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Car Hire Gerona - Best Places to Visit in Gerona by Hire Car
Gerona is a fantastic destination for hiring a car there are plenty of great day trip destinations less than 40 minutes drive away. A hire car is the only cost effective way of visiting some of these uniquely beautiful areas. It will give you a real glimpse into what makes the Costa Blanca in Spain so special.
Many people come to the Costa Blanca and visit just the golden white beaches of the coastline I urge you if you have the time to explore a little further inland; you won’t be disappointed by what you find.
Top of my list of destinations to visit has to be the Vall de Nuria. This is an area of outstanding natural beauty, and today is a centre for preservation and ecological research. During the winter season it is a great Ski resort and winter hide away. If you are enjoying Christmas on the beaches why not drive to the Valle de Nuria and experience a real white Christmas in the snow? A little over an hours drive away Vall de Nuria is also a perfect summer destination.
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Vall de Nuria looks a little like the English Lake district, but it benefits from warm Sunshine in the summer and enough snow in the winter to go skiing. The history of the place goes back to pagan times when it was linked with fertility and ancient rituals, Today couples still come to pray and go through a ceremony which involves ringing a bell and placing your head on a pot to ask for fertility. Based around a lake in the center of the valley it is an ancient place of pilgrimage hidden high amongst the peaks at 2200 meters. Today it is equipped with all of the amenities and pleasure parks of an international ski town.
You will have to park your hire car in one of the free car parks provided, as access to the town is from a funicular or ‘rack’ railway. This miniature railway climbs over one thousand meters along 12 kilometers through some of the most stunning scenery you will ever have experienced. It twists and turns clinging on to the mountain side and delivers you to the giant old sanctuary; the base for all other activities.
Today the monks of the sanctuary provide meditation and retreat options where you can escape the pressures of modern day life and live in a haven of spirituality filtered through orthodox organ music. During summer you can explore the area on foot, go horseback riding through the mountains, practice archery in the woods, take a boat or canoe out on the lake, or let the children play in the adventure area “Parc Ludic” any natures lovers will be at home here.
During winter the area becomes an idyllic wonderland with Skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing and après ski. This is an amazing destination for a day trip or weekend escape leave the beaches of the Costa Blanca coast behind and an hour later you could be on a pair of Skis in the mountains. All of this becomes possible when you hire a car from Gerona.
The Lake side town of Banyoles just north of Gerona is only a thirty minute drive in your hire car, the lake here; Estany de Banyoles is one of the most important natural phenomena in southern Europe. It’s an exceptional feature and one of the largest natural lakes in the Iberian peninsular. What makes this lake so different to others is the Surrounding idyllic countryside that compliments it.
You can enjoy all sorts of relaxing or sporting pastimes here. Boat trips out into the lake are very frequent and well worth the expense to get some fantastic photographs.
Banyoles hosted the 92 Olympic water events and is still very important for rowing. Many international teams base them selves here during winter to train. The lake is a gigantic 2,150 meters long and 775 meters wide, with a surface area of over one million square meters. The world rowing championships were held here in 2004.
Banyoles town has properties dating back to the 12th century; fostered around an existing Benedictine monastery today Banyoles is a feast for the eyes.
Only three kilometers north of the town are some mystifying caves that are worth visiting when you have the convenience of your hire car, the “Coves de Sarinya” have yielded 30,000 objects, there was habitation in these caves over one hundred thousand years ago! Remnants of Elephants, Lions and panthers have been unearthed; the cave dwellers would cross the perilous Pyrenees into France just to bring back precious flints. |
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