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el Callis, a house with history; one of the huge stones forming the main entrance reads

  • 5 bedrooms and 3 baths on top floor of this house
  • central heating
  • washing machine and dish washer
  • altitude: 600 mtrs
  • 300 mtrs from tiny hamlet, 14 kms to Olot
  • 77 kms to sea
  • cost: in high-season, about 165 Euros per person per week, or 1320 Euros for 8 guests, 1610 Euros per week for 10 guests, etc up to 13 guests
  • rest of year: 1050 Euros per week for 8 guests, 1380 Euros per week for 10 guests, 1725 Euros per week for 12 guests...

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This huge baronial mansion is situated in the midst of woodlands and pastures just a few hundred meters from a small medieval village - home or one of my favorite restaurants

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El Callis is situated in what is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful valleys of the Eastern Pyrenees, la Vall de Bianya. The top floor of the house and the use of the grounds is included in the rental. The owner and his ancient mother live downstairs. There is outdoor seating with BBQ, and an excellent restaurant in the tiny hamlet about 200 meters away.

From page 55 of my Insider's Guide to the Province of Girona: . The Vall de la Bianya, where several of my favorite rental properties are located, is quite simply gorgeous. Perennial favorite of Barcelonan nature lovers, this valley offers sublime scenery and no less than 15 Romanesque churches spread out in an area no larger than 12 square kilometers. a shot of the village with the restaurant in foreground and 12th-century Sant Salvador church just behindAlmost all the masias are huge, with as many as three or four storey facades of of stone arches. The valley also boasts an inordinate number of good restaurants. I've tried almost all of them and my personal favorite is in the tiny village of Sant Salvador, situated towards the top of the valley a kilometer or so off the main road before reaching the tunels. The town has Romanesque church dating from 1090, consacrated in 1170, and partially desecrated by bad restoration work in the mid 20th C. Nevertheless, the town's eponymous restaurant, family-run San Salvador (972 19 51 54) is a delight.

The huge main living room, measuring about 50m2, had been left quite as it must have looked hundreds of years ago. Paved with large flagstones, and with magnificent high beamed ceilings, the main concession to modern comfort was to glass-in the living room from the arcaded gallery, so that even if you are not out on the porch, you get the fantastic view and natural light. There is a nice sitting area on the porch...The chef, Joan Borras, is self-taught and has created some exquisite variations on traditional Catalan cuisine using, when possible, a wide variety of locally procured produce. If given half a chance, he will go on at great length about the ingredients that go into his savory ecolations: about the farmers who provide the milk to make the cheeses, the fresh strawberries they pick near the ancient Roman road in the hills above town to accompany the home-made icecreams, the hot-house where he smokes the salmon he buy fresh in Olot, and all the veggies and herbs from his garden. Everything I've tried here is good, so I won't mention specialties, although I should say that the wine card is well balanced and there is a good selection of single malt whiskeys to accompany the "sobremesa" (that is the leisurely after-meal chat at the table which the Spaniards are so fond of). If I do have a gripe about this restaurant, it is about some of the decorative elements found in the five rooms - of a 13C farmhouse - that make up this restaurant. Closed on Wednesdays. From October to June closed weeknights. Kiddy menu for 1,000 ptas.

The kitchen measure a good 30 m2, and has dishwasher, chimney, and plenty of seating. The dining room next door (25m2) has a long wooden table and another sitting area.Above Sant Salvador is part of the ancient Roman road, which makes for a fascinating visit. Pull over where you see the modern pylon - a circular phone-booth-like structure with peepholes, which cleverly exlains where to find the best kept parts of the road, shows how the roads were constructed, and what the roadmap for this area looked like 2000 years ago! The view of the valley from up here ain't bad either.

the bedrooms are all well decorated with some fine antiques (including perhaps a bit too much religious iconography)... and there is sufficient lighting.Back to the restaurants, I were a rich man I might prefer the valley's fanciest restaurant: Ca l'Enric, (972 29 00 15), situated on a curve just after the town of Vall de la Bianya. ? Ca l'Enric has earned two stars in the Michelin Red Guide., and the food here is absolutely divine. Most dishes are an elaborate variation on the basic mountain theme of wild game and mushrooms, but this is Catalan fare with nouvelle cuisine flair (or is that nouvelle cuisine frugality). My gripe here is that portions tend to be smallish by Catalan standards. Be that as it may, this is widely recognized to be the one of the best, if not the best restaurant in the area. Closed on Sunday nights and Mondays.

Other restaurants include Ca la Nàsia, specializing in game, with pheasant and mountain goat cooked on piping hot slabs of slate, and civet of ox-tail. San Miquel has lamb stew and duck with pears, etc. And last but not least La Gracieta - Hostal Nou a always gets lots of truckers, and they know a thing or two about where to find good cheap eats. Midday menu at 1,000 ptas.

Turning right at the traffic circle after the tunnels and high mountain pass of Capsacosta (altitude 1,762 meters) turn right for Camprodon - at 950m - the first town with the character of a real mountain town, something that was exploited in the nineteenth-century by the Catalan gentry who arrived by the (now-defunct) railway to relax in the hills. The town still retains the prosperous air of those times, the outskirts of town with ornate villas set amongst rows of towering plane trees, and high town houses embellished now and again with striking modernist flourishes. Camprodon is at the confluence of two rivers, and the old town is criss-crossed by little bridges. The principal one, the 15C high-arched Pont Nou, still has a defensive tower. From here you can follow.....

part of the wide view... The house is surrounded by cattle pastures. The pasture below the house measuring about three football fields, has been wired of for your useThe house

El Callis combines atmospherics - a well-preserved historic building with wide panoramic views of the gorgeous Bianya valley below, and a fairly high level of comfort, the house being spacious and well-appointed.  Within 20 minutes of the house is a river with pools and cascades for swimming, even in summer.
All in all, I think this recent addition to our listings is going to be a big success.

  • free firewood
  • 6 km to horse club
  • 12 km to golf and tennis (Camprodon)
  • 9 km to Monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses
  • 20 km to ballooning
  • 5 restaurants in the valley, of which 3 are quite classy
  • daily market in Olot
  • excellent hiking and biking from el Callis' front door
Catalan Tourism Authorities

This sign indicates that the Catalan Tourism Authorities regularly inspect and license the property. We have also visited and recommend all the properties we have selected for our listings.