Why, Yes, There is a Blue Village in Spain

Ever heard rumblings or seen photos of a blue city in Spain? Don’t worry your eyes do not deceive you nor are you look at something Photoshopped to death — Júzcar is a real village in Andalucía, and I visited!

You know if I had a nickel for every blue destination I’ve come across…. First Chefchaouen in Morocco and now Júzcar. I have no idea how I first heard of this village but it must’ve come across my Instagram or Pinterest feed and I tucked it away for a future trip to Spain.

That trip finally came at some point in 2022 when I traveled for three months straight, visiting Korea, Vietnam, France, Italy, Norway, and finally Spain. I absolutely fell in love with Granada and Córdoba in college, so I knew I wanted to give myself plenty of time to drive around Andalucía this trip. Since we had a car, my plan was to hit up as many Pueblo Blancos as we could but especially the pueblo that was no long blanco but azul!

And so right towards the end of our road trip and of my three months of straight travel, Alyshia and I found ourselves parking our little car rental and wandering down into a bright blue village when, really, we should’ve been siesta-ing away from the midday sun…

A Very Brief History of Júzcar

As anyone who’s read this blog long enough knows, I can’t just visit a place. I gotta know all about it, so naturally I tried to learn as much about Júzcar as I could, and here’s what I learned.

Keep in mind, I gleaned this information from a few articles, Wikipedia, Spanish Wikipedia, and an inscription written on tiles in Júzcar, so, you know, take it all with a grain of salt.

Origins, Maybe?

Júzcar was founded at some point when this part of the Iberian peninsula was under Muslim rule and was home to a Mozarabe community. It was always a small village but it’s also believed to have been some sort of center point for other nearby villages.

Its big claim to fame, though, is that it’s the rumored birthplace of rebel leader Umar ibn Hafsun (also Omar ben Hafsun). According to the inscription, he was born nearby in a place once known as Torrichela.

Now, this caused me to go into a rabbit hole of who exactly Umar ibn Hafsun was but I’ll save you the long history because it also involves explaining al-Andalus, the Umayyads, and Reconquista. But basically he was a famous (infamous?) rebel leader to the Umayyads and wound up converting to Christianity in an effort to fight Córdoba.

His birth and lineage are largely contested, but according to one line of thinking he descends from Christian Visigoths. It was his great grandfather, Ja’far ibn Salim, who converted to Islam and settled somewhere near Ronda.

AKA La Fábrica

During the 1700s, Júzcar became known as “La Fábrica” (or The Factory) because it became the site of Spain’s first royal factory under King Philip V and Queen Elisabeth Farnese. The Real Fábrica de Hoja de Lata y Sus Adherentes was a tinplate factory and eventually petered out by the end of the century.

Why is it Blue?

Now what you really want to know — why is there a blue village in an area known for its Pueblo Blancos (White Villages)? Well, my friends, it all goes back to good, ole Hollywood!

Back in 2011, Sony España decided to use over a thousand gallons of bright blue paint to turn Júzcar into the perfect promotional spot for The Smurfs. Yep, you read that right! It went from being another pueblo blanco to La Aldea Azul or El Pueblo Pitufo. (Kind of love that Blue Village and Smurf Village can be made alliterative in Spanish!)

While they planned to paint the village back to white after promotions finished, residents voted to keep it blue after seeing the huge uptick in visitors.

And that’s why not only is there a blue village in Andalucía but you’ll find plenty of Smurf statues and mushroom paintings as you wander around.

What You Need to Know for Visiting

Honestly, visiting Júzcar is a pretty straightforward adventure. The fact that I’m sitting at like 750 words right now is more a testament to my ability to chitchat and fall down historic rabbit holes than anything else!!

Getting There

The big thing is that you’re going to need to rent a car or hire a driver for the a few hours. I don’t know anything about the latter but since we already had a car for our bigger road trip, this was easy to do!

I recommend Ok Mobility if you want an inexpensive rental. Just check to see if you need an International Driver’s License and make sure you have a non-AMEX card. US Citizens for sure need one, and can get them really easily at any AAA.

**Parking is Free**

If I remember correctly, we parked here. Either way, you can pretty much park wherever and it’s free. This place is still pretty rural and doesn’t see that many tourists, so it’s not overrun like more coastal Andalusian villages!!

Getting Around

Walk. Seriously this village is small. I feel like even looking on Google Maps makes it seem bigger than it is. If you walk straight through to the other side from that parking pin I linked above, it’s less than a 1km.

Just wander along all the streets, enjoy the blue views, and say hi to the cute kitties you spot.

Stay There or Nearby?

We stayed nearby in Hotel Rural Molino del Puente Ronda, which I loved. If I ever drive somewhere, I like to book somewhere that feels a bit more remote, and this was the perfect base for village hopping and being near Ronda itself without being in the town.

However, if you like hiking, Júzcar is actually a really good base for all sorts of trails, so it may be worth it to stay here. Hotel Restaurante Bandolero looked fun when we walked by.

More Photos for Your Inspiration Board

And probably what you’ll find more useful — a very blue photo dump! Please play “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” by Eiffel 65 while you enjoy.

And there you have it! All I can share about the very cute blue village of Spain — Júzcar.

For More Spanish Travel:

• How to Spend 7 Days in Tenerife
• 50 Reasons to Visit Madrid
• A Guide to Charming Segovia

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