1. Plaça de la Porxada and Thursday market

If you want to fall in love with Granollers, the best thing you can do is head to Plaça de la Porxada first thing in the morning and walk around the old grain exchange, a 16th-century building that’s used for all sorts of activities: senior citizens meet up there for a nice chat, while children enjoy fun and games. What’s more, every Thursday the square is home to the impressive and extremely famous weekly market, dating back to 1040, which fills up with farmers, stallholders and locals. It’s the ideal place for a cooked breakfast with Ganxet white kidney beans, a delicious local tradition that won’t leave you indifferent.

2. Mediaeval Route organised by Granollers Museum

The success of the market has been a crucial factor in the growth of Granollers over the centuries. The city’s buildings and monuments owe their splendour to this trading activity, which has contributed more than any other to its historical wealth. Would you like to find out more? Make your way to the Museum of Granollers! There they organise a mediaeval route through the city centre on which you’ll discover the old city walls, arcaded squares, defence towers, manor houses, the Gothic Church of Sant Esteve and a 16th-century tannery where you’ll find out about traditional leather processing.

3. Catalan modernist Granollers

The arrival of the railway led to the industrial growth of Granollers at the end of the 19th century. Factories, schools, health centres and a new town hall were built, along with grand residences for wealthy families and housing for workers. The Catalan modernist style transformed the capital of Vallès Oriental, which enjoyed a golden age thanks to the work of architects such as Manuel Joaquim Raspall or Jeroni Martorell. Would you like to see their work? Sign up for the Catalan modernist route offered by Granollers Museum or, at your own pace, follow the route shown in the leaflet published by Vallès Oriental County Council. The Sala Tarafa and the Hospital Asil are two must-see attractions.

4. Roca Umbert Arts Factory

The Roca Umbert Arts Factory is housed in a building that also dates from this period; an old textile factory that today operates as the artistic, cultural and technological hub of Granollers. It contains the municipal library, music practice rooms, the Arts Space, an audio-visual centre and “La Troca”, a facility that promotes initiatives related to traditional culture. If you enjoy human tower building, dance, circus, adult storytelling, audio-visual facilities or world music, you’ll find plenty of resources at the Roca Umbert centre to pursue your interest both actively and as an audience member. Another must-see attraction is the Tèrmica, the machine that powered the old textile factory for years.

5. Natural Science Museum of Granollers

La Tela, a tower built in 1912, is home to part of the Natural Science Museum of Granollers, but the main entrance to the museum is in the modern, rectangular building that overlooks the Antoni Jonch Gardens. There are zoology, botany, palaeontology and geology displays, along with a planetarium with a six-metre diameter dome where you can learn plenty about the sky at night.

6. Can Cabanyes Natural Area

The Natural Science Museum also runs the Can Cabanyes Nature Classroom, a green space located to the south of Granollers that’s named after the farmhouse that stood there in ancient times. With a surface area of eight hectares on the right bank of the Congost River, the area has become an important bird reserve. What’s more, over 80 different plant species have been identified there.

• Are you a motor sports enthusiast? Extend your stay in Granollers and head to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Several competitions are held there over the course of the year, including the Formula 1 Grand Prix and top motorcycling events!