Summer is a time to kick back, relax and really get to know this magnificent region. So this year we’ve put together an exclusive menu of activities designed to help you feel like one of the locals.
How about getting the whole family together for a healthy dose of fresh air and sunshine by bicycle on the motor-free Vias Verdes (Green Ways), which criss-crosses the whole region of Girona? Traversing a network of defunct railway lines this paths trace their course across all of Spain (there are 2,400 kilometres of path in total), but these days they are accessible only to cyclists and walkers, and are the perfect way to explore our region pedalling through sun-dappled forests, fields bright with poppies and innumerable honey-coloured stone villages that serve as perfect rest stops for a glass of locally made wine and a tapa. One of the paths just happens to pass by the Hotel Camiral.
For the kids, our mini master chef cooking classes cover everything from tapas workshops to learning how to make the perfect pizza. Or, sign up as a family for a gardening course with our amazing in-house biologist, Oriol Dalmau, who’ll show you how to plant seeds, pick fruit and fresh vegetables when they are perfectly ripe, and forage for edible plants and flowers in the surrounding countryside. He’s also got some neat tricks up his sleeve, like his ancient recipe for 100% natural marigold oil, which works wonders on sun parched skin.
To recharge your batteries after a long winter at your desk, why not sign up for a Wellness Course. It’s packed with useful information about healthier meal planning and practical exercise plans. Or, you could just indulge in some serious Spa Beauty Sessions with our exclusive range of diamond-based Natura Bissé treatments, perhaps combined with a spot of body sculpting or firming ready for the season ahead. Whether you’re into yoga, pilates and zumba, or spinning, aqua aerobics and tennis, you’ll be amazed how quickly you can shape for the months to come.
Did you know that the Call (Jewish Quarter) of Girona was once one of the biggest and most important Jewish communities in the world? Spend a day mooching around its narrow stone streets and sun-splashed plazas getting pleasantly lost, perhaps combined with lunch at El Cellar de Can Roca. It has been voted the best in the world twice no less! You could take off on a painting or photography course with local professionals, or try the Natura Bissé Day learning the latest beauty trends and innovative techniques from industry professionals. She’ll show you how to make blooms cascade from martini glass, and add wow factor to a lunch or dinner table setting before sitting down to a gourmet two-course lunch with wine.
There’s good reason why the region has always been so popular with artists and writers, and you’ll understand why when you explore the Dalí Triangle on one of our privately guided day trips. Visit the Dalí Museum in Figueres, roam the fabulous castle of his muse, Gala, in Púbol where it rumoured he was rarely allowed to set foot until she died, thereupon he moved in, and sneak a peek at his own home in Port Lligat near Cadaqués. Young and old alike are delighted by the surrealist master’s melting clocks, spindly-legged elephant sculptures and Mae West’s lips re-imagined as a sofa. Well, who wouldn’t be?
After all this you’ll deserve a bit of down time. A day at the beach perhaps? Our shuttle bus takes you straight to the powder soft sands of S’Agaró where Hollywood legends holidayed in the 1950s and you can stroll the Camino del Ronda to some of the regions most secret coves. Hit a local bodega to the get the low down on local vintages, or stay home and sign up for a tasting of local wines, cavas (sparkling wine) and olive oil. Better yet let our resident expert tempt you into the world of Gin and Tonic the Spanish way and discover why this is the country’s favourite summer tipple.
Make memories you’ll treasure forever this summer, the Camiral way.