Marathon, triathlon and cycling tourism is booming, and the classic training hotspots are feeling the squeeze: Mallorca's roads jam with pelotons every April, Tenerife's Teide Loop now needs a booking, and Font-Romeu prices keep creeping up. Enter Girona, the medieval Catalan city about 20 minutes from the Costa Brava, which a new first-person guide from a Irish triathlon team member argues is Europe's best all-round base for active travellers.
The case is convincing. The author raced at the World Triathlon European Middle Distance Championships in nearby Banyoles this July — a 1.9km swim in the strikingly blue L'Estany de Banyoles, an 85km ride towards Girona and a lakeside run shortened by 7km because of the European heatwave. Race week spent in Girona sealed the deal: smooth, quiet roads, drivers who actually give cyclists space, and route variety from flat time-trial lanes to proper climbs. It's why hundreds of professional riders, runners and triathletes live here. Among them is Georgia Taylor-Brown, the multiple triathlon world champion and three-time Olympic medallist, who praises the peaceful road cycling, endless gravel loops, varied running options and a new performance lab, H Lab, for marginal-gains types.
The practical rundown covers the climbs worth your legs: Rocacorba (12km at 6.5%, go early before the heat) and the gentler, monastery-topped Els Àngels, plus the flat Empordà loop for steady volume. Runners get the traffic-free Carrilet greenway and riverside loops along the Onyar and Ter; swimmers get Lake Banyoles or the sea coves around Aiguablava.
Fuel and kit are well covered too. Breakfast at La Comuna among the pros, post-ride focaccia at Brovola, burgers at Idle Hands, pastries at Maison Marcel, and coffee culture at Oniria — which even runs latte-art courses — plus Classic Coffee Bar, a new hub for cyclist-triathletes. For gear, Velodrome occupies a former cinema and might be the most handsome bike shop anywhere; Tata Bikes in the old Jewish Quarter handles repairs and rentals (fast — a mangled handlebar was fixed in 15 minutes); Temple Running caters to the trail crowd. Sleep options span Hotel Nord 1901 in the old town with secure bike storage and a recovery pool, the group-friendly Gran Ultònia with its rooftop bar, and Off Grid Girona, a 17th-century masia in La Garrotxa offering cycling, yoga and hiking.
Rest days aren't an afterthought: climb the cathedral steps familiar to Game of Thrones fans, wander the Jewish Quarter, or walk the medieval walls for views towards the Pyrenees, then settle into the old town's relaxed bar scene.
For anyone planning a race-cation or just a holiday built around a bike or running shoes, Girona hits a rare sweet spot — serious training infrastructure inside a genuinely lovely historic city. And crucially, it's still a step quieter than the better-known cycling islands.