Banyoles Voyage Tips and guide

Banyoles is in Girona (province) is the capital of watersports thanks to its stunning natural lake, the largest in Catalonia, and its rich historical heritage. The town boasts medieval charm with landmarks such as the Gothic-style Church of Santa Maria dels Turers and the Monastery of Sant Esteve.

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Map of Banyoles

The lake, a geological marvel fed by underground springs, is a hub for water sports, nature walks, and wildlife observation. Surrounding it are oak and elm forests and historical sites like the Neolithic settlement of La Draga, which offers insights into prehistoric life.

Visitors can explore the Archaeological Museum housed in the Pia Almoina and the Darder Museum, which highlights natural history and the lake’s ecology. Banyoles also features a vibrant cultural scene with festivals, markets, and a car-free historic center filled with canals, cobbled streets, and local shops.

• 42.1178742.7562991 Tourist office, Passeig Darder - Pesquera núm. 10, ☏ +34 972 583 470, [email protected]. Jun 22-Sep 11: 10:00-19:00, rest of year: 10:00-15:00.  (updated Apr 2025)

There is no train service to Banyoles. The closest towns where there is a train station are Girona and Figueres. These in turn are connected with Banyoles by a regular bus line. In Girona, the buses to Banyoles leave from just outside the train station.

• 42.1170962.7641841 TEISA-BUS Banyoles, Plaça Doctor Rovira, 5, ☏ +34 972 57 00 53, [email protected].  (updated Apr 2025)

Banyoles is 20 km from Girona by  C-66 , 50 km from the French border, 120 km from Barcelona, and less than 1 hour from the mountains of the Pyrenees and the beaches of the Costa Brava.

• 42.1252782.7552781 Banyoles lake (Estany de Banyoles). Very pleasant walking trails stretch around the edge of the lake, and make a remarkably pleasant walk at any time of year.  (updated Apr 2025)
• Medieval walls
• 42.118072.765382 Plaça Major.  (updated Apr 2025)
• Plaça de la Font
• 42.119422.7681373 Washhouse of the Plaça del Teatre.  (updated Apr 2025)
• 42.1191022.7669954 Carrer de la Paraireria.  (updated Apr 2025)
• Plaça dels Turers
• Water lilies
• 42.12062.769445 Monestir de Sant Esteve de Banyoles.  (updated Apr 2025)
• Balneari de la Font Pudosa
• 42.1189422.7669896 Museu Arqueològic Comarcal de Banyoles, Plaça de la Font 11, ☏ +34 972 57 23 61. It incorporates the Draga Neolithic Park and the Darder Museum, with the Lake Interpretation Space. €3.  (updated May 2025)
• Teatre Municipal
• 42.11912.765237 Museu Darder, Plaça dels Estudis, 2, ☏ +34 972 57 44 67, [email protected]. The Museu Darder is a sizable natural history collection from the golden age of the wunderkammer. Francesc Darder was a veterinarian and taxidermist in the 19th and early 20th century who amassed a sizable natural history collection. It is this collection that forms the backbone of the museum, with further subjects incorporated over the years, including a sizable gallery dedicated to explaining various aspects of Banyoles Lake. The Darder Museum used to be well known for the Negro de Banyoles, the stolen corpse of a San man that was taken from what is now Botswana. The man's body was only returned to Botswana after a significant international outcry. As of 2021, the museum makes no mention of the body or the controversy. €3.  (updated May 2025)
• 42.1265562.7586848 Jaciment arqueològic La Draga. The archaeological site dates back to the early Neolithic period and is one of the oldest settlements of farmers and livestock breeders in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. The location in an area with permanent humidity, partially covered by the waters of the lake, has led to an extraordinary conservation. This fact makes La Draga a unique site.  (updated May 2025)
• Pia Almoina
• 42.1000972.7412059 Roman Villa of Vilauba. open on weekends. The Villa was a centre of exploitation of the territory, which functioned throughout the Roman period. Its evolution has allowed us to know the residential, the rustic and the exploitation area. €4.  (updated May 2025)

• Tour around the Estany
• The marshes of La Puda and Les Estunes
• Can Morgat and Puig Clarà
• Sweet route
• The Old Quarter
• The irrigation Channels
• The Rec Major
• The pesqueres of l'Estany

