Mas Sant Nicolau
A family run, traditional Catalan country house with seven comfortable holiday cottages, set in extensive Mediterranean gardens with swimming pool, table tennis, boules, barbecues, free WiFi, children's play area and activity room. Ideal for couples, families and small groups of up to thirty five people.
With its 12th century hermitage at the gate, Mas Sant Nicolau is a hidden paradise surrounded by woods & gentle hills yet with easy access to all local attractions. Sant Nicolau is a favourite for people looking for a tranquil, safe and natural environment in the countryside with great facilities. Just 30 minutes from Girona, the Pyrenees and unspoiled coves and beaches. You really can enjoy the mountains and beaches all on the same day!
The family
Wooed by the idea of living in paradise, we upped sticks from the UK to settle in the Alt Empordà, famed for its diverse landscapes, natural beauty, proximity between rural villages, the coast, and cosmopolitan towns and cities like Figueres, Girona and Barcelona, with sunshine over 300 days a year.
With our professional lives being spent in helping people and organisations to realise their potential, and living in old houses that needed a lot of work and care, changing hats has not been so different in the skills we use - but the way we live has definitely been a transformation. Now we help people to share our experience of living the dream, through fantastic, memorable holidays and celebrations in this little corner of paradise in the Costa Brava.
Like many people, we didn't realise at first that Catalonia has its own language. You can hear Catalan and Spanish spoken and we enjoy being in a mixed cultural environment.
We're often asked, would we go back? The answer - yes - to visit! It's so easy and inexpensive to get here from all over Europe by air, rail and road, that a weekend trip or longer stay is a real option. What do we miss? - Not the weather, we have all the seasons here, but there are many more warm and sunny days throughout the year with balmy evenings from May to October. And a real outdoor life - from watersports, to walking, cycling, skiing and snowboarding. Fruit and vegetables, flowers and trees - it's a gardener's paradise. We do ask family and friends to bring us tea bags and ginger biscuits, and the odd pack of crumpets doesn't go amiss!
Why we chose the Alt Empordà
Like many things in life, a happy accident. We wanted an old farmhouse on the edge of a small but busy village in a quiet, beautiful, eco friendly location, yet very central and easy to get to. Mas Sant Nicolau is that very special place. Stunning location, the Pyrenees as a backdrop, rolling countryside with woods and fields all around, and the sea just a short drive away. A traditional Catalan country house (records go back to the 1800's) which was a working family farm until the early 1990's, with an 11th century Romanesque country church at the gate.
The first thing that greets you is the overwhelming sense of calm - maybe from the thick stone walls of the church and house, maybe because of the extensive gardens, and some say because of ancient ley lines. The moment you enter from the small country lane through woods and fields, you leave behind the cosmopolitan world and relax into a gentler way of being.The outbuildings and part of the main house were sympathetically converted into 7 family sized holiday cottages with private gardens (to sleep up to 35 people) and the surrounding landscape transformed into stunning Mediterranean gardens, with events room, pool and tennis court, and vistas of the surrounding countryside all around.
The transition from working farm to country estate has been achieved through careful planting of the extensive gardens, which are bordered by mature Mediterranean pines (a great place for your hammock), palms and Eucalyptus, with fragrant borders filled with lavender, roses, thyme and other sun loving plants with the aim of providing colour, scent, open space and privacy for our guests.
We're in the heart of the countryside, completely tranquil, birdsong all around (nightingales from spring), the faint chimes of the village clock and distant cow bells wafting from across the valley. At night a clear star filled sky (there's no air or light pollution here, and yet, a stone's throw away from Figueres. A dream come true.
A family run, traditional Catalan country house with seven comfortable holiday cottages, set in extensive Mediterranean gardens with swimming pool, table tennis, boules, barbecues, free WiFi, children's play area and activity room. Ideal for couples, families and small groups of up to thirty five people.
With its 12th century hermitage at the gate, Mas Sant Nicolau is a hidden paradise surrounded by woods & gentle hills yet with easy access to all local attractions. Sant Nicolau is a favourite for people looking for a tranquil, safe and natural environment in the countryside with great facilities. Just 30 minutes from Girona, the Pyrenees and unspoiled coves and beaches. You really can enjoy the mountains and beaches all on the same day!
The family
Wooed by the idea of living in paradise, we upped sticks from the UK to settle in the Alt Empordà, famed for its diverse landscapes, natural beauty, proximity between rural villages, the coast, and cosmopolitan towns and cities like Figueres, Girona and Barcelona, with sunshine over 300 days a year.
With our professional lives being spent in helping people and organisations to realise their potential, and living in old houses that needed a lot of work and care, changing hats has not been so different in the skills we use - but the way we live has definitely been a transformation. Now we help people to share our experience of living the dream, through fantastic, memorable holidays and celebrations in this little corner of paradise in the Costa Brava.
Like many people, we didn't realise at first that Catalonia has its own language. You can hear Catalan and Spanish spoken and we enjoy being in a mixed cultural environment.
We're often asked, would we go back? The answer - yes - to visit! It's so easy and inexpensive to get here from all over Europe by air, rail and road, that a weekend trip or longer stay is a real option. What do we miss? - Not the weather, we have all the seasons here, but there are many more warm and sunny days throughout the year with balmy evenings from May to October. And a real outdoor life - from watersports, to walking, cycling, skiing and snowboarding. Fruit and vegetables, flowers and trees - it's a gardener's paradise. We do ask family and friends to bring us tea bags and ginger biscuits, and the odd pack of crumpets doesn't go amiss!
Why we chose the Alt Empordà
Like many things in life, a happy accident. We wanted an old farmhouse on the edge of a small but busy village in a quiet, beautiful, eco friendly location, yet very central and easy to get to. Mas Sant Nicolau is that very special place. Stunning location, the Pyrenees as a backdrop, rolling countryside with woods and fields all around, and the sea just a short drive away. A traditional Catalan country house (records go back to the 1800's) which was a working family farm until the early 1990's, with an 11th century Romanesque country church at the gate.
The first thing that greets you is the overwhelming sense of calm - maybe from the thick stone walls of the church and house, maybe because of the extensive gardens, and some say because of ancient ley lines. The moment you enter from the small country lane through woods and fields, you leave behind the cosmopolitan world and relax into a gentler way of being.The outbuildings and part of the main house were sympathetically converted into 7 family sized holiday cottages with private gardens (to sleep up to 35 people) and the surrounding landscape transformed into stunning Mediterranean gardens, with events room, pool and tennis court, and vistas of the surrounding countryside all around.
The transition from working farm to country estate has been achieved through careful planting of the extensive gardens, which are bordered by mature Mediterranean pines (a great place for your hammock), palms and Eucalyptus, with fragrant borders filled with lavender, roses, thyme and other sun loving plants with the aim of providing colour, scent, open space and privacy for our guests.
We're in the heart of the countryside, completely tranquil, birdsong all around (nightingales from spring), the faint chimes of the village clock and distant cow bells wafting from across the valley. At night a clear star filled sky (there's no air or light pollution here, and yet, a stone's throw away from Figueres. A dream come true.
Helen & Francis, we look forward to seeing you soon!