10 essentials: what to see and do in Vic (Barcelona) in 1 day

Did you know that the Plaza Mayor Of the town of Vic inside the Barcelona province It is because of its dimensions second largest in Catalonia?

Indeed, this town of about 30.000 inhabitants, capital of the Osona region, has as its first great attraction its large main square.

And seeing said square was one of the objectives of the Vic sightseeing tour during one of our most recent trips through Catalonia, although the truth is that we only saw one of its two aspects, the square with the Tuesday market, one of the largest and most popular in the region.

Vic It is a town located one hour from the cities of Barcelona o Girona, so it is a favorable enclave to make a one day tourist getaway.

It is located in an inland area bordering the two Catalan provinces, well known for its persistent fogs and, consequently, for the large thermal inversion common in winter.

With a tradition of agricultural activity, Vic It is currently a commercial city, episcopal center and university city, all of which gives it a great life.

But from a tourist point of view, its great attraction is found in a heritage of medieval origin, with a historic center where there are now examples of various architectural styles, including modernist buildings.

Vic You will also know it for its agri-food industry related to products extracted from pork, specifically, for the delicious Vic sausage and fuet.

To visit it you have the option of signing up for a excursion to Vic from Barcelona which also includes a visit to the charming town of Rupee, a tour in which in addition to the bus transfer, you will take guided tours of both locations.

What to see and do when visiting Vic for tourism

Facing your Vic sightseeing tour, below I am going to highlight the places of greatest interest to visit on a walk through its historic center.

Plaza Mayor of Vic

To appreciate the dimensions of the Vic's main squareIt is best to see it on a day when there is no market, because there you will also see its characteristic style, as it is an unpaved square, whose surface is still covered in dirt.

Tuesdays and Saturdays are market days in the Plaza Mayor of Vic, which dates back to the 9th century, and currently occupies its entire surface with stalls where all types of products are sold.

The buildings that currently surround the square do not maintain architectural uniformity, so you can see everything from Renaissance to Baroque style facades.

Of course, under them there run some arcaded galleries with high ceilings designed to facilitate the passage of riders on horseback.

The Merma in Vic

La Plaza Mayor It is the center where the most important events in the city are held, and a curious corner worth highlighting is the corner where the sculpture of the character known as The Loss, popular meeting point for Vic residents.

Vic Town Hall

An ideal place to see a panoramic view of Vic square It's from the balcony of his town hall, which we had the opportunity to do.

What stands out in this building is the Council Room de Baroque, as well as the room whose walls are completely decorated with paintings from local artist Jose Maria Sert, considered the best mural painter of the 30s, who has works done all over the world.

La Vic Tourist Office You find it in an annex building from the 14th century, which in its time was the Wheat Market, used for the sale of meat and fish, and where wheat and flour were weighed.

Roman temple of Vic

On the walk through historic center of Vic A Roman temple from the 1st century will catch your attention.

In reality, its existence was discovered in 1882 because in that place since the XNUMXth century there had been the Montcada castle and the walls of the temple formed its inner courtyard.

Since then, the reconstruction of the temple was carried out, in which there is only a section of original columns from the 2nd century.

Church of La Piedad in Vic

Next to the temple is the church of piety built at the beginning of the 17th century in Baroque about another ancient church, and whose Romanesque facade It is preserved, although very deteriorated.

This deterioration is due to the type of stone with which it is built, which is falling apart, although there is a project for its possible rehabilitation.

Vic Cathedral

En Vic You can visit the cathedral of Sant Pere, in whose building they mix various architectural styles.

At first your attention will be caught by its Romanesque style bell tower, the tallest in a church in Catalonia.

But the façade of it and the interior is neoclassical, with a cloister built in the 14th century in Gothic style, one of its chapels Baroque, and the crypt of romantic style.

Although without a doubt what will catch your attention the most inside the Vic cathedral is wall decoration that covers all its walls, made by the aforementioned Jose Maria Sert, with some scenes and color tones that I advance you may find somewhat gloomy.

Episcopal Museum of Vic

En VicNext to the cathedral, there is a very notable museum.

This is the Episcopal Museum, which is one of the most important in Europe due to its great collection of medieval works of art, both Romanesque and Gothic, with more than 29.000 preserved pieces, of which only 3.000 are shown.

Its collections of metalwork, fabrics, glass and ceramics stand out, displayed in a building with modern museum facilities.

Queralt Bridge in Vic

Outside the historic center, next to sections of the old wall of Vic, you can see the Queralt bridge 11th century style romanic0, which had to be crossed until 1274 to enter Vic from Barcelona.

In the area of ​​the boulevard where the bridge is located, the numerous fur industrialists whose activity acquired great importance in Vic.

Taste the Vic Salchichón

Tu Vic's visit It will be incomplete if you don't try the famous (and delicious) Vic salchichón.

And for this, next to the historic center you find the factory House Riera Ordex, belonging to the Riera Family 1852 since.

In this place you will be able to see and they will explain to you how salchichón is made, everything in form craft, a tradition that in Vic in the past led to the activity of up to 25 producers.

During the visit you will also be able to see the sausage dryers that are on the upper floors of the building and, of course, you will be able to taste it, and I can tell you that, by far, its flavor is much more delicious than that of the very popular Fuet de Vic.

How to get to Vic from Barcelona

La city ​​of vic is one hour from Barcelona by car, heading north on the route to La Garrotxa in Girona.