Alt Empordà vineyards Family Explorer

The day begins beside the river in Sarrià de Ter, where the old bridge still carries the morning’s quiet. From here, the route slips almost immediately onto a compact gravel greenway, the surface firm and forgiving under your tyres, and the traffic noise dissolves into the rustle of plane trees. This is a ride designed for families in the truest sense: not a race, not a test, but a long, unhurried arc through the Alt Empordà, where the vineyards roll out in tidy, sun-bleached rows and the Pyrenees hover on the horizon like a rumour. The gradients are gentle enough that a ten-year-old on a hybrid bike can manage them without complaint, and the pace is set by whoever feels like stopping to look at a heron, or a particularly gnarly old olive tree, rather than by any sense of urgency.

The greenway carries you north, past the low hill of Puig d’Àligues, where the path bends and the sea air begins to mix with the scent of ripening grapes. There is no regrouping pressure here—no frantic pedalling to catch up, no anxious glances over shoulders. You ride at your own rhythm, and the guide simply appears at the next corner, patient as a shepherd. Around mid-morning, the route curves into the village of Cruïlles, and here the real reward awaits: a proper ice-cream stop, where the kids can sprawl on the stone steps with dripping cones while the adults stretch their legs and watch the village life go by. It is a small, unpretentious pleasure, but it is the kind of moment that anchors a whole day.

Leaving Cruïlles, the track rises imperceptibly towards the Fageda d’en Jordà, a beech forest that feels like a different country altogether. The light filters through the canopy in green and gold shards, the air cools, and the path narrows to a ribbon of packed earth and leaf litter. This is the moderate part of the ride—not steep, but sustained enough to remind you that you are earning the descent that follows. The forest has a hush to it, broken only by the squeak of saddles and the murmur of conversation, and it offers a shaded interlude before the landscape opens up again into the wide, vine-covered plain.

The return leg is a gentle, rolling drift back towards the coast, the greenway now running straight as a ruled line between the vineyards. By mid-afternoon, you will have covered 78 kilometres and climbed just over 900 metres, though the numbers never feel like a statistic—they feel like the slow, satisfying accumulation of views and small discoveries. The final coffee stop at Can Roca, a corner bar that has seen a thousand cyclists pass through its doors, provides the perfect punctuation: cold drinks, salty snacks, and the pleasant ache of a day well spent. By the time you roll back over the bridge at Sarrià de Ter, the sun is lower, the light is longer, and the kids are already asking when they can do it again.

Ride highlights

• Gentle gradients suitable for children and beginners
• An ice-cream break in Cruïlles
• A relaxed pace with no regrouping pressure
• A flat, car-free greenway through Alt Empordà vineyards

How the day unfolds

1. 08:30

   Bike fit and coffee

   Meet your guide at Sarrià de Ter bridge, fit the bike and take on a coffee before rolling out.

2. 09:15

   Into Alt Empordà vineyards

   The first stretch warms the legs on quiet roads towards Alt Empordà vineyards.

3. 10:45

   The Puig d'Àligues section

   The main effort of the day, with the guide setting a steady, sustainable pace.

4. 12:30

   Lunch near Cruïlles

   A relaxed stop for food in or near Cruïlles, with the bikes in view.

5. 14:30

   Past Fageda d'en Jordà Beech Forest

   An easier afternoon section taking in Fageda d'en Jordà Beech Forest.

6. 16:30

   Return to Girona

   A final flowing stretch back into the city with a drink waiting on arrival.

What is included

On the road

Good to know