These places are beautiful in the autumn , I really recommend to visit them if you have a free day! The quickest option to get to Banyoles or Besalú by bus, is with the Teisa company. They have their bus stop near Plaza Catalunya, on Carrer de Pau Claris 117, also there is the ticket office but it is written on it " Garrotxa Express" instead of Teisa. The ticket from Barcelona to Besalu through Banyoles is quite expensive for what it is, almost 25 euros for a return ticket , but the journey takes only one and a half hour like this. You can also go by train to Girona and from there by bus, but like that you would only save around 4 euros and the journey would take more than 2 hours each way. If you like cycling you can also take your bike, cause there are plenty of bike ways around that area. Originally we wanted to go to Banyoles by bus then walk to Besalú and come back to Barcelona from there by bus, but finally we ended up taking the bus to Besalú from Banyoles , cause there wasn't any signed paths to walk there at all. At the local Tourist information office in Banyoles they have a map about the footpaths of the area , but none of them is too long, so the longest is 2 hours if you are very slow. We choose the path around the lake of course, which took one and a half hours and it is very smooth. If it would have been a bit warmer we would loved to jump in the lake cause it looks soo clean and inviting, but unfortunately it was a cool october day. The walk is really nice and romantic, absolutely ideal for a picnic, the landscape is beautiful. The old town of Banyoles is medieval and beautiful as well. Besalú is a typical picturesque medieval village by a small river….just like from a postcard. There are more hiking ways go through Besalú, you can check it here: http://en.itinerannia.net/route-planner/. There is also short path by the river with some picnic areas and playgrounds. You can see it on the pictures it is very nice and romantic as well but i think is is absolutely enough to spend here 2 hours maximum, and walk out from town to the mountains. The Camino de Santiago also goes through this little village, although it is not very popular to do it from this route. There is also a mediveal jewish bath a synagogue, for further details you can check out the website of Besalú.
The Estany lake in Banyoles
Path around the Estany
Besalú
