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My favourite place in the Girona regions? Ask me an easier question, please.
You won’t find any Lannisters, Targaryens, Tyrells or Starks roaming the streets of Girona any more. But if you've seen Season Six of the hit series Game of Thrones, a walk through the old town is sure to take you back into the world of King's Landing, Braavos and Oldtown, as you come across the filming locations where key parts of the popular series were shot.
Girona and other towns on the Costa Brava have always had a special link with film and cinema. Going right back to 1951, when the residents of Tossa de Mar found themselves rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars, Ava Gardner and James Mason, who were there to film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, Girona’s captivating scenery and exceptional heritage have attracted many an international production crew. Undoubtedly the most famous of these cases, due to its worldwide acclaim, is Game of Thrones.
Much of the sixth season of this blockbuster was shot between August and September 2015 in Girona’s Old Town, which was turned into a huge film set and featured many local residents as extras. If you are a fan of the series, you will definitely get a kick out of reliving some of the scenes shot in various different locations around Girona, giving you an authentic Game of Thrones experience right in the heart of the city.
Girona Cathedral, the Great Sept of Baelor
One of the season’s most memorable scenes has to be when Jamie Lannister rode his horse up the stairs of the Great Sept of Baelor to prevent the atonement and public humiliation of Margaery Tyrell. Girona Cathedral was turned into the imposing Great Sept, enhanced with digitally added sea views from the top of the stairs, although the real views of the city of Girona and the surrounding area are, as you will see, equally spectacular.
The Streets of Braavos
In episode one, we see a blind Arya Stark begging at the foot of the stairs behind the cathedral on Carrer del Bisbe Josep Cartañà and then, in the following episode, the young Stark is back in Girona, this time being chased through some of the streets of the old town by a mysterious waif girl. We see her running down Carrer de la Claveria, Sant Llorenç, Escola Pia and others; hiding in the impressive Arab Baths; falling and rolling down Sant Domènec steps, before being stabbed on the Galligants bridge and falling into the river.
Arya Stark was also pictured looking on in Plaça dels Jurats square as a burlesque play is performed about King Joffrey’s death by poisoning. The market of Braavos was set in Passeig Arqueològic and Carrer del Rei Ferran el Catòlic, where she books her passage to take her out of the city.
The Oldtown Library
In episode 10, Samwell Tarly, Eli and her son finally arrive in the city of Oldtown after a long journey from the north. And so, we are introduced to a new location in the shape of Benedictine monastery Sant Pere de Galligants, a stunning example of Catalan Romanesque-style architecture and one of Girona’s key cultural heritage sites. The cavernous interior serves as the entrance to the Oldtown library, where Sam studies to become Maester of Castle Black.
> The Targaryens return to Lloret de Mar
The Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, also came to Girona to film some of the scenes aired in its opening episodes. The Renaissance beauty and panoramic Mediterranean views of Lloret de Mar’s Santa Clotilde Gardens weaved its magic on the series producers, who chose it to depict the grounds of the Targaryen family’s palace.
