Montefrio, one of the prettiest towns in the western Granada province, enjoys an impressive setting on two hills resembling islands in a sea of olive groves. Cradled between these two rocky outcrops, each hill is topped by a church. The most impressive of these churches is the 16th century Iglesia de la Villa, a superb building designed by Diego de Siloé, and now converted into a themed museum based on the re-conquest of this part of Andalusia from the Moors. The fine views over the town and beyond are spectacular from the tower.
Surrounded by millions of olive trees the town is a hive of industry during the harvesting season. The olive presses re-open and the tractors and their trailers can be seen full to the brim with black olives.
The town centre is compact and at its heart is the Neoclassical Iglesia de la Encarnación with its enormous dome, apparently only one of three churches in this style in Spain. There are a good variety of shops. Included in these are supermarkets, butchers, fishmongers, fruit and vegetable shops are to name but a few as well as a variety of banks. The restaurants serve the best of Spanish cuisine and the bars always tapas when you order drinks.
Ideally situated, Montefrio is central to many places of interest within Andalusia. The famous cities of Granada and Cordoba with their historical places of interest are all reachable for a days visit. For the skiing enthusiasts a days skiing in the Sierra Nevada with snow fall at the end of November through to the middle of May is without doubt a must.
Thanks to Steve Newey, owner of the Montefrio Cortijo for this write up on his local town!
Ilco van der Linde who is lucky enough to be the owner of Scipio says this about his home town of the last 6 years:
Montefrio is the most charming, typical white Andalusian village that you can imagine. It’s on the cover of most travel guides of Andalusia and a growing number of tourists are visiting. It has nice terraces, good events (such as the best saxophone festival of Spain and great flamenco performances), restaurants, churches, shops, a good hospital and – in case you have children – also a good school, that will collect (and bring back) your children with a school bus that comes close to your house. And most important: Montefrio has very lovely people, who will easily give you a warm welcome.
Nikki Sandell has described her home town like this:
In the heart of beautiful unspoilt olive growing country, in the depths of rural Andalusia, Montefrio is a charming, typically Andalusian village, only 40 kilometres from Granada – a vibrant city with wonderfully warm Moorish influences, including the world renowned Alhambra.
Just beyond is the Sierra Nevada, one of Spain’s best ski areas with 119 pistes, stretching over 100 kilometres, with a wide range of runs for skiers and snowboarders of all levels. It also boasts a large proportion covered by snow making machines resulting in the season extending normally from December until April, and sometimes into May.
It is also only 90 minutes to the coast (Costa del Sol), and is excellently situated to visit the main Andalusian cities – Cordoba, Ronda, Seville, Malaga, Cadiz, Antequera, as well as Gibraltar and good access to Morocco via Algeciras.
More locally there is Riofrio where you can select your own fish and then eat it for lunch, Priego de Cordoba and the famous ‘Chris Stewart’ villages of the Alpujarras.
In addition, the area is popular for walking and cycling.
Airports – 50 minutes from Granada airport, and 70 minutes from Malaga
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If you have a house for sale in or around Montefrio we would like to hear from you. For more information on selling your property contact us at mike@andalusia-properties.com
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