Banos Arabes (Arab Baths), Girona (must see)
The Arab Baths of Girona sit a stone鈥檚 throw from the cathedral, a medieval spa with a misleading name. Built in 1194 by the city鈥檚 Christians鈥攏ot the Moors鈥攖he baths borrow ideas from both Roman engineering and Islamic design but are Romanesque to their core. Step inside and you鈥檙e walking through a five-room routine that was as much about community as cleanliness. You start in the apodyterium, the dressing room, crowned by an octagonal pool and slender columns that set the scene. From there it鈥檚 a temperature tour: the icy frigidarium, the mild tepidarium, and the steam-filled caldarium, kept hot by an ingenious underfloor system, or hypocaust, that turned the whole place into a medieval wellness center.
The baths ran until the 15th century before slipping into decline. By the 1600s they were folded into a Capuchin convent, pressed into service as a pantry and laundry鈥攈ardly glamorous, but that recycling is what kept them intact. By the 19th century, people were calling them 鈥淎rab Baths,鈥� a name that stuck more out of romantic fancy than historical accuracy. Careful restorations later returned the complex to something close to its medieval look, and today the interplay of light, stone, and geometry makes the rooms feel like a time capsule.
Pop culture gave the site fresh fame when Game of Thrones rolled into town. The baths doubled as Braavos in Arya Stark鈥檚 frantic chase through season six, and they reappeared in Oldtown as Samwell Tarly and Gilly arrived at the Citadel. The medieval stonework proved as camera-ready as any computer-generated castle.
Visitors today can wander the hushed interiors, peer up at the domed skylight, and even climb to the rooftop for views across Girona. The baths are more than a curiosity鈥攖hey鈥檙e a reminder of how medieval Girona blended pragmatism, culture, and a touch of borrowed style into something uniquely its own.
The baths ran until the 15th century before slipping into decline. By the 1600s they were folded into a Capuchin convent, pressed into service as a pantry and laundry鈥攈ardly glamorous, but that recycling is what kept them intact. By the 19th century, people were calling them 鈥淎rab Baths,鈥� a name that stuck more out of romantic fancy than historical accuracy. Careful restorations later returned the complex to something close to its medieval look, and today the interplay of light, stone, and geometry makes the rooms feel like a time capsule.
Pop culture gave the site fresh fame when Game of Thrones rolled into town. The baths doubled as Braavos in Arya Stark鈥檚 frantic chase through season six, and they reappeared in Oldtown as Samwell Tarly and Gilly arrived at the Citadel. The medieval stonework proved as camera-ready as any computer-generated castle.
Visitors today can wander the hushed interiors, peer up at the domed skylight, and even climb to the rooftop for views across Girona. The baths are more than a curiosity鈥攖hey鈥檙e a reminder of how medieval Girona blended pragmatism, culture, and a touch of borrowed style into something uniquely its own.
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Banos Arabes (Arab Baths) on Map
Sight Name: Banos Arabes (Arab Baths)
Sight Location: Girona, Spain (See walking tours in Girona)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Girona, Spain (See walking tours in Girona)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Girona, Spain
Create Your Own Walk in Girona
Creating your own self-guided walk in Girona is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Girona Introduction Walking Tour
Girona sits in northeastern Catalonia, where every cobblestone seems to gossip about old allegiances and bitter defeats. Long before tourist maps and cafe terraces, Iberian tribes pitched up here in the 6th century BC. The Romans soon followed, stamping the place with the name Gerunda鈥斺�渘ear the river鈥濃�攁 practical nod to the Onyar River, which still slices the city neatly into old and new.
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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.4 Km or 1.5 Miles
... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.4 Km or 1.5 Miles
Game of Thrones Film Sites in Girona
Let鈥檚 do a visualization exercise: Girona鈥檚 medieval quarter, with its stone staircases and cloistered courtyards, suddenly posing as Westeros. Between 2011 and 2019, HBO鈥檚 Game of Thrones roamed Europe in search of backdrops, and Girona ticked all the boxes鈥擱omanesque towers, Gothic facades, and narrow alleys that looked like they鈥檇 been waiting centuries for a camera crew. The city... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 0.8 Km or 0.5 Miles
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 0.8 Km or 0.5 Miles