Montefrio has a Tourist Office - Oficina de Turismo - with English-speaking receptionist (closed on Mondays and holidays), health centre 'Centro de Salud', 4 bank machines, 4 pay phones taking coins and cards, numerous bars, restaurants and grocery stores, including excellent small-sized supermarkets, IBERPLUS and COVIRAN. Bars and restaurants have one closing day per week but are as a rule all open on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and shops are open from Monday to Friday and Saturday morning until 2.00 pm. Supermarkets are the only shops open on Saturday afternoons, from 4 or 5 to 8 or 9 pm, depending on the season of the year. On Sunday mornings the bakery is open - but all other shops are closed. All banks and government offices are open from Monday to Friday, mornings only (from about 9 am to 2 pm).
The Health Centre (Centro de Salud de Montefrio), which is open 24/7, is located on C/San Sebastian No. 1. The telephone number is 958 336658. The numerous pharmacies are also extremely helpful and (in our experience) seem happy to treat minor cuts etc.
Aside from the local shops (butchers, fish shop, greengrocers) and supermarkets there is the excellent Cheese Factory, which sells local cheeses, marinated olives, hams, olive oil and local wine. It is located at Av. Miguel Hernandez 17, 18270 Montefrio. Tel.: 958 336 206. Close to this is the market on Mondays. Montefrio is well known for its black pudding (morcilla) which should not be missed.
There are many bars and restaurants in Montefrio and we cannot mention all by name, but closest to the house is Meson Coronichi which is open at lunchtime only Tuesday to Sunday. It is run by Senor Lorca – front of house, and Senora Lorca who prepares the local produce beautifully. It is advisable to book at weekends. Tel.: 958 336146. Next door is Restaurant Justo which is also a bar, open lunchtimes and evenings. This has an outside patio and is more casual than Coronichi. In town is Meson el Pregonero on the Plaza de Espana, both a bar and restaurant, and a good meeting place. Like many of the restaurants it has a very reasonable menu del dia (lunchtime) and is always lively.
Whilst it is possible to walk into Montefrio it involves a steep 20 minute climb back! Driving takes 5 minutes.
There are two larger supermarkets (Lidl and Mercadona) in Alcala la Real, half an hour's drive away. For a more cosmopolitan choice Granada is only 45 minutes away with a huge Carrefour, Hypercor and several others on the outskirts and the full range of city centre shops and facilities that one would expect.
Local History
On the rocky outcrop is the Iglesia de la Villa, which is well worth the steep climb from town to visit it and enjoy the magnificent panoramic views that often feature in the region's guidebooks and posters.
The church was built on the site of a Nasrid castle. In a key strategic location, the Alcazaba was constructed in the mid-14th century to help defend the Muslim kingdom of Granada and prevent an invasion by the Christians. It is believed to have been designed by the same architect who was in charge of the Alhambra. There was also a watchtower on the castle hill, which formed part of an extremely effective network of lookout posts used to stand guard over important routes over Granada’s vega (plain).
After conquering Montefrío in 1486, the Catholic Monarchs ordered the castle to be demolished and the church built in its place. The architect Diego de Siloé later became involved in the church's design, which has Mudéjar, Gothic and Renaissance features. You can see ruined sections of the castle walls around the church.
Although the church no longer holds services, there is a small history museum inside it, the Centro de Intepretación La Centinela, with interactive displays on the former castle, the church and the conflict between the Muslims and the Christians in 15th-century Granada. It's open Monday to Friday from 12pm to 2pm.
In the centre of town is the pantheon-style Iglesia de la Encarnación, which has a huge domed roof and was designed in the 18th century by the acclaimed neoclassical architect Ventura Rodríguez.
Signposted off the road to Illora, about 7km east of Montefrío, is an intriguing archaeological site, the Penas de los Gitanos, which has evidence of human settlement from Neolithic times to the Bronze Age. Excavations here have unearthed numerous artefacts including combs made from bone, flint arrowheads and shards of decorative ceramics in the collection of prehistoric dolmens and cave dwellings, one of which has primitive rock paintings. Also here is a Medieval citadel, the remains of a Roman fort and, in the gorge below, six water mills.
