Girona · Cataluña
Besalú
A captivating medieval town and former capital of a county, crossed by an iconic fortified Romanesque bridge — one of the richest Romanesque ensembles in Catalonia. Michelin rates it worth a special journey (2 stars).
What Besalú is like
Portrait drawn from the Michelin Green Guide & The Rough Guide.
In a valley crossed by the Fluvià River, about 50km north of Girona.
Worth the trip
- The Pont Vell, a beautiful fortified Romanesque bridge across the Fluvià
- The Romanesque Church of Sant Pere (11th century)
- A medieval Miqvé (Jewish ritual bath), said to be the only one surviving in Spain
A little history
Capital of the County of Besalú from the 10th to 12th centuries, until power was transferred to Barcelona; had a Jewish community from the ninth century until Jews were forced out in 1436.
Who it suits: Medieval-architecture travellers
The numbers
The decision data — each figure against the Spanish average. Regional overlays and estimates are labelled, and where there's no local reading we say so plainly.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 8.8°C 1°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 30.7°C 0.5°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 65 days 5% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine estimated
- 6.7 h/day 7% less than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 73 16 above the Spanish average (56)
Cost & economy
- Home price
- no local data
- Net income per person
- €15,948 10% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 18.7%
Schools
- Schools in town
- 2
- Nearest international school
- 28 km
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 469 12 below the Spanish average (481)
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 16 min
- Nearest health centre
- 0.5 km
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 142 days 32% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 46 min
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 98% 19% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 98% 15% above the Spanish average (83%)
Who lives here
- Population
- 2,591
- Born in Spain
- 82.3% 6.5% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 3.4% 0.5% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 1.54 per 1,000
Numbers: SettleSpain town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma, Ministerio del Interior and the Catastro. National average = the unweighted mean across all 8,132 Spanish municipalities with data. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
How does Besalú fit you?
These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Besalú against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 37 min from Girona, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Besalú for you →Nearby towns
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