Granollers

At 8.47 on a Tuesday morning the R3 train from Barcelona slips past the last warehouse and pulls into Granollers Centre. Commuters in trainers and suit jackets step off first; behind them come the day-trippers clutching empty wheelie bags. By 9.05 the bags are already filling with chorizo from the 900-stall market that spreads from Plaça de la Porxada to every adjacent street. This is not a show for tourists – it’s how the town has started its week since 968 AD, when the first charter granted traders the right to charge by weight rather than guesswork.

A centre that still measures in centuries

Granollers sits only 35 minutes from Barcelona but feels a full timezone away from the stag-do bars on the Rambla. At 145 m above sea level the air is fractionally cooler and the pace slower; locals walk in the road because they know drivers will stop. The old quarter is a grid of narrow lanes fixed in the Middle Ages, just large enough for a mule cart and now perfect for shade in summer. Stone tablets beside doorways list the guild that once worked inside – espardenyers (rope-soled sandals), corders (sheep shearers), traginers (muleteers) – reminders that this was the wholesale engine of the Vallès plain long before anyone coined the phrase “day-trip”.

The gothic church of Sant Esteve anchors the quarter, its octagonal tower visible from the station. Inside, the retable is sober Catalan gothic: no gold leaf theatrics, just carved oak saints who look like they have put in a shift. Admission is free, though a polite €1 donation keeps the lights on. Walk a block east and the Rec Comtal still trickles along its medieval course; follow it for five minutes and you reach the only remaining arch of the old town wall, now holding up a block of 1970s flats. Conservation here is pragmatic, not romantic.

Porches, pork and a menu that translates itself

Renaissance arcades known as La Porxada shelter the heart of the market. Forty-six Tuscan columns hold up a roof that once protected grain from summer storms; today the stone is stained with diesel rain from nearby traffic, but the space still works. Under the arches, butchers slice xoriço so fresh it curls like a watch spring; one stall sells nothing but rope-soled avarcas in every colour, €18 a pair if you pay cash, €20 by card. A woman from Lancashire haggles in school-level Spanish and walks off with two leather handbags for €35, delighted that “Barcelona wanted ninety”.

When hunger strikes, locals head for the side streets. Can Xarina on c/ Anselm Clavé offers a three-course menú del día for €14; grilled chicken and chips sits beside Catalan staples, and the waiter will produce an English sheet if you look puzzled long enough. La Porca, two minutes away, does pork shoulder slow-roasted until the rind shatters like top-quality crackling. They serve it with poached pear – a sweet counterpoint that converts even British guests who claim not to like fruit with meat. Vegetarians are catered for, but choices narrow sharply outside the city centre; plan accordingly.

Modernism without the coach parties

Away from the market lanes, Granollers grew rich on textile fortunes a century ago. A short, sign-posted walk leads to the best modernista façades: stained glass, wrought-iron balconies and the serrated brickwork that Catalan architects loved. Casa Carles Cendra on c/ Corró is the headline sight – blue mosaics and sinuous balconies – yet there are no queues, no audio-guides, and the ground floor is currently a branch of CaixaBank, so you can study the tile-work while using the only free cash machine in town. (Withdraw here; most others slap on €1.75.)

The town museum occupies an eighteenth-century granary behind the church. Exhibits hop from Roman nails to contemporary art in three small floors; allow 45 minutes and you will leave knowing why the plain once flooded and how rabbits destroyed the first medieval crops. Doors shut at 14:00 sharp – like most municipal museums – so arrive before noon or risk a locked gate.

Walking off the plain

Granollers will never be mistaken for an alpine village – the surrounding hills barely top 400 m – but the network of farm tracks is ideal for stretching legs after lunch. Head north along the river Congost and you reach the Parc del Congost in ten minutes; locals jog here after work, and the paved path continues 6 km to Les Franqueses if you fancy counting railway bridges. Cyclists share the route, so keep left and expect a bell.

If you have a car, the road to Montseny Natural Park begins ten minutes west of town. Thirty minutes of steady climbing delivers you to 1,000 m of oak and beech forest where summer temperatures drop five degrees; bring a jacket even in July. Winter can bring a dusting of snow, but motorways are gritted promptly – Catalans treat any white stuff as a national emergency.

When to come, and when to stay away

Market days – Tuesday and Saturday – give the town its pulse, but they also fill the car parks. Arrive before 09:00 or use the free park-and-ride at Granollers-Estació on the ring-road; a shuttle bus covers the 2 km to centre every fifteen minutes. Saturdays are family-oriented, Tuesdays attract professional buyers: expect brisk service in the morning, shuttered streets after 14:00 when everyone heads home for lunch.

August feels empty. Half the shops close for the month, and the market shrinks to a token row of fruit stalls. Conversely, the Festa Major at the end of August fills every hotel bed within 20 km; if you want human pyramids and midnight fireworks, book early. Spring and early autumn deliver the best balance: warm days, cool nights, tables outside but room to breathe.

Rain is rarely dramatic – the town sits in the rain-shadow of the coastal range – yet when it arrives the medieval drains overflow and pavements glisten like an ice rink. Standard British trainers cope; leave the suede at home.

Getting there, getting out

Trains leave Barcelona-Plaça de Catalunya twice an hour; the journey is 35 minutes on the R3 and costs €4.90 each way. Sit on the right for a view of Montseny as you leave the city. From the airport, take the R2 to Sants and change – total time just over an hour, still €4.90. A taxi direct costs €70–€80 unless you book a fixed-price transfer online (around €55). Motorway tolls add €3.45 if you hire a car, plus city traffic that moves at bicycle speed until you clear Gran Via.

Leaving is easy; staying another night is the hard part. The three-star Hotel Ciutat de Granollers on c/ Torras i Bages has doubles from €65 including rooftop pool and garage parking – handy if you have driven. Rooms at the front overlook the ring-road, so request rear facing if traffic hum bothers you. The only youth hostel closed in 2022; budget travellers now use neighbouring Montmeló or commute from Barcelona.

Worth it?

Granollers offers no beach, no Gaudí masterpiece, no cable-car panoramas. What it does provide is the functioning rhythm of a Catalan market town: arcades that smell of coffee grounds and cured pork, shopkeepers who greet customers by name, and a square where the only queue is for the weighing scale. Come for half a day and you will tick some boxes; stay for breakfast and supper and you will understand why locals still set their watch by the bell in Sant Esteve’s tower.