R07 - Quillan to Girona
This route was brought to you by:
RouteXpert Arno van Lochem - Senior RX
Last edit: 28-01-2024
Route Summary The start of this route is in Quillan, located in the Northern Pyrenees. Erosion has left its mark here, resulting in beautifully carved gorges through which roads wind.
Further south you cross the border and you drive through the beautiful Spanish country via a few nice colljes and great steering roads. Isn't that what 'the hinterland of Barcelona' is known for? The challenging roads that await you here are proof of that.
The route ends south of Girona at the Eden Park hotel. This hotel is located near the airport, with a swimming pool, a good restaurant and, last but not least, a well-stocked bar.
This route is part of a tour through Catalonia, Andorra and the Pyrenees. This tour is divided into seven routes, of which this is the last part.
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Verdict
Duration
7h 52m
Mode of travel
Car or motorcycle
Distance
287.06 km
Countries
RouteXpert Review The Pyrenees are a true paradise for motorcyclists: beautiful views and magnificent winding roads between imposing mountains. Given the beautiful surroundings in which the roads are really formidable and provide a lot of driving pleasure, I rate this route with 5 stars.
From Quillan, the starting point of this route, you actually drive directly into the gorge of Pierre-Lys. Rock walls tower high above you, impressive to see. The guardrail along the road is there to give the impression that something is there, but the name guardrail should not have it.
After Axat you will again drive through a piece of nature that has been formed over millions of years, the gorge of Saint-Georges. This gorge, like the gorge of Pierre-Lys, has been carved out by the river Aude.
It's great to drive through this, just imagine how much work it has been to build a little common road in such a narrow gorge.
You drive on the D118, a road that doesn't seem to have a straight stretch. Beautiful views present themselves at every turn. It is also striking how very quiet it is here, which makes driving a lot more fun. At a nice spot along the route you can stop just that little bit easier, the chance that someone is behind you is not very great.
After enjoying the great D118 for about 45 kilometers, you will pass the Matemale Lake, with the Matemale dam of the same name. This is a dam that is not just concrete. A great deal of soil has also been used to form it. Although the operation is the same as its concrete brother, this dam is incorporated much more beautifully into the environment. Nice to stop for a while and walk across the dam for a few photos.
A few kilometers further on you will pass the highest col of this route, the Col de la Quillane. With a pass height of 1714 meters, he is quite a serious guy.
On top of the col you drive past an airport, the 'Aerodrome de Mont-Louis - La Quillane. So don't be alarmed if an airplane overtakes you on the left. However, do not expect a large passenger plane, the airport is mainly used for gliding.
You drive here in the Regional Natural Park of the Catalan Pyrenees. This nature park groups three areas on an area of 138,000 hectares and an altitude between 300 and 3,000 meters. The vast plains, the special flora and a record number of hours of sunshine, as well as the presence of the famous Canigou mountain range and the famous valley of Eyne will certainly appeal to lovers of nature and outdoor activities!
As the name of the airport indicates, a little later you will arrive at Mont-Louis. A lively place where, for example, a solar oven and a citadel can be viewed.
The solar oven is an experimental setup built in 1949, making it the first of its kind in the world. A power of 50 kW is supplied. This capacity is achieved by strongly concentrating sunlight by means of mirrors. The goal was to smelt ore and extract high-purity materials to make new and effective refractory materials.
Tours and demonstrations are given, explaining how the oven works. The tour is supplemented with simple scientific and educational experiments. How about concentrating the sun's rays to produce temperatures between 2000 ° and 3500 ° Celsius? With this you can, for example, ignite wood, melt metal or cook ceramics. Interesting to watch.
A short walk further you come to the citadel. After the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659), Louis XIV ordered Vauban to build the fortifications to protect the area from Spanish attacks. The location was strategically chosen, it was on an important road from Spain to France, there were natural barriers that reduced the construction of fortifications, and there was ample manpower and building material available in the immediate vicinity.
In May 1679 Vauban presented his plans in which he made optimal use of the environment. In the east he proposed few changes, here flows the river Têt, which with its banks formed a major obstacle for the attackers. Access was easier on the west side and extensive defenses were built here. Vauban designed Mont-Louis in four vertical zones, from high to low: The citadel, the upper and lower town and a redoubt.
In 1681 the structure of the citadel was completed and suitable for defense. The citadel could accommodate 2500 men and 300 horses and there was a hospital. The entire construction period took about 10 years. Once completed, Mont-Louis was an important military defense on the border with Spain. The upper town developed much more slowly, in 1720 there were 50 houses here, the majority of which were in bad condition.
(source: Wikipedia)
After discovering the history of Mont-Louis, you follow the N116 for a while, a slightly larger road. Still quite quiet due to other traffic, but the views left and right remain beautiful. At Bourg-Madame you leave France and drive back into Spanish territory.
