Pets in Girona

Good to Know

• Girona's Old Town and riverside area have a genuinely good concentration of dog-friendly cafes and restaurant terraces — look for outdoor seating, which is almost always the area where dogs are permitted (indoor seating with dogs is less common but does exist at a few spots).
• If travelling by train within Spain, only small dogs (roughly up to 10 kg, or larger dogs in an approved carrier) are typically allowed in the passenger cabin — plan ahead if you have a larger dog.
• Get the sequence right before you travel: microchip first, then rabies vaccine, then wait at least 21 days — doing it in the wrong order can force you to restart the whole process and delay your move.
• UK pet passports stopped being valid for EU entry after Brexit — UK travellers need a fresh Animal Health Certificate for each trip rather than relying on an old pet passport.
• After settling in Girona, register your pet with the local town hall's animal census and with a local vet — this is a routine step that's often overlooked by newcomers focused only on entry requirements.
• Girona set up five official 'canine itineraries' back in 2016 that let dogs walk off-leash alongside pedestrians in parts of the city — worth knowing if you want more freedom than a standard leash law allows.
• Three central squares (Plaça de Sant Narcís, Plaça de l'Assumpció, and part of Plaça de la Devesa) are off-limits to dogs, so plan routes around them.
• There's no beach in Girona itself — the closest dog-friendly beaches are on the Costa Brava, about 40-60 minutes away by car, so it's a day trip rather than a quick outing.
• Since 2023, Spain's animal welfare law requires dog owners to carry liability insurance for their pet, which is worth arranging early if relocating with a dog.
• Vet pricing in Catalonia (including Girona) tends to run toward the higher end of Spain's national range, closer to Barcelona-area pricing than rural Spain.