Michael and I thought we knew everything there was to know about the region of Emporda, and the city of Girona. However after spending the day with Gemma Coll from GoBarcelonaTours, we found out there’s much, much more we didn’t know.
So who is GoBarcelonaTours? The company is a collection of licenced Catalan tour guides who have particular expertise and experience with art, architecture, history, food, culture, and wine of the region. GoBarcelonaTours offers day tours of Barcelona, plus excursions taking in Girona, Emporda, Montserrat, Costa Brava, Dali, the Pyrenees, and Penedes.
Gemma is one of the owners of the company, and has vast experience not only in Catalunya, but also outside the region. She spent several years as a tour guide in Norway and the United Kingdom, before returning to her home here in Catalunya. Gemma was raised in the Emporda region of Catalunya, so she has a special connection and knowledge of the region. It certainly showed during our tour.
We started the day in Girona, with Gemma showing us the sights including Pont de Pedra (with its new addition of VOL Espai Gastronomic), Plaça Independencia, the Girona Cathedral, the Jewish Quarter, Eiffel Bridge, and the witch of Girona. You didn’t know about the witch of Girona? Neither did we, but Gemma offers its location and its story in the video above. We were enraptured by Gemma’s knowledge and fun style. This wasn’t your typical boring and dry walk through Girona.
Afterwards, we went to Alt Emporda to visit two wineries Gemma includes on her tours of the region, Terra Remota and Cooperativa Garriguella. It was great to come back to both vineyards and enjoy the tours all over again. After sampling wines at both locations, we opted to have lunch at Cooperativa Garriguella, where we had local meats and cheeses, pan con tomaquet, and entrees featuring locally made botifarra sausage.
With the weather slightly blowy, we couldn’t take in the hot air balloon excursion popular with GoBarcelonaTours patrons, but Gemma promised us that spring and summer was a much better time to enjoy the Costa Brava scenery from 5000 feet above the ground. Thankfully, due to my fear of flying, I got to stay with both feet firmly planted on the ground. I did promise to Michael that I would not only do the hot air balloon tour in the future, but also film it.
So why take a tour with GoBarcelonaTours? Not only do you have licenced tour guides who are from the area, but in the case of Gemma, you have someone with a vibrant personality who truly enjoys people and enjoys what she does. You’ll get some of the “inside” stories of typical stops other large-scale tour companies miss, and you’ll be treated to some of the super cool locations that only locals frequent.
Not only does Gemma do the Girona and winery tour, but also offers Costa Brava and winery tour, Dali museum tour, plus the hot air balloon tour. You can check out the full tour offerings from Go Barcelona Tours by clicking on this highlighted text. Or this highlighted text. Or even this highlight text.