flowers

We explore the historic city, transformed every spring into a riot of color and creativity

Roses ruling the roost, online commerce competition and Girona floral influence all explained by Florists’ Guild president

Temps de Flors flower festival is only possible thanks to the efforts of passionate residents

Flowers brought from South America are 50% more expensive, but shops will assume the extra amount

The UNESCO-recognized Patum de Berga, however, did not go ahead due to the pandemic

Northern city's streets will be in bloom from May 8 to 16

Three local and Dutch entrepreneurs build a large flower park for visits, events and harvesting

Catalonia's major political figures turn out to pay their respects at Rafael Casanova monument in Barcelona

64th edition of annual floral event begins on Saturday with 171 displays open to the public in venues all over the city

From May 13th to May 21st Girona will host the 62º edition of Temps de Flors, an annual flower festival in which the streets and monuments are decorated with floral displays. This year, the event has grown and now adds 22 new areas. One of the novelties will be some floral arrangements and mirrors placed in the bomb shelter of the Jardins de la Infància (Childhood Gardens). In addition, a green itinerary of 3 km will allow to discover unusual views of the Cathedral of Sant Pere.

Thousands of people are expected to visit the 61^st edition of Girona’s ‘Temps de Flors’, which sees the exhibition of a wide range of flower artwork featuring different spots of this medieval city located 80 kilometres from Barcelona. As happens every year, the stairway of Santa Maria’s Cathedral is one of the highlights, but in this edition it has raised even more attention due to the filming of HBO’s series ‘Game of Thrones’. Hundreds of flowers fill other historic sights, patios and ancient neighbourhoods, as well as the fountains in the historical centre, which have also been included in the exhibition in a harmonious mixing of water and flowers. Many cultural activities are also expected over the weekend, from the 14^th and 15^th of May, such as ‘Castellers’, traditional Catalan human towers. 

The 60^th edition of the 'Girona, Temps de Flors' flower festival kicked off on Saturday and will run until the 17^th of May. For the event, around 1,000 students, volunteers, designers and florists have come together, working on 164 flower installations, distributed over 134 spaces all around the city. The festival is expected to attract more than 200,000 visitors, providing the city with a true international dimension. Two official itineraries have been set up, allowing tourists to walk around discovering many of Girona's magical corners. According to event organisers, the top 10 sites not to be missed are: the Funeral Chapel of Sant Nicolau, the Basilica of Sant Feliu, Jurats Square, the Arab Baths, the Girona's iconic Cathedral, the Church of Sant Lluc, the building of Sarraïnes, Rabbin House Lleó Avinay, Els Alemanys Gardens and the Church of Sant Martí. This year, the Festival's budget amounted to €400,000.

Like in 11 other countries around the world, Catalans celebrate their national patron saint, St. George the dragon-slayer, on the 23rd of April every year. In Catalonia, however, rather than an occasion entrenched in patriotism, Sant Jordi is revered as the lovers' day and the book's day, on which loved ones demonstrate their affection for one another with the exchange of roses and books. The sun is shining and the buzzing atmosphere that fills the streets means that just walking along Les Rambles is enough of an adventure on a Sant Jordi Day such as this one. Rose sales have exceeded those of last year by 7%. The best-selling books this year have been 'Algú com tu' by Xavier Bosch (fiction) and 'És l'hora del adéus' by Xavier Sala i Martín (non-fiction) in Catalan and 'Destino, la Templanza' by María Dueñas (fiction) and 'MasterChef. Grandes platos para todos los días' by Jordi Cruz (non-fiction) in Spanish. In total, 1.5 million books will have been sold by the end of the day.