Vic
Half a day, including the market and lunch. Tuesday and Saturday are market days and the square is at its best then; pair it with Montserrat or Ripoll rather than coming out from Barcelona for it alone.
The best inland market day within an hour of Barcelona.
At a Glance
- — You want monuments on a grand scale
A Catalan market city on the plain north of Barcelona: a huge arcaded square, a Roman temple under the cathedral square, a bishop's palace and a food culture built on sausage, cured pork and the market. It is a working city rather than a resort, and that is the appeal.
How it got here
The Ausetani people established an Iberian oppidum here before the Roman conquest gave rise to the settlement of Ausa. During the Middle Ages the city grew as the seat of a bishopric and the capital of a county under the Counts of Barcelona. Control shifted through medieval conflicts until the town solidified its status as an administrative and religious hub for the Osona plain. The surviving Roman temple was only uncovered in the late nineteenth century after the demolition of a castle that encased the columns. This structural palimpsest defines the current center where medieval stone walls stand upon foundations from antiquity.
Where it sits
The city occupies the central depression of the Plana de Vic, a basin surrounded by the ranges of the Pre-Pyrenees and the Guilleries. The Ter river snakes through the landscape, feeding a fertile valley that holds moisture and keeps the plain prone to heavy morning fog during the autumn and winter months. The climate here creates harsh cold in January and dry heat in July. It stays quiet compared to the coastal cities as the surrounding hills and the barrier of the Montseny range dictate a slower pace for the agricultural market economy.
What to eat and drink
Cured pork defines the table here, specifically the llonganissa of Vic, a sausage made from lean pork and fat, seasoned with black pepper and salt. The climate of the plain allows for the slow drying of these meats throughout the winter. Cooks prepare the local specialty of fricandó, a stew of thinly sliced veal simmered with wild mushrooms harvested from the nearby forests. Dessert typically consists of coca de llardons, a flat cake baked with pork cracklings and pine nuts, often paired with a glass of crisp, dry white wine from the neighboring Penedès vineyards.
Catalonia: the whole region
Barcelona is the anchor and most trips never leave it, which is a mistake but not a fatal one: Girona, Tarragona and the Costa Brava's coves are all within two hours by train or a short drive, and the Empordà behind them holds the best…
Minimum 4 days · better 7-8 days · deep 2 weeks
Pair It With
In Catalonia
In Catalonia
In Catalonia
Logistics are verified only. We don't publish schedules we haven't confirmed.
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