sant Pere presides over one of the squares in the old town and is the boldest piece of Romanesque in Besalú. Look at the window on the façade, with two carved lions guarding the entrance, a detail you don't often see in the area. It's where we usually stop to explain where the town's medieval importance comes from.
Besalú keeps its old call, the medieval Jewish quarter, with its layout almost intact among the streets of the centre. This is where the town's story turns different from any other village in the county. Take your time over it before heading down to the river, where its most singular corner waits: the miqvé.
A few metres from the river you'll find the miqvé of Besalú, a Jewish ritual bath of which very few examples remain on the peninsula. It's a plain stone chamber reached by a staircase, with no ornament, and that's precisely why it makes an impression. It's usually visited with keys from the tourist office, so it's worth asking about opening hours when you arrive.
Besalú sits at the gateway to the Garrotxa, the county of volcanoes, and the two are best enjoyed together. Our own tour links the town with the volcanic zone on the same day, in groups of no more than 8 so we're not walking single file through the village.
If you have time, give the morning to the old town and the afternoon to the landscape: from the bridge over the Fluvià to the volcanic cones and beech woods is only a few kilometres. It's the plan we recommend most to anyone who wants to understand why Besalú and the Garrotxa are told as one.
Discover Besalú with a local guide. Walk through the medieval village and Garrotxa, small groups, free cancellation.
Besalú & Garrotxa tour →
The good thing about Besalú is that all its heritage fits inside the walls and can be seen on foot in a morning. From the Romanesque bridge to the Jewish quarter, each monument tells a slice of the town's medieval history. These are the six we always show, with what's worth knowing about each one.
The Pont Vell is the monument every visit to Besalú begins with. It's an angular Romanesque bridge over the Fluvià River, with a fortified tower in the middle that once controlled who came and went. Rebuilt after various setbacks, it's still the gateway to the old town and its most photographed view.
The monastery of Sant Pere is the most important church in Besalú and a fine example of Catalan Romanesque. Before you go in, stop at the window on the façade: two carved lions flank the opening, an unusual sculptural detail worth a close look. Inside, the ambulatory around the altar is what draws the eye most.
The miqvé of Besalú is one of the few Jewish ritual baths preserved on the peninsula, and on its own it justifies the visit. It sits by the river, in a stone chamber reached by a staircase, with no ornament at all. It's visited with a guide, so ask about opening hours at the tourist office before heading down.
The old call of Besalú keeps its medieval layout among the streets of the centre, and it's what sets this town apart from others in the county. Together with the miqvé, it forms an ensemble that speaks of the Jewish community that lived here in the Middle Ages. Walk it slowly: it's only a few streets, but full of history.
The arcaded square is the heart of Besalú, ringed with stone arcades under which the medieval market once sheltered. Today it's still the town's meeting point, with its arches and its old façades. It's a good place to pause and watch the quiet pace of the town go by.
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You eat well in Besalú without straying from the bridge: nearly all the restaurants are in the old town, a few metres from one another. The cooking is Catalan and seasonal, with the Garrotxa nearby supplying meats, cured sausages and mushrooms depending on the time of year. These are the tables people ask us about most often; in season, it's worth booking.
The Pont Vell is in the old town, very close to the bridge it takes its name from, and is one of the classic addresses for Catalan food in Besalú. It works with local produce in traditional dishes. If you can, ask for a table with views over the Fluvià and book ahead at the weekend.
Can Trona is a Catalan option in the centre of Besalú that bets on local Garrotxa produce. The menu changes with the season, so you won't always find the same thing, and that's a good sign. A quiet setting, for eating without rushing after the visit.
Els Fogons de Can Llaudes is one of the reference names in Besalú's dining scene, with Catalan cooking meant for a long, unhurried table. It's the choice for anyone who wants to sit down to a proper meal rather than grab something quick. A good spot for the main meal of the day.
The Curia Reial is right in the old town, opening onto the arcades of the square, and serves traditional Catalan cooking. Eating here means doing so at the exact centre of the medieval town, with the old stones on one side and the square on the other. The terrace, when the weather plays along, is one of the best in town.
