What to see in Besalú ?

Besalú is a medieval town in the Catalan Garrotxa that has drifted through the centuries without seeking much attention. Its fortified Romanesque bridge with eleven arches, built in the twelfth century, spans the Fluvià and remains one of the best-preserved structures across the entire Iberian peninsula. The juderia, the Jewish quarter with its ritual baths or mikvé, recalls that the town was a centre of intellectual and commercial importance in the Middle Ages.

Spring and autumn offer ideal light and visitor numbers; summer turns the alleyways into a corridor of organised groups. Allow half a day, or a full day if you combine it with the nearby Garrotxa volcanoes. Besalú is easily reached by car from Girona in forty minutes, as public transport remains impractical. Don't limit yourself to the bridge for photographs: the interior of the town, less photographed, concentrates the place's essential character.