Walk in Arya’s footsteps around the Game of Thrones locations in Girona

Three cities from the show are hiding in one small Catalan old town. Braavos, King’s Landing and Oldtown were all filmed in Girona, and every location sits within a few minutes’ walk of the next. Here’s where to find them, which scenes they appear in and the best order to see them.

It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with Game of Thrones, so Girona was always going to be on my list. I mean, I’d already written about Game of Thrones in Dubrovnik and Northern Ireland, so of course I was going to cover Girona when I visited. I spent a morning wandering the old town on a day out from Barcelona, climbing the cathedral steps and getting lost in the lanes of the Call, the old Jewish quarter, before carrying on to Figueres in the afternoon (here’s how I did Girona and Figueres in one day).

The cast and crew spent about two weeks here in September 2015, filming scenes for season 6. Girona’s medieval streets became Braavos, where Arya begs while she’s blind, trains with the Waif and is finally chased through the streets by her, while the cathedral stood in for the Great Sept of Baelor in King’s Landing and a Romanesque monastery became the Citadel in Oldtown.

This guide takes you round the Game of Thrones locations in Girona in walking order, from the monastery in the north of the old town to the lanes of the Call.

Game of Thrones in Girona at a glance

• Which season: season 6, filmed in Girona in September 2015.
• Which cities: Braavos, King’s Landing (the Great Sept of Baelor) and Oldtown (the Citadel).
• Time needed: about an hour to walk the route, longer if you go inside the Arab Baths, the monastery and the cathedral.
• Cost: the streets, squares and steps are free; the Arab Baths, the monastery and the cathedral charge for entry.
• Getting there: high-speed trains from Barcelona Sants take under 40 minutes; the old town is about 15 minutes’ walk from the station.

The filming locations, in walking order

Sant Pere de Galligants: the Citadel in Oldtown

At the northern edge of the old town, the Romanesque monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants played the Citadel, where the maesters train. Its interior appears in the season 6 finale, when Samwell Tarly arrives in Oldtown with Gilly and little Sam and walks into the hall of the Citadel for the first time.

Today the monastery houses the Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya-Girona, with finds from prehistory to the Romans, and a cloister with beautifully carved capitals.

The bridge over the Galligants: Arya’s escape into the canal

Right beside the monastery, the little stone bridge over the river Galligants is where Arya, stabbed by the Waif in episode 7, throws herself into the water to escape. The riverbed is usually close to dry, so the canals of Braavos owe a lot to the special effects team.

Plaça dels Jurats: the Braavos theatre

Next to the monastery, this quiet square was turned into the open-air theatre where Arya watches a troupe of actors perform a crude play about the deaths of her father and King Joffrey. Lady Crane, the actress playing Cersei, becomes the target Arya is sent to kill, and the square appears again as Arya comes back to watch the play over the following episodes.

The Arab Baths: the chase through the bathhouse

Walk along Carrer de Ferran el Catòlic, the street that leads towards the Basilica of Sant Feliu, and you’ll reach the Banys Àrabs. Despite the name, they’re a Christian building in the Romanesque style, first recorded in 1194 and modelled on the bathhouses of the Islamic world. In episode 8, Arya runs through them with the Waif close behind her. Inside, look up in the cool room, where a ring of slender columns holds up an octagonal skylight.

Carrer del Bisbe Josep Cartañà: blind Arya’s steps

The stone steps on this street, behind the cathedral, are where Arya sits begging after she loses her sight in the first episodes of season 6, and where the Waif beats her in their stick fights. It’s one of the easiest scenes to recognise, so it’s worth pausing to line up the view.

Girona Cathedral: the Great Sept of Baelor

The grandest location of all is the sweeping Baroque stairway up to Girona Cathedral, which played the steps of the Great Sept of Baelor in King’s Landing. In episode 6, Jaime Lannister rides up them at the head of the Tyrell army to stop Margaery’s walk of atonement, only to find she has already joined the Faith. When the Sept goes up in green wildfire in the finale, the explosion is mostly computer-generated, though shots of the cathedral may have been used too.

I climbed the steps on my visit, and from the top the view runs out over the rooftops of the old town to the bell tower of Sant Feliu. Head inside to see the widest Gothic nave in the world, and read my guide to Girona Cathedral for tickets and opening hours.

Pujada de Sant Domènec: the oranges

The steep stone steps of the Pujada de Sant Domènec, which climb up to the church of Sant Martí Sacosta, are where, in episode 8, Arya leaps down through a Braavos market to escape the Waif, sending a crate of oranges tumbling down the stairs. Stand at the top, where the Waif watches her go, and look down.

The Call: the streets of Braavos

The narrow, stepped lanes of the Call, Girona’s medieval Jewish quarter, were made for Braavos. The crew filmed parts of the chase on Carrer de Sant Llorenç and the streets around it, and as I wandered through the Call it was easy to see why: arched passageways, high stone walls and staircases that seem to lead nowhere.

The Museum of Jewish History, in the Bonastruc ça Porta centre on Carrer de la Força, tells the story of the community that lived here until 1492, and is a good place to finish the walk.

Planning the walk

The whole route is just over a kilometre and takes about an hour on foot, without going inside anything. It’s mostly cobbles and steps, so wear comfortable shoes. If you’d rather have a guide, this small-group Game of Thrones tour of Girona takes you round the filming locations of the old town and points out stills from each scene.

Where to stay

Most people visit Girona as a day trip from Barcelona, but the old town is at its most atmospheric early in the morning and in the evening, when the day-trippers have gone. If you’d like to stay over, browse places to stay in Girona and look for somewhere in the Barri Vell, the old town, within walking distance of every location.

Tips for your visit

• Start at the top: begin at Sant Pere de Galligants and walk south, so you finish in the Call, close to the cafés of Plaça de la Independència.
• Check the opening days: the archaeology museum at Sant Pere de Galligants is closed on Mondays.
• Make a day of it: combine Girona with Figueres and the Dalí Theatre-Museum, as I did. See my guide to the best things to do in Girona for the rest of the city.
• More locations: if you’re planning a bigger trip around the show, see my guide to the best Game of Thrones filming locations.

Map

Read next

• A guide to Girona Cathedral
• 14 things to do in Girona
• Figueres travel guide
• A guide to the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres
• 25 brilliant day trips from Barcelona
• Priorat wine day trip from Barcelona

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