Was Girona a location for Game of Thrones?
Update: Although the HBO series The Game of Thrones ended in 2019, it ran for eight seasons and had 73 episodes. This epic story takes place in many different locations, and the producers shot scenes in a variety of countries. The show was shot in Northern Ireland, Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Malta, Morocco and Spain.
Most of the episodes with castles, sea villages, and cities were filmed in Croatia, Malta, Morroco and Spain. Whereas the sweeping nature vistas were filmed in Northern Ireland, Canada and Iceland.
If you know the series, in the fifth season, places like the Alcázar of Seville were the stand-in for Sunspear, the sun-kissed Dornish home of the House Martell and the Sand Snakes. The sixth season, which began filming in July 2015, returned to Spain and filmed in Navarra, Guadalajara, Seville, Almeria, Peniscola and Girona.
Girona became the backdrop for scenes in King’s Landing, Braavos and the Citadel. Girona is closer to the French border. The old town has many streets, which would fit in nicely in this fantasy, intergenerational series. I was able to visit Girona after my first TBEX conference when the Flower Festival was going on. Held in the month of May, this is definitely an event to look out for when visiting the Costa Brava.
In the eighth episode of season six, we find Arya Stark in Braavos. In “No One,” director Mark Mylod filmed one of the most epic foot chases ever captured on film in the cobblestone streets of the Old Town in Girona.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Mylod described how he walked the streets to map out the foot chase. He wanted the scene to lead lower and lower into the narrow streets of Girona/Braavos. The Old Town is so well preserved it lends a level of authenticity with long stone stairs and winding streets, Roman baths and hidden entryways. The suspense lead us to believe Arya was going to die, and the director’s intention made us believe it all.
In the Game of Thrones series, the stairs in front of the St. Mary’s (Girona) Cathedral were the Great Sept of Baelor in King’s Landing. There were two key scenes: (1) when Cersei (Lena Headey) ends her walk of shame through the streets of Kings Landing to ascend the stairs into the Red Keep; and (2) is where Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) confronted the High Sparrow. Jaime arrives together with the Tyrell soldiers to prevent the walk of shame of Queen Margaery.
In season seven, when Samwell Tarly and his family flee to the Citadel so he can study to become a meister, he and Gilly “check-in” at the Citadel, and the “reception” meister is sitting at a stone desk in front of this giant wheel. This wheel is located inside the Cathedral of St. Mary of Girona.
Even though Game of Thrones has ended, visiting GoT locations has become a full-on business for many tour guides in these popular destinations. As any fan and traveller will tell you, it’s now become a bucket list item to visit all the locations where GoT was filmed. One day I will visit Malta and Croatia just to see those beautiful monuments.
Margarita Ibbott is a travel and lifestyle blogger. She blogs about travel in Canada, the United States and Europe giving practical advice through restaurant, hotel and attraction reviews. She writes for DownshiftingPRO.com and other online media outlets.