Museu d'Història de la Ciutat

Lonely Planet review

Study Girona's history at the Museu d'Història de la Ciutat and wander the narrow streets of the medieval Jewish district around Carrer de la Força.

The entrance to this museum is through the 16th-century mansion Casa Padellàs, which was shifted here, stone by stone, in the 1930s to make way for the bustling ramrod artery of Via Laietana. Digging the foundations one day, what should labourers stub their shovels on but the ancient Roman city of Barcino. Descend into the remnants of the Roman town and stroll along glass ramps above 2000-year-old streets. You walk past the old public laundries, where pots were left outside for passers-by to pee in - urine was used as a disinfectant in Roman laundries! Explore public baths and drainage systems. Peer into storage areas for wine (Catalan wine was plentiful and rough) and garum (a whiffy fish sauce popular throughout the Roman empire). After Barcino, you emerge into the buildings of the Palau Reial, the former royal palace, and can admire the broad arches of the Saló del Tinell, a 14th-century banquet hall.