Restaurant L'Estany offers seasonal cooking with local influences, another option within Besalú's range. It works dishes that shift through the year, so ask about the day's suggestions before you decide. Worth keeping in mind if you're after something a little less conventional.
The Pont de Pedra does market cooking in the area of the old town, close to the bridge. It works with fresh, day-to-day ingredients on a menu that doesn't try to overcomplicate things. A good stop for an unfussy meal after the walk through the town.
One last note from us guides: in Besalú you eat almost everything around the old town, so you can choose on the spot depending on which table's free. That said, in high season and at weekends, book; the town is small and tables go fast.
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Besalú is small, and that's its advantage for an overnight stay: nearly all the accommodation sits inside or beside the old town, right by the bridge. Staying the night has its reward, because come evening most of the day trips leave and the town goes quiet. These are the options people usually ask us about.
Hotel 3 Arcs occupies an old building inside Besalú's old town, a few steps from the square. Its strong point is the location: you step out of the hotel and you're already among the stone streets, with no car involved. A good choice if you want an early start and to see the town before the first group arrives.
The Comte Tallaferro is a rustic-style place set in a stone house in the historic centre. The name is no accident: Guifré el Tallaferro was Count of Besalú, and here the town's medieval past is present down to the sign over the door. Central and quiet at the same time.
The Hotel Restaurant 1204 pairs rooms with its own restaurant, handy if you'd rather not go out looking for dinner after a day on the road. It's in the area of the old town, so you have the town close by and a table booked downstairs. A comfortable formula for short stays.
The Besalú Hotel is a slightly more removed alternative to the bustle of the centre, aimed at those who put rest first. Being just a step from the centre, it lets you walk into the town and return to the calm when the day is done. Simple and functional.
The Fonda Siqués is one of the most established houses in Besalú, a family-run place with a long history in the town. It's the option for anyone after that traditional inn feel, with no pretence of a designer hotel. A warm welcome and a central spot.
For anyone who prefers the countryside, Can Fruitós is a farmhouse in the surroundings of Besalú, wrapped in the quiet of the Garrotxa. It's the logical choice if you're coming by car and want to pair the town with the volcanic landscape around it without giving up the silence at night.
In short: stay inside the town so you don't miss the Besalú of after closing, or a farmhouse nearby if you're after the countryside. Either way, the town is so compact you'll never be far from the bridge or the old town.
Our own tour links Besalú with the volcanic Garrotxa on the same day, which is how the two make the most sense together. We're a small local team (Rosa Maria, Pol, Alexia, Rosa and Alex) and we work in groups of no more than 8, so we can stop wherever we need to without walking in a line. Here's what it includes and how it works.
The Besalú part is done on foot through the old town: the Pont Vell over the Fluvià, the Jewish quarter, the miqvé and the monastery of Sant Pere. Because the centre is so compact, you see the whole thing without any rush, and there's time left to wander on your own and eat in the town.
We run the visits ourselves, guides from the area, not a company that subcontracts. You notice it in the stories told about the bridge or the Jewish quarter, and in being able to answer the odd questions that come up along the way. Ask us about available languages when you book.
Working with a maximum of 8 people isn't a slogan: in the narrow streets of Besalú and on the paths of the Garrotxa, a small group is the difference between hearing it all and missing half. We go at the group's pace, not the clock's.
What makes the tour special is pairing the medieval town with the volcanic landscape of the Garrotxa: cones, lava flows and beech woods a few kilometres from the bridge. From the old town to the countryside is a short hop, and seeing it the same day explains the county better.
You can read reviews from previous travellers on Tripadvisor and Google before you decide. We'd rather you arrive with your expectations set to what we tell you here than promise you too much; it's a relaxed tour, not a show.
Booking is done in advance, and the tour combines Besalú and the Garrotxa in a day, leaving from Girona. Before you come we send you the practical details: meeting point, duration and what to bring for the nature part.
If you want to see the medieval town and the volcanoes without sorting out the transport or the order of the visits yourself, this is the comfortable way to do it. Write to us and we'll fit it around the dates that suit you.
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