Girona

Girona is a city in Catalonia, Spain.

Heading north to France

From Girona Airport, walk east from the airport, under the AP-7 road and on a bit more until you get to the A-2 motorway. This is a toll road so you will have to sneak past the toll operators (which is easily done with a little strategy. If you can't do it, however, you can walk down the winding road slightly north in the direction of the hotels. When you get to the hotel gate, turn right and walk through the trees next to the field until you find a good place to climb the fence.) When you actually get onto the motorway, you will only need to walk about 1km north before you get to a petrol station. From here you should easily be able to find people driving to France or beyond.

Heading south to Barcelona

Walk south on Carrer de Barcelona (which is a major road running north-south through the city) until you see a Repsol petrol station (http://goo.gl/maps/hZOj) on the right-hand side, just before a round-a-bout and very close to a Decathlon sports shop. There's space for cars to stop if you hold a sign along the road here, as well as the option to ask drivers at the petrol station.

Thumbing a ride directly at the roundabout leaving the airport also works well.

If you're going to Barcelona and can only find a car going part of the way, I recommend trying to stay on the A7/AP-7 motorway (peage/toll road) instead of the coastal road (A2), because most cars driving longer distances take the toll road, and there are big motorway petrol stations along the way. You can find a free city map in the tourist office in Girona.