The smurf village of Júzcar in southern Spain is completely painted in all shades of blue. The houses, the streets, the shops and pretty much every detail is blue. The village was created – or actually mainly painted – into a Smurf village in 2011 following the shooting of a Smurf film in the village. Since then, Júzcar has become one of Spain’s most visited tourist attractions. This blog will give you more background information about this Smurf village in Spain, including the things to do in Júzcar.
How to get to Júzcar in Andalusia
Júzcar is located in the province of Málaga, in southwestern Spain. The village is located about 80 kilometers west of the city of Málaga and 50 kilometers northeast of Granada. Popular tourist destinations near Júzcar are the villages of Ronda, Setenil de Bodegas and Montejaque.
Unfortunately, it is not easy to get to Júzcar by public transport (although it is not impossible). It is therefore best to visit the Smurf village by (rental) car. You can easily find a parking spot on the edge of the village.
Things to do in Júzcar
The village of Júzcar used to be one of the typical pueblos blancos of Andalusia, the white-washed villages the south of Spain is known for. So Júzcar was once one of the white towns you see a lot in this area. But in 2011 the hitherto insignificant village got a complete makeover when it was used for shooting and promoting a Smurf movie. Everything in Júzcar were painted blue: the walls of the houses, the walls and even the flower pots.
After the filming, the inhabitants expected to be painting their houses white again, but eventually changed their minds. The blue color grew on them – or perhaps they were very happy with the many tourists that were attracted to the now less insignificant, but interesting village. Júzcar quickly became known as ‘the blue village of Andalusia’ and ‘the Smurf village in Spain’. It instantly became a tourist attraction.
There were many before smurf images scattered throughout the village, but only a handful of them remain. We were told that this had to do with the image rights to the Smurf images, as a result of which the inhabitants would have to give up part of their income from tourism to the right holders. The images have now almost all been removed, but the blue color has remained and Júzcar is still known as the blue Smurf village.
There is not much to do in Júzcar than wandering through the blue streets. A visit to the Smurf village is mainly about that special blue setting. We expected that only a number of streets or parts of the village would be blue. But to our surprise, pretty much every building is painted in a shade of blue. To help tourist find their way, the inhabitants created some walking itineraries to get around the village, all starting and ending at the parking lot. Along the route, you’ll pass the many murals that have been added to the village to present an even more beautiful picture to visitors.
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