• Route: Banyoles - Rocacorba - Banyoles, Distance: 13.8 km (climb), Cumulative elevation gain: 800 m
• Route: Banyoles - Santuari del Mont - Banyoles - Rocacorba - Banyoles, Distance: 105 km, Cumulative elevation gain: 2,050 m
• Route: Banyoles - Girona - Els Àngels (1st summit) - Madremanya - Sant Martí Vell-Collet de Juià (2nd summit) - Celrà - Banyoles - Besalú - Beuda - Alt de Sagaró - Mare de Déu del Mont (3rd summit) - Can Vilà - Esponellà - Majokal (4th summit) - Centenys - Melianta - Banyoles - Rocacorba (5th summit) - Banyoles, Distance: 165 km approximately, Elevation gain: about 3,100 metres.
• Route: Banyoles - Sarrià de Ter - Girona - Salt - Anglès - Amer - Sant Martí Sacalm - Amer - La Cellera de Ter - Bonmatí - Les Serres - Sant Gregori - Girona - Banyoles, Distance: 116 km, Cumulative elevation gain: 1,300 m
• Route: Banyoles - Borrassà - Fortià - Roses - Alt de Perafita – El Port de la Selva - Alt de Sant Pere de Rodes - Vilajuïga - Figueres - Vilafant - Esponellà - Banyoles, Distance: 128 km, Cumulative elevation gain: 1,400 m
• Route: Banyoles - La Canya - Capsacosta - Camprodon - Vallter 2000 - Capsacosta - La Canya - Banyoles, Distance: 165 km, Cumulative elevation gain: 2,500 m

• Route 1: From Puig Clarà to Camós
• Route 2: Torrentmal path
• Route 3: Can Ramió and la Mota
• Route 4: Climb to Sant Patllari
• Route 5: From Briolf to Guixeres
• Route 6: Ollers and the Fluvià river
• Route 7: Espasens-Vilademuls-Ravós del Terri
• Route 8: Circuit of the Lake of Banyoles
• Route 9: Circuit of Martís Plain
• Route 10: Route to Serinyà and the Lake
• Route 11: Rocacorba

• Wednesday market. You will find a great variety of products sold in stalls in the town’s open spaces, such as the Plaça Major, the Plaça de les Rodes or the Plaça dels Turers and adjacent streets.
• Olive Oil from Mas Auró (Esponellà). Finca amb oliveres where premium quality oils are made in their own mill.
• Nuts from Can Llavanera (Crespià). Sustainable agricultural cultivation. The cultivation of walnut trees was reintroduced to the region at the end of the twentieth century.
• Honey from Dolça Abella (Crespià): Organic beekeeping. Its own pollination with different types of honey according to the different flowerings along the length of any tree.
• Vine from Baronia celler of Vilademuls (Vilademuls). The elaboration of the product preserves the shape of its entire life and is bottled after having it at any time in cans of route to the cellar.
• Cheese of Mas Alba (Vilademuls). They have a branch of cables designed for the elaboration of formats.
• Yogurts from Mas Colomer (Esponellà). Family farm of dairy cows with its own factory where the yogurts are made.
• Banyoles cake (Banyoles).Very fine dessert made with almonds, egg and sugar. It is possible to find the Can Figueres fringe in Banyoles and the Can Carbó fringe in Banyoles.
• Xuixos de Banyoles (Banyoles). Cylindrical-shaped sweet pastry filled with cream. It is possible to find the fringe Can Padrés in Banyoles.
• Garlic from Banyoles (Mata - Porqueres). It is a variety typical of Pla de l'Estany.
• Chocolates Torras (Cornellà del Terri). Different types of chocolates without sugar, without gluten and organic. It is possible to visit the factory and buy chocolates at the factory shop.

• 42.1227142.7586611 Vora Estany, Passeig Antoni Gaudí, 3., ☏ +34 972 57 63 53, [email protected]. Daily 08:00-24:00. Nice sunsets over the lake From €18.  (updated May 2025)
• 42.118732.7708592 La Diana, Carrer Adoberies,1, ☏ +34 621 681 670. Traditional Catalan food. From €15.  (updated May 2025)
• 42.1187722.7602913 Can Xabanet, Plaça del Carme, 24, ☏ +34 972 57 02 52, [email protected]. Traditional Catalan food. They have a terrace open in summer. from €18.  (updated May 2025)
• Restaurant Xinès la Gran Muralla, dels, Avinguda Països Catalans, 40. A decent, if hardly authentic, Chinese restaurant, translated to Catalan Boomer tastes. Good, just not exactly Chinese food. €10 or so. (updated Feb 2026)

• Tortada banyolina (Banyolina cake). This cake, made with a sponge cake based on Marcona almonds, eggs and sugar, is prepared using the original crown-shaped molds.
• The xuixo is a puff pastry delicacy filled with cream, fried and sugared.
• Cansalada de la Puda Their shape, reminiscent of pork fat, combines the lightness of gingerbread with a delicate meringue icing and a subtle touch of lemon and vanilla.