Villas in Inland Catalonia

La Vall de Bianya suits volcano walks, La Pobla de Lillet suits mountain villages, and Viladecavalls suits Montserrat and Barcelona. Most of our homes here are stone farmhouses (masies) in the green hills north of Barcelona, an hour or more from the sea. Summers are hot on the plains and cooler in the mountains, and you will need a car.

Where

Villas: 19
From, per week: £345
Cheapest month: November
Nearest airports: Barcelona El Prat has the most flights, at around two hours from London, and is under an hour from Viladecavalls, Bigues and Manresa. Girona is closer to Olot and La Vall de Bianya but has fewer UK routes outside summer. Reus is best for Arnes.

Where to stay in Inland Catalonia

La Vall de Bianya and Olot (La Garrotxa)

This is where we have the most homes in inland Catalonia. La Vall de Bianya is a valley of farms and Romanesque churches just north of Olot, the market town at the centre of the Garrotxa volcanic park. Trails lead to the Croscat volcano, the chapel inside the Santa Margarida crater and the Fageda d'en Jordà beech wood. Castellfollit de la Roca and Besalú are 15 to 25 minutes away. Girona airport is around an hour by road.

Best for: Walkers and families who want woods, volcanoes and medieval villages

Not for you if: You want guaranteed sunshine: this is one of the greenest, wettest corners of Catalonia.

La Pobla de Lillet and Borredà (El Berguedà)

La Pobla de Lillet is a small mountain town on the upper Llobregat, with the Jardins Artigas, a riverside garden designed by Gaudí. The Tren del Ciment, a narrow-gauge tourist train, runs from the town to the old Asland cement works, now a museum, and the source of the Llobregat is a short drive above at Castellar de n'Hug. Borredà is a quiet village east of Berga, near the Romanesque church of Sant Jaume de Frontanyà.

Best for: Mountain walkers and families who like heritage trains

Not for you if: You want a short transfer: Barcelona airport is around an hour and three quarters away.

Lladurs and Biosca (Solsona and the Segarra)

Lladurs is a scattered rural village just north of Solsona, whose walled old town has a cathedral, a ducal palace museum and a good weekly market. Cardona, around 25 minutes south, has a hilltop castle and the Muntanya de Sal, a salt mountain you can tour underground. Biosca is about 40 minutes west, out on the Segarra, open cereal country dotted with castles and fortified villages. Barcelona airport is around an hour and three quarters from either.

Best for: Space, quiet and a base for Cardona and Solsona

Not for you if: You want shade in high summer: the Segarra plain gets very hot in July and August.

Viladecavalls, Bigues and Manresa (near Barcelona)

Viladecavalls sits next to Terrassa, about 35 minutes from Barcelona airport, with Montserrat around half an hour away. Manresa, the capital of the Bages, has a Gothic basilica above the town and the cave where Ignatius of Loyola prayed; Montserrat is around 25 minutes from here too. Bigues is in the Vallès Oriental below the Cingles de Bertí cliffs, roughly 40 minutes from Barcelona, with the Montseny massif a short drive north.

Best for: Visitors who want Montserrat and day trips into Barcelona

Not for you if: You want empty countryside: these are commuter towns with busy roads nearby.

Arnes (Terra Alta)

Arnes is a hill village at the edge of the Els Ports natural park, a limestone massif of pine forest and gorges. The Estrets d'Arnes, a narrow river gorge, has natural pools for summer swimming, and the Via Verda greenway, an old railway line through tunnels and viaducts, passes nearby. Horta de Sant Joan, where Picasso stayed as a young man, is about 15 minutes away. Reus airport is around an hour and a half by car.

Best for: Cyclists, climbers and walkers who want rugged country

Not for you if: You want company: this is one home in a remote corner of Tarragona province.

When to go to Inland Catalonia

May, June, September and October are the best months: warm days, green hills and comfortable walking. July and August are hot on the plains around Manresa and the Segarra, while the Garrotxa and the Berguedà stay cooler, with afternoon storms. Spanish families fill rural houses in August. Winters are cold inland, with frost and some snow in the Berguedà. The Patum festival in Berga, held at Corpus Christi in late spring, is worth planning around.