By Plane
Girona's airport, Girona-Costa Brava Airport (GRO), is located about 12 kilometres southwest of the city centre.
Alternatively, you can use Barcelona's El Prat Airport, a hub with more international connections, to get to Girona.
ABOUT GIRONA
City Guide
Enchanted Girona: Feasts for the Senses
Nestled in the northeastern part of Catalonia, Girona will seduce you with its well-preserved medieval quarter, the Barri Vell, with narrow winding streets and historic buildings that tell tales of its past. Some of the neighbourhood's key attractions are the Girona Cathedral and the colourful houses lining the Onyar River.
The city's cultural life is devoted to festivals and artistic events celebrating its Catalan heritage. Gastronomy here is an adventure for the palate, blending traditional Catalan dishes with innovative, awarded culinary techniques. The region is famous for its Michelin-starred restaurants. Still, if you fancy a more rustic dining experience, local trattorias serve hearty stews and fresh seafood, often accompanied by the region's excellent wines.
Discovering Costa Brava: Girona's Coastal Escape
Girona serves as the gateway to the Costa Brava, a stunning coastal region. From Girona, it's easy to access the pristine beaches, picturesque villages, and rugged landscapes that define the Costa Brava, which translates to "Rugged Coast" in English.
Its landscape boasts dramatic cliffs, hidden coves, and pristine beaches washed by the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea. This picturesque coastline has long been a magnet for visitors seeking natural beauty, tranquillity, and outdoor adventures.
Every autumn, Artissima animates the city together with the Contemporary Art Week and Luci d'Artista (Artist's Lights), a series of open-air installations by Italian artists held until January.
The Girona Pyrenees: A Haven Beyond the Shores
The Costa Brava is a favourite vacation spot for tourists who enjoy seaside activities, Mediterranean culture, and coastal scenery. However, those seeking a different experience can head inland to the Girona Pyrenees.
This mountainous region offers crisp alpine air and rugged peaks, perfect for visitors looking to escape the typical tourist path and indulge in outdoor adventures.
Beyond the physical activities, the region is steeped in cultural heritage. Small villages with centuries-old churches and stone houses dot the landscape, each with its own story to tell. Local cuisine also takes a shift from the seafood-dominated dishes of the coast to hearty mountain fare, featuring local meats, cheeses, and the robust flavours of Catalan cooking. For a change of pace, explore The Dalí Triangle, a route connecting three museums dedicated to the surrealist artist.
By Train
From Barcelona: The high-speed trains, including the AVE and Avant trains, can get you to Girona in approximately 38 to 50 minutes.
From Madrid: The travel time is approximately 3.5 to 4 hours, depending on the specific service and the number of stops made en route.
By Car
The most common route from Madrid to Girona is via the A-2 and AP-2 motorways. The journey covers approximately 700 kilometres and typically takes around 6.5 to 7 hours.
From Barcelona, the fastest route to Girona is via the AP-7 motorway. The drive covers 100 kilometres and takes roughly 1 to 1.5 hours.
“We performed 60 meetings in three days with the airports we were looking for, it would have took us months to achieve that without CONNECT. We got an excellent return on investment and we ended up having concrete request for commercial proposals. Real value for money!”
Nicolas OSORIO LORA
Senior Consultant, Airbus Consulting
“One of the best airline industry events, combining efficiency and organization with French style and flair!”
Luigi Vallero
General Manager Italia, Danish Air Transport
“CONNECT New World was, in my opinion, a fantastic, necessary and useful initiative.”
Gustavo Vaca
Aviareps
“I had more meetings than expected. Very professional and highly effective in a cordial and relaxed environment. A great event!”
Luce Bureau
VP, Air Service Development
“Fantastic event, as ever! CONNECT helps our industry to build networks and air routes which are more important than ever to help our mixed-up world. Bravo to the whole team and see you next year!”
Patrick Edmond
Managing Director, Altair Advisory
“CONNECT provides enough time for airlines and airports to meet and discuss, as well as build new and nurture existing relationships in the networking sessions.”
Atif Farooq
Network Manager UK, easyJet
“The experience was excellent before and during the event; thank you very much for your effort. Keep going!”
Andres Fernandez
La Romana Airport
“First time in CONNECT for Madagascar’s team and thank you so much, everything was perfect!”
Zoélisoa Rajohnson
Commercial and Marketing Director, Ravinala Airport
“Perfect hospitality. The number of confirmed meetings exceeded our expectations.”
Kuba Olejniczak
Chief Specialist, Poznan-Airport
“Great event in Cagliari – seriously impressed with event logistics – we will certainly return to Cagliari!”
