Hey, if you want to see the Smurfs’ world, Andalusia welcomes you today! If you remember the fairy tale, when you’re in Andalusia you absolutely must visit the town of Juzcar. It is the only town in Spain, if not the whole world, full of blue houses! Rest assured, Gargamel is only to be found on the walls of the buildings there.
Juzcar breakthrough
Juzcar is a small town 20 kilometres from the beautiful Ronda. Before 2011, there was nothing extraordinary about it – just another White Town in Andalusia. However, 2011 was a year that made permanent history for the place. It was then that the Smurfs movie premiered in cinemas and Juzcar became a living advertisement for this production. Sony España came up with the idea of painting one of Spain’s Pueblos Blancos completely blue. Juzcar was the chosen location, and even the local church underwent a metamorphosis!
However, no one anticipated that the metamorphosis would be maintained permanently. According to the original plan, the town was to be restored to its original appearance once the promotional campaign was over. However, due to the immense popularity that Juzcar had gained, its inhabitants stated in a referendum that they wanted the blue village to remain. According to some data, during the six months following the metamorphosis, Juzcar was visited by almost 100,000 tourists! This is 10 times more than had been the case before. So for the locals, the choice was simple – better to leave the town’s buildings painted blue and continue to act as an interesting attraction than to return to being one of Spain’s many Pueblos Blancos.
Attraction for children and adults
As can easily be predicted, the growing popularity of the town must have been reflected in its development. With the influx of tourists, accommodation and new restaurants with Andalusian cuisine began to spring up in Juzcar. The main driver of local tourism is still the Smurfs, which is why you will find many references to this iconic fairy tale.
Among other things, there is a graffiti trail in the city, where we can see 14 paintings of fairy tale characters, including Gargamel and Smurfette, as well as sculptures depicting Dragonfly and Papa Smurf. In addition, the Spanish artists decided to go a step further and also painted characters from other fairy tales, such as Maya the Bee – blue, of course.
In Juzcar you will also find several viewpoints from which you can admire the surrounding blue buildings, contrasting with the hilly terrain. And if you are looking for additional attractions, you can visit the mycological museum, where you will gain a comprehensive knowledge of… fungi. In the same building there is a tourist information centre and a cultural centre.
When going to Juzcar, it is worth bearing in mind that it is a small town, so with more tourists it can be a little crowded and difficult to park a car. However, don’t let this deter you from travelling to this fairytale world.
