Festivities and traditions

La Castanyada tradition  During the month of October we are fully immersed in autumn. The days get shorter, we start taking our coats out of the closet and on the street we smell the fire from the toasted chestnut stalls! La Castanyada -chesnut feast- is a popular festival throughout Catalonia that is celebrated on the night of October 31 and dates back years, since the 18th century. So that while you roast chestnuts in the fireplaces of our rural houses you can connect with…

Undoubtedly, when autumn arrives, mushroom hunters abound throughout Catalonia, and in our territory we have mushrooms like porcino, chanterelle and many more varieties of wild mushrooms that make the adventure of hunting them one of the most popular activities for these dates. It connects you with nature, makes you keep all 5 senses very attentive, forces you to move and the prize is exceptional: fill your belly! What more could you ask for? We have lush forests and mountains very close to our…

The Tió de Nadal or Cagatió is one of the traditions most deeply rooted in Catalan Christmas. Together with the figure of the Caganer in the manger scene, the Tió de Nadal (meaning in English “Christmas Log”) chairs numerous homes when this time of year arrives. Have you ever wondered why we have such scatological traditions in our land? We are not surprised that a lot of people coming from outside are stunned seeing us beating the Tió…

Updated February 2020 They say that for carnival everything is allowed. During February, Carnival returns to Girona and Costa Brava, and today we want to offer you a tour of the most important carnivals. Millennial tradition, days of dance, costumes and fun where almost everything is allowed. Enjoy yourself, cover your face and dare to be anonymous for a day at one of the carnivals that we propose! Platja d’Aro [img] 184 [/img] Probably the most famous of all on the Costa Brava,…

Christmas is almost here and today we want to invite you to visit some of the places where Christmas spirit is at its most. A small route through the most enchanting villages of Girona and the Costa Brava. And during these dates many of these towns are filled with lights, markets, cribs, and various activities. Here is a list of those we like the most and where you will live a fairy tale Christmas: Girona [img] 175 [/img] Girona, for Christmas, is decked with lights. We highlight…

Every year, the last weekend of January, in Valls (Tarragona), la Gran Festa de la Calçotada (The Great Feast of the Calçotada) is celebrated – the biggest worldwide event related to green onions – which marks the beginning of the season of the traditional calçotades (annual gastronomical celebration where barbecued calçots are consumed in massive quantities) in Catalonia. The calçot is a a milder and less bulbous variety of green onion,…

Year after year, the second weekend of November, the town of Santa Coloma de Farners dedicates a Festival to the Ratafía liquor and this year they celebrate the 38th edition of the Festival of this centenary drink during the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th of November. This weekend is the beginning of the season to taste the Ratafía after the green walnuts and other herbs have been macerated in the sun for 40 days. In addition to tasting the ratafia, you can try many other products made with…

Updated October 2021 Sant Narcís Fair in Girona is the Festival of the city, one of the latest in Catalonia. The villagers know it well, as Sant Narcís Fair in Girona marks the arrival of the cold, it is time to take out the jacket and thick socks from the closet and keep your hands warm with some roasted chestnuts or a tasty sweet potato cooked on fire. These celebrations honour Sant Narcís (October 29th), patron of the city, represented surrounded by flies. The legend explains…

Updated May 2022 One more year, with the arrival of spring, Girona celebrates its acclaimed Girona Temps de Flors that dresses the city during nine days of colors, flavors and art. Girona Temps de Flors is much more than an floral exhibition, it is a way to explore the city. Following the different places of the exhibition you will discover nooks and corners that are not listed in guidebooks: amazing private patios and institutional buildings which normally can not be visited open…

Updated December 2021 The Christmas Quines are traditional in many towns of Girona during Christmas. It is a traditional game typical of the Christmas season similar to bingo. It is based on placing pebbles or beans to the square of cardboard consisting of 90 boxes with numbers from 1 to 90, with a different distribution of numbers for each one. The parrot (the person who is singing the numbers) will indicate the numbers leaving the hype and participants must check off the ones that match on the…