Via the N260 you reach the C16, where you drive through a tunnel of 5 kilometers. Shortly after the end of this tunnel you will find a parking space on the right side of the road with a hill next to it. A viewpoint has been created on top of this hill, equipped with a beautiful staircase to reach it. From this point a beautiful view of the area, it shows what the tunnel was hiding from you.
Arriving in Vic, you have the opportunity to visit the museum of learning art shortly after the refueling stop. The museum originated in Vic, a city with a great tradition in leatherworking. In this museum you can view the collection of tanner Andreu Colomer i Munmany, which consists of more than a thousand articles made entirely or partly of leather. The pieces, of great artistic richness, show different techniques and come from very different places and periods.
Of particular note, because of their value and number, the chests and chests are covered in cordovan leather (a type of tanned goatskin) and the wall coverings made of sheep embossed leather with a gold-plated or silver-plated and polychrome finish.
North of Vic you drive on the BV-5224. A wonderful steering path through the rolling countryside of Catalonia. The beautiful views are again present in large numbers, just like the many curves. There is also a col, here you will find the Collada de Bracons with a height of 1132 meters. On top you have a pleasant view of the area that you will drive through in a moment. Reason to stop for a photo, after all it is the last col in this route.
On top of the col you also leave the province of Barcelona and enter Gerona. The road number is also different from here: GIV-5273. The road numbers indicate in which province you are driving, B is Barcelona, GI stands for Girona. Nice to know now that you're almost over ....
The road number and the province may be different, but the GIV-5273 is just as wonderful a road as the BV-5224. The swinging continues cheerfully for a while, until the coffee break in Joanetes.
After the coffee break you reach Anglès. You will arrive in this place, just before the roundabout, past the Burés factory. This textile factory (opened in 1887), although the activities have stopped, still has a gigantic impressive steam engine. It used to be in charge of operating some of the factory's automated systems. The machine was designed in 1908-1909 by Maquinista Terre i Marítima de Barcelona and had an output of 200 hp. It can be considered a real technical jewel, inherited from an industrial era. In 2010 the machine was declared a National Cultural Importance. Interesting to view this imposing machine.
After this beautiful steam engine, there is a nice bit of steering on the Gi-640, after which the final destination of this route quickly appears: Hotel Eden Park south of Girona.
A beautifully situated hotel near the airport, with a swimming pool, a good restaurant and, not unimportantly, a well-stocked bar.
Have fun driving this route!
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Use of this GPS route is at your own expense and risk. The route has been carefully composed and checked by a MyRoute-app accredited RouteXpert for use on TomTom, Garmin and MyRoute-app Navigation.
Changes may nevertheless have occurred due to changed circumstances, road diversions or seasonal closures. We therefore recommend checking each route before use.
Preferably use the route track in your navigation system. More information about the use of MyRoute-app can be found on the website under 'Community' or 'Academy'.
Changes may nevertheless have occurred due to changed circumstances, road diversions or seasonal closures. We therefore recommend checking each route before use.
Preferably use the route track in your navigation system. More information about the use of MyRoute-app can be found on the website under 'Community' or 'Academy'.
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Catalonia
About this region
Catalonia (; Catalan: Catalunya [kətəˈluɲə, kataˈluɲa]; Aranese Occitan: Catalonha [kataˈluɲa]; Spanish: Cataluña [kataˈluɲa]) is an autonomous community in the northeastern corner of Spain, designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy.Catalonia consists of four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. The capital and largest city, Barcelona is the second-most populated municipality in Spain and the fifth-most populous urban area in the European Union. It comprises most of the former Principality of Catalonia (with the remainder Roussillon now part of France's Pyrénées-Orientales). It is bordered by France (Occitanie) and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, and the Spanish autonomous communities of Aragon to the west and Valencia to the south. The official languages are Catalan, Spanish, and the Aranese dialect of Occitan.In the late 8th century, various counties across the eastern Pyrenees were established by the Frankish kingdom as a defensive barrier against Muslim invasions. In the 10th century the County of Barcelona became progressively independent. In 1137, Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon were united by marriage under the Crown of Aragon. Within the Crown, the Catalan counties adopted a common polity, the Principality of Catalonia, developing its own institutional system, such as Courts, Generalitat and constitutions, becoming the base for the Crown's Mediterranean trade and expansionism. In the later Middle Ages, Catalan literature flourished. In 1469, the king of Aragon and the queen of Castile were married and ruled their realms together, retaining all of their distinct institutions and legislation.
