Empordà Rice Fields Leisure Loop

The ride begins at the broad, plane-tree-shaded entrance of Girona’s Parc de la Devesa, where the city’s morning hum quickly fades behind you. Within minutes, you are climbing gently through the low hills toward Els Àngels, the tarmac smooth and almost empty under your wheels. The gradient is kind—a steady, unhurried pull that rewards you with views back over the city’s huddled rooftops and the cathedral’s blunt silhouette. This is a route for those who want the sensation of effort without the sting of a real ascent, and it suits confident beginners, older children, and anyone who prefers conversation over gasping.

From the high point, the road unspools into the wide, luminous basin of the Empordà, and the landscape changes character entirely. Here, the flat tarmac lanes run straight between irrigation canals and fields that shift with the season—emerald green in spring, gold and ochre by late summer. The air carries a faint, mineral breath of damp earth and wild fennel, and the only traffic is the occasional tractor or a slow-moving cyclist doing exactly what you are doing. The surface is immaculate, and the shade of poplar and plane trees offers a cool, dappled corridor away from the main roads. This is the heart of the ride, a long, meditative stretch where the Pyrenees hover on the northern horizon like a pale blue watermark.

You pause at the Terrassa del Call, a small café perched at the edge of the rice paddies, where the coffee is strong and the pastries are still warm. Sitting there, you watch herons stalk the shallow water between the dykes, and it feels less like a cycling trip and more like a slow, deliberate form of tourism. The rice fields are not a spectacle; they are a quiet, working landscape, and the ride respects that—no hurried sightseeing, just the pleasure of being in a place that asks nothing of you.

The return leg loops through Corçà, a village of honey-coloured stone where the ice-cream stop is practically mandatory. A cone in hand, you lean against a low wall and watch the afternoon light flatten the fields to a mirror of pale silver. The final kilometres back to Girona are flat and unhurried, the city appearing gradually through the trees as you re-enter the Devesa’s cool green tunnel. In three hours, you have climbed, cruised, eaten, and drifted—66 kilometres that feel shorter than they are, with every metre of the 1,122 metres of elevation gain folded gently into the day. Fully supported, the ride carries your picnic and your spare layers, leaving you free to simply turn the pedals and look. It is a half-day escape designed for those who want the countryside without the struggle, and the memory of it will linger longer than the distance suggests.

Ride highlights

• Shaded paths away from traffic
• Gentle gradients suitable for children and beginners
• A picnic stop near Empordà Rice Fields
• An ice-cream break in Corçà

How the day unfolds

1. start

   Bike fit and briefing

   Meet your guide at Parc de la Devesa entrance, Girona, dial in saddle height and run through the route for the day.

2. +30m

   Out through Garrotxa volcanic region

   A steady warm-up along quiet lanes into Garrotxa volcanic region.

3. midpoint

   Terrassa del Call stop in Corçà

   Coffee and a snack at Terrassa del Call in the heart of Corçà.

4. final

   Back to Girona

   A gentle return leg with the best light of the day behind you.

What is included

On the road

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