Museu d'Història de Girona

About the museum

The Museu d'Història de Girona is in the heart of the Barri Vell, in a building with an unusual history. It preserves remains of the Roman city wall from the late 2nd or early 3rd century. In the 15th century it was the Gothic manor house of the Cartellà family, and around 1753 it became the convent of San Antonio of the Capuchin friars. At the end of the 19th century it became a secondary school, and during the Civil War its coal store was fitted out as an air-raid shelter for pupils, teachers and neighbours. The museum has been housed here since 1981.

Some remarkable spaces of the former convent survive, such as the cloister, the cistern, the coal store and the Capuchin cemetery or drying room of 1753, a place that follows the Baroque concept of death and is the only complete example of its kind in Catalonia.

The museum offers a chronological route through the city's history, from Roman Gerunda to medieval, early modern and contemporary Girona, complemented by thematic areas: intellectual and industrial Girona, printing, radio, Modernisme and Noucentisme, the Republic, the Civil War and the dictatorship, the transition to democracy, and the sardana. It also includes spaces devoted to the Civil War, such as the air-raid shelter in the Jardí de la Infància, which can be visited with free open doors on the first Sunday of each month.

In October 2026 the first floor was closed to prepare the new exhibition “Girona, 2.100 anys d'una ciutat”, dedicated to the bimillennium of the city.

Highlights

• Building with remains of the Roman city wall, a Gothic house and a Capuchin convent
• Capuchin cemetery or drying room of 1753, the only complete example in Catalonia
• Cloister, cistern and coal store of the former convent
• Civil War air-raid shelter in the Jardí de la Infància
• Route through Girona's history and a space devoted to the sardana and the cobla

Permanent exhibitions

• Mil històries de Girona – Main exhibition tracing the city's history from Roman Gerunda to democracy, with areas such as industrial Girona, printing, radio, the Republic and the sardana. The first floor (Roman and medieval Girona) is closed until the new exhibition opens.
• Refugio antiaéreo del Jardí de la Infància – Shelter built in 1938, the only one surviving from that year, which is part of the Red de Espacios de Memoria Democrática (Network of Democratic Memory Sites) and can be visited with free open doors on the first Sunday of each month.

Founded

1960

Operated by

Ayuntamiento de Girona

Director

Sílvia Planas i Marcé

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission: The first Sunday of each month. Permanent free admission for people registered in Girona and holders of the GironaCultura card.

Temporary free admission while the first floor remains closed (until the opening of the new exhibition, expected in early May 2027); the usual rates are €4.20 general and €2.10 reduced. Free entry also for teachers, GEiEG members, students of the Escola Oficial d'Idiomes, the press, ICOM members and group companions. The temporary exhibition rooms are free to enter. Card payment is recommended.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: not available
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials: not available
• Audio description: no information

The main entrance has a step of more than 5 cm; wheelchair users enter via ramps and with help from staff, so it is advisable to call +34 972 222 229 or write to museuhistoria@ajgirona.cat in advance. There is an adapted lift and an adapted mixed toilet (staff access must be requested). The ground floor is partly accessible, the first floor is visited by an alternative route, the second floor is not accessible and the third floor is partly accessible. The temporary exhibition room is reached by ramp from the Placeta de l'Institut Vell. Two parking spaces for people with reduced mobility on the Plaça de la Catedral, 50 m away. All visits and workshops can have a Catalan Sign Language interpreter with one week's advance booking. There are no tactile tours or tactile reproductions, and no visits or workshops adapted for intellectual disability. Guide dogs are allowed.

Kids & families

• Baby changing facilities

There is a changing table in the toilets on the first floor (currently closed). The cloister, on the first floor, is a quiet space for breastfeeding. The pushchair can be left at the reception storage. Under-16s enter free.

Getting there & parking

Several stops of the Girocleta public bike service are near the museum.

Amenities & dining

Rest areas with benches on the terrace, in the cloister and on the fourth-floor walkway, with views of the cathedral.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The coal store, the cistern, the terrace, the cloister, the Ermessenda room and the Jardí de la Infància air-raid shelter can be requested. Prior enquiry to museuhistoria@ajgirona.cat, followed by an application through the City Council's electronic register.

Plan your visit