During the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), Catalonia revolted (1640–1652) against a large and burdensome presence of the royal army, being briefly proclaimed a republic under French protection, until it was largely reconquered by the Spanish army. By the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), the northern parts of Catalonia, mostly the Roussillon, were ceded to France. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), the Crown of Aragon sided against the Bourbon Philip V of Spain; following Catalan defeat on 11 September 1714, Philip V imposed a unifying administration across Spain, enacting the Nueva Planta decrees which, like in the other realms of the Crown of Aragon, suppressed the Catalan institutions and rights. This led to the eclipse of Catalan as a language of government and literature, replaced by Spanish. Throughout the 18th century, Catalonia experienced economic growth.
In the 19th century, Catalonia was severely affected by the Napoleonic and Carlist Wars. In the second third of the century, it experienced industrialisation. As wealth from the industrial expansion grew, it saw a cultural renaissance coupled with incipient nationalism while several workers movements appeared. With the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939), the Generalitat was restored as a Catalan autonomous government. After the Spanish Civil War, the Francoist dictatorship enacted repressive measures, abolishing Catalan self-government and banning the official use of the Catalan language. After a period of autarky, from the late 1950s through to the 1970s Catalonia saw rapid economic growth, drawing many workers from across Spain, making Barcelona one of Europe's largest industrial metropolitan areas and turning Catalonia into a major tourist destination. During the Spanish transition to democracy (1975–1982), Catalonia regained self-government and is now one of the most economically dynamic communities of Spain.
Since the 2010s there has been growing support for Catalan independence. On 27 October 2017, the Catalan Parliament unilaterally declared independence following a disputed referendum. The Spanish Senate voted in favour of enforcing direct rule by removing the Catalan government and calling a snap regional election. The Spanish Supreme Court imprisoned seven former ministers of the Catalan government on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds, while several others—including then-President Carles Puigdemont—fled to other European countries.
Read more on Wikipedia
During the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), Catalonia revolted (1640–1652) against a large and burdensome presence of the royal army, being briefly proclaimed a republic under French protection, until it was largely reconquered by the Spanish army. By the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), the northern parts of Catalonia, mostly the Roussillon, were ceded to France. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), the Crown of Aragon sided against the Bourbon Philip V of Spain; following Catalan defeat on 11 September 1714, Philip V imposed a unifying administration across Spain, enacting the Nueva Planta decrees which, like in the other realms of the Crown of Aragon, suppressed the Catalan institutions and rights. This led to the eclipse of Catalan as a language of government and literature, replaced by Spanish. Throughout the 18th century, Catalonia experienced economic growth.
In the 19th century, Catalonia was severely affected by the Napoleonic and Carlist Wars. In the second third of the century, it experienced industrialisation. As wealth from the industrial expansion grew, it saw a cultural renaissance coupled with incipient nationalism while several workers movements appeared. With the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939), the Generalitat was restored as a Catalan autonomous government. After the Spanish Civil War, the Francoist dictatorship enacted repressive measures, abolishing Catalan self-government and banning the official use of the Catalan language. After a period of autarky, from the late 1950s through to the 1970s Catalonia saw rapid economic growth, drawing many workers from across Spain, making Barcelona one of Europe's largest industrial metropolitan areas and turning Catalonia into a major tourist destination. During the Spanish transition to democracy (1975–1982), Catalonia regained self-government and is now one of the most economically dynamic communities of Spain.
Since the 2010s there has been growing support for Catalan independence. On 27 October 2017, the Catalan Parliament unilaterally declared independence following a disputed referendum. The Spanish Senate voted in favour of enforcing direct rule by removing the Catalan government and calling a snap regional election. The Spanish Supreme Court imprisoned seven former ministers of the Catalan government on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds, while several others—including then-President Carles Puigdemont—fled to other European countries.
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Route Collections in this region 7 day roundtrip from Girona to Catalonia Andorra and the Pyrenees
The Pyrenees stretch for more than 450 kilometers from the Bay of Biscay in the west to the Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean. The mountain range, with peaks of more than 3000 meters, forms a natural barrier that cuts off the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of Europe. The main ridge of the mountain range also largely forms the state border between France and Spain, while the microstate Andorra lies between these two countries.
Bordering the Pyrenees is Catalonia, the hinterland of Barcelona. No wonder many new models of motorcycles are introduced to the press in Catalonia. There are many great ways to test the new models there. An additional advantage is that it is very quiet! You would almost say 'too quiet' because there is a danger that at some point you will use the entire width of the road, under the guise of 'you won't see oncoming traffic here'.... But let's keep it safe and stay on the right side of the center line.
These seven routes of this collection pass through these beautiful areas. Each and every one of these routes where especially the sides of the tires have a hard time. Whether on the gentle slopes in Catalonia or on the balcony roads in the Gorges in the French Pyrenees, make sure they're excited, because you can bet it's going to be exciting!
A few sights are discussed in the review for each route. These often tell something about the history of the area in which you drive. Fun facts, quite educational. There are also places where you can refuel and where you can drink coffee and/or have lunch. You are completely free to visit these places, you can of course also determine your own points of interest.
