Last updated on June 12, 2026
This past Easter holiday, or ‘Semana Santa’ in Spain, we decided to stay close to home and plan a road trip from Barcelona. My mother was visiting from Boston, so we wanted to show her the beauty of the Costa Brava as well. We had heard a lot of good things about Girona, which is about 1.5 hours drive from Barcelona, so we decided to use it as a base. The great thing is that there are many beautiful places within driving distance of Girona. I would definitely recommend it as a home base and take day trips like we did. Read below to find out how to plan a road trip from Barcelona to discover the beautiful city of Girona, plus other gems such as Besalú and Figueres.
Rent a car in Barcelona
Generally when renting a car in Barcelona I check both Autoeurope and Booking.com. They usually have the best prices. I ended up renting extra for our rental for Easter week Hertz at Sants train station. We paid about EUR 40 per day including full insurance. It was 33 EUR per day before full insurance (with a third party) was added. I’d say this is a pretty standard price for a 5-seater automatic. If you can drive standard, definitely book it, because automatics are always more expensive in Europe.
Planning your Road Trip route
In Spain, the Friday before Easter and the Monday after Easter are public holidays. This means that schools and offices are closed. Most schools are actually closed for the entire week leading up to Easter. However, there are usually Easter camp options available. For example, we had Isabella at horse riding camp from Monday to Thursday. For these reasons we decided to plan our trip from Friday to Monday. I have found a great Airbnb for us in Gironabut that was only available from Saturday to Monday. That left Friday evening. My mother said she would like to visit the Dalí Museum which is located Fig trees. So I found one great Airbnb 3 minutes walk from the Dalí Museum in Figueres for Friday evenings. Figueres is located about 45 minutes drive north of Girona. So that made our route: Barcelona to Figueres, Figueres to Girona. We added a few more stops along the way. See our itinerary below:
Barcelona to Girona 4 Day Road Trip Itinerary:
- Day 1: Drive from Barcelona to Figueres. Visit the Dalí Museum. Reserve admission to the museum in advance. Sleeping in Figueres.
- Day 2: Drive from Figueres to Girona. Spend a day sightseeing in Girona. Spend the night in Girona.
- Day 3: Take a day trip to Besalú from Girona. Return to Girona.
- Day 4: Leave Girona and return to Barcelona. Stop in Tossa de Mar for afternoon/lunch.
How to plan a road trip from Barcelona: Barcelona to Figueres
Visit the Dalí Theater Museum in Figueres
Driving to Figueres from Barcelona is approximately 2 hours by car. Due to the Easter traffic on Friday it took even longer (almost 3 hours!!). When we arrived in Figueres we immediately went for lunch 50 Voltes restaurant which I would HIGHLY recommend! It was definitely the best meal of our trip! Make sure you order the fried calamari and the black sepia rice dish, they were excellent. The restaurant has something for everyone, so if you don’t want seafood, they even have pizzas. From the restaurant it was a 3-minute walk to the Dalí Museum. I read that you need to book in advance as it can sell out at certain hours. There is timed entry every 15 minutes. We spent about 2 hours at the museum, which was more than enough time, especially with a toddler.
Drive from Figueres to Girona
We only stayed one night in Figueres, which was more than enough as the main attraction is the Dalí Museum. The next morning we drove to Girona, about a 45 minute drive. Beware that parking in Girona is incredibly difficult!! We finally found a spot in an open-air shopping center. I would recommend looking for a parking spot a little outside the city center, near a shopping center or supermarket. We went to lunch La Tabarra Gironawhich I liked, but JC wasn’t a big fan of it. We then wandered around town, going into shops and buying some frozen yoghurt at Myka. We also climbed a bit of the city’s fortress walls for a great view of the city. We didn’t do it, but you can take a Game of Thrones tour of the city, as they filmed parts of the series in Girona. We ate dinner for dinner Buds of winewhich was okay, but the artichoke and crema catalana were both EXCELLENT.
How to plan a road trip from Barcelona: Take a day trip to Besalú
The next day we took a day trip to Besalú from Girona. This was of course after opening the Easter baskets and looking for Easter eggs. Besalú is just a 30-minute drive from Girona. The city is beautiful. It is incredibly picturesque with small cobbled streets and cute shops and restaurants. One of the best viewpoints is crossing the bridge and medieval tower for great river views of the medieval city. We ate Restaurant Pont Vell who had a set menu for Easter. However, I would NOT recommend the restaurant as we waited almost 2 hours for our food! Moreover, it is way too expensive. Although the location overlooking the bridge is beautiful.
Return to Barcelona and stop at Tossa de Mar
The next day we drove home from Girona, but took a little detour to stop at Tossa de Mar. The drive from Girona to Tossa de Mar takes just under 1 hour. Tossa de Mar is part of the famous Costa Brava, a coastline north of Barcelona known for its beautiful beaches. We parked a bit outside the center, because Tossa de Mar is also very difficult to park. We paid 10 euros for the whole day even though we only stayed there for less than 3 hours. We walked around the city center, had a seafood lunch, walked on the beach and had some ice cream. Although it was nice to see the ocean, I don’t think Tossa de Mar is a must. It has a reasonable beach and is close to Barcelona (about 1.5 hours), but there are nicer beaches and towns on the Costa Brava. You can read some of them in my post here.
Read more: How to plan a trip to the Costa Brava | Spain
And so we spent 4 days and 3 nights in and around Girona. Have you made a road trip from Barcelona to Girona? Do you have other suggestions for day trips from Girona? Leave them below!
