Riu de Llibres shelves at Girona coach stationRiu de Llibres shelves at Mercat del LleoRius de Llibres is a project that places free books on public shelves around Girona. Anyone can take books from these shelves; there is no need to ask permission. However, you should not leave books there yourself: donations should go through the organizers (Connexió Papyrus at connexiopapyrus@gmail.com).[1] Locations of the shelves are:
Centre Cultural La Mercè (claustre area)
Girona Bus Station (planta –1, where the ticket counters are)
GEiEG – Sant Ponç (sports complex)
Mercat del Lleó (entrance near the River Onyar)
Piscina Municipal de Santa Eugènia – Can Gibert del Pla (sports facility)
University of Girona campus, Barri Vell (library)[1]
The city's four public libraries are free. To sign up for a library card, you just need to show an ID card, passport, driver’s license, or residence permit. See Libraries_in_Girona.
Biblioteca Carles Rahola has a punt d'intercanvi de llibres near the entrance. You can take as many books as you want, and do not need to leave any. They are mostly old books no one wants anymore, like books from the 1970s with yellowed pages about the principles of chemistry processes.
El Petit CAM book-sharing box outside EOI GironaEl Petit CAM is a book-sharing box outside EOI Girona where anyone can take or leave books.[2] It was created on 2 October 2018[2]. It is part of the Little Free Library network (see littlefreelibrary.org) whose motto is "Take a book, share a book.". The front of the box has a plaque in memory of Roger Alsina, a French teacher at the EOI.[2]
Cuina Comunitaria is a group that provides free lunches at Ateneu Eugenienc every Monday from 11 AM to 3:30 PM. This is a community-led initiative where participants cook and eat together. Attendees are mainly from South America and Morocco, including asylum seekers, but the activity is open to everyone. You are welcome to donate money at the end, but you are not obliged to.
It also serves as a supportive space to share information and offer informal support to newly arrived immigrants.
The project does not receive funding from the local council. It is self-funded, primarily through a food stall operated during Girona’s Fires festival, with proceeds used to cover running costs.
One of the organisers is called Darli, from Hondoras.
Every Thursday around 8 and 9 PM, free food is distributed on Carrer de Berenguer Carnicer under the railway tracks, opposite the Jutjats de Girona (Avinguda de Ramon Folch, 4). The initiative is aimed mainly at people in vulnerable situations but is open to all.
If you go to the Mercat del Lleo outdoor market at around 1:30 PM, when the vendors are packing up and leaving, sometimes they leave fruit and vegetables on the floor that they couldn't sell, some of which is still okay to eat.
Taller de Cuina at Banc del Temps Pont del Dimoni[edit]
Taller de Cuina at Banc del Temps Pont del Dimoni
Banc del Temps Pont del Dimoni organises a taller de cuina (cooking workshop) every Monday at 8 PM at the Centre Civic Santa Eugenia. You pay €3—6 and receive a dinner and dessert.
To participate, you must either
sign up to the Time Bank and pay 15 minutes of time from your Time Bank balance
join the Girona Buddies community and then join the Community dinners subgroup. Every week five people can go by putting their names on a list
The Time Bank buys the ingredients, and then at 8 PM, everyone starts cooks dinner together.
They finish cooking around 9:30 PM and then sit down and eat. There is also wine, Coca Cola, Fanta, and tap water.
At the end of the dinner, participants split the cost of the ingredients, which is around €3—6 per person.
The workshops are organised by a man named Gerard.
Too Good To Go is an app where restaurants and bakeries sell food at a discount that they would have otherwise thrown away. Good for cheap groceries, cakes, the pastries. The cost is about a third of the normal price.
Five of the city's museums are free every first Sunday of the month. These are the City History Museum, the Jewish History Museum, the Cinema Museum, the Art Museum, and the Archaeology Museum.
For free events happening in Girona, go to the Girona Agenda website and filter the events by "Activitats gratuïtes".
Girocòmic (Girona's annual comic-con in October) is free if you go dressed in cosplay and enter the cosplay competition.
You can enter Girona Cathedral for free if you go on Sunday at 11 am for the Missa (Mass), or for one of the events listed at https://catedraldegirona.cat/agenda
TheBigFamily.APP has WhatsApp and Telegram groups called Objectes tBf Girona for giving away or exchanging items. Selling is not allowed, and neither is giving away animals.
Girona Reutil Facebook Group is a Catalan/Spanish-speaking Facebook group for giving things away for free that are no longer needed. Has over 12,000 members.
Girona has a deixalleria (recycling center) where residents can drop off waste. Things people leave include cables, VHS tapes, and broken furniture. Technically, you're not allowed to take anything from the deixalleria, even if it appears reusable.[4] However, if you take one or two things discreetly, no one will say anything.[5] Sometimes people will leave things like books and toys???[6]
El Prestatge de les Entitats de Salt ("The Shelf of Salt’s Associations") or just El Prestatge lends materials, objects, and equipment to organisations in Salt. They held an inaugaration party on 18th October 2025. In 2026, they plan to expand into El Prestatge de les Coses de Salt (“Salt's Shelf of Things”), a public “library of objects” where residents can temporarily borrow tools and equipment.[7]@elprestatgedesalt
Sometimes people leave free things next to the contenidors (public bins), even though the law considers this illegal street dumping. In busy areas like Eixample, any free things are quickly picked over by homeless people. There are also people who go around Girona using sticks to go through the contents of the all contenidors, as a way to make a living.