But the main thing you probably traveled to this area for is simply driving. And as mentioned above, you are in a true motorcycle paradise where the steering is fantastic!
Each route ends at a hotel. It is of course not an obligation to use these hotels, you can always find another place to stay in the area, that decision is up to you. My experience, however, is that they are all simple but good hotels for a very reasonable price. They are known and can be booked at booking.com.
The routes of these collections:
R01 - Girona to Sant Julia de Loria, 269km
R02 - Sant Julia de Loria to Pierrefitte Nestalas, 290km
R03 - Pierrefitte Nestalas to Barbastro, 291km
R04 - Barbastro to Puig Reig, 266km
R05 - Puig Reig to Figueres, 268km
R06 - Figueres to Quillan, 243km
R07 - Quillan to Gironam, 286km
Have fun driving these routes!
Bordering the Pyrenees is Catalonia, the hinterland of Barcelona. No wonder many new models of motorcycles are introduced to the press in Catalonia. There are many great ways to test the new models there. An additional advantage is that it is very quiet! You would almost say 'too quiet' because there is a danger that at some point you will use the entire width of the road, under the guise of 'you won't see oncoming traffic here'.... But let's keep it safe and stay on the right side of the center line.
These seven routes of this collection pass through these beautiful areas. Each and every one of these routes where especially the sides of the tires have a hard time. Whether on the gentle slopes in Catalonia or on the balcony roads in the Gorges in the French Pyrenees, make sure they're excited, because you can bet it's going to be exciting!
A few sights are discussed in the review for each route. These often tell something about the history of the area in which you drive. Fun facts, quite educational. There are also places where you can refuel and where you can drink coffee and/or have lunch. You are completely free to visit these places, you can of course also determine your own points of interest.
But the main thing you probably traveled to this area for is simply driving. And as mentioned above, you are in a true motorcycle paradise where the steering is fantastic!
Each route ends at a hotel. It is of course not an obligation to use these hotels, you can always find another place to stay in the area, that decision is up to you. My experience, however, is that they are all simple but good hotels for a very reasonable price. They are known and can be booked at booking.com.
The routes of these collections:
R01 - Girona to Sant Julia de Loria, 269km
R02 - Sant Julia de Loria to Pierrefitte Nestalas, 290km
R03 - Pierrefitte Nestalas to Barbastro, 291km
R04 - Barbastro to Puig Reig, 266km
R05 - Puig Reig to Figueres, 268km
R06 - Figueres to Quillan, 243km
R07 - Quillan to Gironam, 286km
Have fun driving these routes!
View Route Collection
Ten Day Roadtrip from Spain to Portugal
This route collection describes a 10-day Road trip in the north of Spain and Portugal, a true paradise for motorcycling.
You drive over beautiful mountain ridges and through beautiful valleys. Along the way you drive through beautiful villages and countless nature reserves, great passes with countless curves, tunnels cut out of the mountains and azure blue reservoirs. The roads are fair to good, sometimes unpaved.
What you get to see along the way;
Spanish Pyrenees
Parc Naturel del Cadi-Moixero
Serra del Cadí
Serra de Moixeró
Pedraforca
Serra del Monsec
Collada de Clarà
Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido
Collados del Asón Natural Park.
Parque natural Saja-Besaya
Parque natural de Fuentes Carrionas y Fuente Cobre
Parque natural de la Montana de Riano y Mampodre
Picos de Europa
El Parque regional Montaña de Riaño y Mampodre
El Parque natural de Redes
The Sierra de la Culebra
Parque natural Montesinho
Along the routes there are more than enough nice places to stop for a short or longer period, these are described in the review and with a waypoint and POI included in the routes.
Have fun reading and planning your next motorcycle vacation.
If you have ridden these routes I would like to hear your feedback.
You drive over beautiful mountain ridges and through beautiful valleys. Along the way you drive through beautiful villages and countless nature reserves, great passes with countless curves, tunnels cut out of the mountains and azure blue reservoirs. The roads are fair to good, sometimes unpaved.
What you get to see along the way;
Spanish Pyrenees
Parc Naturel del Cadi-Moixero
Serra del Cadí
Serra de Moixeró
Pedraforca
Serra del Monsec
Collada de Clarà
Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido
Collados del Asón Natural Park.
Parque natural Saja-Besaya
Parque natural de Fuentes Carrionas y Fuente Cobre
Parque natural de la Montana de Riano y Mampodre
Picos de Europa
El Parque regional Montaña de Riaño y Mampodre
El Parque natural de Redes
The Sierra de la Culebra
Parque natural Montesinho
Along the routes there are more than enough nice places to stop for a short or longer period, these are described in the review and with a waypoint and POI included in the routes.
Have fun reading and planning your next motorcycle vacation.
If you have ridden these routes I would like to hear your feedback.
View Route Collection