With breathtaking views, sunny yet cool shirtsleeve summers, and countryside tranquility, this rustic-style Catalonian compound is a 10-minute walk from a village center and ideally situated for easy access to ski slopes, Barcelona and the Costa Brava, and southern France. At 1200m elevation on a hilltop in the Pyrenees, the south-facing property enjoys sunshine from dawn to dusk and overlooks a succession of mountain ranges stretching eastward to the Mediterranean.

The compound comprises a 310 m² (3273 ft²) two-storey house and two outbuildings on 900 m² of land surrounded on all sides by large open fields where horses graze every spring and fall. The top floor of the house, with 140 m² (1478 ft²) under roof, consists of three bedrooms, one bathroom with tub, den or study, kitchen, large living-dining room, and a separate small room currently used as an office.  Together with fireplaces in the den and living room (the latter with an inset wood-burning stove), diesel-fired central heating and double-glazed windows ensure warm and cozy temperatures in winter. Facing east and south off the kitchen is a large terrace, with another large terrace off the dining room facing south and west, both ideal for al fresco dining.  The ground floor consists of a very large meandering room presently used as garage and laundry, a bathroom with shower, a storage room, a combination pantry/larder and bodega, a second garage, and two other rooms currently empty or used to store firewood and garden supplies. Building approval and associated permits have been obtained to convert this ground floor into an additional 170 m² (1800 ft²) of living space, consisting of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, laundry and utility room, and covered porch, complete with separate entrances. Almost any modification to these plans that maintains or reduces the area to be renovated, would be approved. 

The two outbuildings together represent tremendous value, since by law one cannot build in rural (“green”) areas of Catalonia unless there already are or have been structures on the corresponding sites. The larger, two-storey annex is approximately 170 m² (1795 ft²) in area, with the smaller measuring about 70 m² (740 ft²).  Each can be renovated and kept separate, or their areas and/or volumes can be combined into a single new unit.  To be approved, proposed uses should be “rural” or “agricultural” in character (e.g., artist studios, plant nurseries, workshops, garages and storage units, etc); additional residences are unlikely to be permitted.

The property’s location relative to sites of interest is superb.  A two-minute drive to the center of the 280-inhabitant village reveals two fine restaurants, three bars, a large hotel, butcher, grocery, farmers’ coop, hairdresser, and carpinter. The town is also home to many weekenders from Barcelona and hosts several traditional festivals, dances, and communal meals each year.  The French border is 10 km to the NE, with a string of delightful towns beginning at 25 minutes drive: Ceret (a former Picasso and Braques hangout) is an hour away, and both Perpignan (with a major airport) and the picture-book French port town of Collioure are 1½ hours drive.  Both Barcelona and the Costa Brava are 1½ hours by car, Gerona and Vic an hour away, a host of smaller Medieval and Romanesque towns closer yet, and the lively resort town of Camprodon, with banks, restaurants, and a wide variety of shops, just 10 minutes down the hill.