Guilherme Rosas da Costa
Network & Scheduling Planner, Stobart Air
“The event’s flexibility in scheduling meetings and timings was greatly appreciated. It provided a fantastic venue for meeting and greeting my airport clients.”
Gil Aguiles
RG Media
“The CONNECT format, with a limited number of participants, created the perfect environment for networking. And the location itself was exceptional. I can’t recall any other event where I felt so inspired to kickstart new routes, but Santa Domingo did just that.”
Gökhan Dölek
iGA Istanbul Airport
“CONNECT enabled us to meet with a good number of our airline partners. We were also able to take the temperature of the industry in terms of how other airports and industry leaders see things.”
Tom Screen
Aviation Director, Birmingham Airport
“Good meetings and good networking with relevant people for our business. Hopefully, we can come again to CONNECT.”
Joao Pita
GRU Airport
“During the event we had a lot of scheduled and unscheduled meetings, giving us many opportunities to meet with airport delegates. Thank you for the help and support!”
Eda Ermert
Network Development Analyst, Turkish Airlines
“CONNECT offers the opportunity to network and catch-up with airports from Europe and beyond, in a very relaxed setting. In 2020, the event helped us launch 5 new routes to Italy and France. In 2022 we will be in Tampere to join new conversations and new projects for our network.”
Jonay Lobo
Chief Network, Revenue Management & Alliances Director
“Excellent event looking forward to 2024.”
Simon Harley
London Luton Airport
“CONNECT is a well organised event with a friendly yet professional atmosphere. It is an important part of Newcastle International Airport’s calendar of engagement with current and prospective airline partners.”
Leon McQuaid
Head of Aviation Development, Newcastle Airport
“I had better outcomes than expected in the meetings I had and the networking events were very good.”
Jennifer Newman
VINCI Airports: London Gatwick Airport
“A fantastically organised event down to the tiniest details. It was my first time at CONNECT and I was thoroughly impressed. I could not have imagined a better way to resume networking in person!”
Anjana Balwalli
Senior Manager Network & Airport Relations, Eurowings Discover
“Our onsite meetings were trebled with help from the CONNECT team, and we are more than satisfied with these discussions, that are the beginning of long conversations opened up for the future.”
Olivier Moulis
Director, Brive Airport
“The event exceeded our expectations. It was very well-organised and we had lots of opportunities to meet and discuss with airlines and airports.”
Patrick Baudis
Vice President, Mitsubishi Aero Advisory
“As always, it was a great pleasure seeing you in Tampere after very long time. We enjoyed both Tampere and Finland, so thanks for bringing us to places we probably would not visit by ourselves. Thanks for an amazing event (as usual) and hospitality, we look forward to seeing you next year in Morocco!”
Bojan Aranđelović
Head of Network Planning and Scheduling, Air Serbia
“Great organization, perfect conditions, delicious food, very friendly and cosy atmosphere and professional communication. Meetings at CONNECT are always very productive! We hope next year will be at least as excellent as it was in 2022!”
Radostina Zlateva
Aviation Marketing & Route Development Expert, Fraport Bulgaria
“We had more than 35 formal meetings held with Airports, Airlines and have turned Business Cases discussed at last year’s CONNECT into reality, launching routes such as BUD, ROM and ZIA.”
Igor Aptsiauri
Commercial Director, Myway Airlines
“A very nice event in Tampere, extremely well-co-ordinated and very productive I have to say. Of course, we are planning to attend next event in Tangier.”
David Surley
Director Route Development, Aarhus Airport
“CONNECT is a very good fit for us with regards to attending airlines and their representatives! It’s an intimate setting, even though it's still a big event and a good value for money. Following this event, we are planning increased capacity on existing routes.”
Mats Sigurdson
Airline Development Director, Manchester Airport Group
“Perfect organization, both for meetings and for leisure time. CONNECT does compare better than other events in the aviation industry, with longer meeting slots, less stressed timing, which helps people talking and doing business.”
Antonello Bonolis
Aviation Business & Communication Director, Bologna Airport
“Thank you for the event organisation. As always excellent organisation, quality meetings, transfers worked well, and the food was great during the event (which makes a massive difference). Thank you, we look forward to next year’s event!”
Janice Mather
Head of Airports & Tourism Organisations, Jet2.com & Jet2holidays
“Tangier was a good choice for this year Connect. Event well organised with chance for number of meetings in a nice atmosphere. Everything was not "overwhelming". Good organisation of meetings in Business Lounge.”
Radoslaw Wloszek
Krakow Airport
