Bed & bath: 7 bedrooms, 6 baths
Top amenities: Gym, terrace, BBQ
Location: Figueres, Girona
Picture your dream Spanish villa, and it will probably look something like this. An hour north of bustling Barcelona, this masia is squirreled away in a quiet corner of Figueres—the ancient town best known as Salvador Dalí’s birthplace. Perched on the edge of a private nature reserve, it’s surrounded by the high gorges and vast fields of the Catalonian countryside, framed by the snow-capped peaks of the Pyrenees in the distance. The villa is a converted olive mill; in the depths of the house, the original stone wheel and tunnels where water would flow from the nearby streams are still intact, now functioning as a wine cellar and bodega where guests can arrange for an evening’s wine tasting. Upstairs, flagstone floors, wooden beams, stone archways, and antique furnishing preserve the building’s history alongside more modern comforts–there’s a cinema room, a cozy living room with a giant fireplace, and a pool table next to a well-stocked bar area.
Perfect for large groups or family reunions, the villa sleeps up to 18 across the main house and garden house, with a small cottage available on request. Spend days lazing by the oval-shaped swimming pool; playing tennis on the outdoor court (there’s ping pong, too); rustling up paella and barbecues in the alfresco kitchen or snoozing on a bench by the lake as you watch swallows swoop and turtles tootle about the lawn. Come evening, sip vermouth on the roof terrace as you watch the sun dip behind the mountains and fireflies light up the surrounding woodlands. —Olivia Morelli