Girona · Cataluña
Santa Pau
A beautifully preserved medieval village at the heart of the volcanic region, known for its beloved fesols (haricot beans).
Living in Santa Pau
Santa Pau is a beautifully preserved medieval village of 1,600 at the heart of the Garrotxa volcanic region, its stone houses, arcades and 13th-century square huddled amid dormant volcano cones. It's famous locally for its fesols — the prized haricot beans celebrated with a January bean festival. It's a mostly Spanish village. At around 470m the climate is inland-Catalan, warm summers near 30°C and cold winters with frost. A hospital at Olot is barely fifteen minutes away and Girona under an hour, so it's a well-serviced base for the volcano country.
Santa Pau's Spainability Scores — by who's moving
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities. Each score is Santa Pau's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 81% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
A beautifully preserved medieval village at the heart of the volcanic region, known for its beloved fesols (haricot beans). A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — a settled international community and 51 km from the sea.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 29.6°C
- Rainy days a year 79 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 73
- Winter average temp 5.4°C
Higher than 73% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
A beautifully preserved medieval village at the heart of the volcanic region, known for its beloved fesols (haricot beans). A strong pick for American retirees — 11 min to a hospital and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 5.4°C
- Drive to a hospital 11 min
- U.S.-born residents 1.27 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €5.36/m²·mo
Higher than 69% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
A beautifully preserved medieval village at the heart of the volcanic region, known for its beloved fesols (haricot beans). A strong pick for a remote-working couple — a settled international community and 11 min to a hospital.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 85%
- Drive to nearest airport 62 min
- Registered long-let rent €5.36/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 29.6°C
Higher than 67% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
A beautifully preserved medieval village at the heart of the volcanic region, known for its beloved fesols (haricot beans). A strong pick for a retiring couple — 11 min to a hospital and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 5.4°C
- Drive to a hospital 11 min
- Surgical wait (region) 142 days
- Registered long-let rent €5.36/m²·mo
Higher than 64% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
A beautifully preserved medieval village at the heart of the volcanic region, known for its beloved fesols (haricot beans). A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — a settled international community and 11 min to a hospital.
- Schools in town 3
- PISA maths (region) 469
- Registered long-let rent €5.36/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 11 min
Higher than 63% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
A beautifully preserved medieval village at the heart of the volcanic region, known for its beloved fesols (haricot beans). A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — a settled international community and 11 min to a hospital.
- Registered long-let rent €5.36/m²·mo
- Net income per person €18,407
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 29.6°C
What is the climate like in Santa Pau?
Santa Pau's reported winter average is 5.4°C, while July–August highs reach 29.6°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 5.4°C bottom 22% of 8,131 towns 2.3°C below the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 29.6°C top 36% of 8,131 towns 0.6°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 79 days bottom 29% of 8,088 towns 14% more than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- no local data
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 73 bottom 31% of 8,033 towns 16 above the Spanish average (56)
- River-flood depth (T=100, town centre) estimated
- 0 m top 1% of 8,129 towns 0.04 m below the Spanish average (0.04 m)
- River-flood risk score estimated
- 0 top 1% of 8,129 towns about the Spanish average (0)
- Wildfire burn rate (2010–23)
- 0 ha/km² top 1% of 8,132 towns 2.31 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 0 top 1% of 8,132 towns 6 below the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 28.4% bottom 7% of 8,130 towns 5.5% above the Spanish average (22.9%)
The year, month by month
AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.
How good is healthcare in Santa Pau?
Santa Pau's nearest health centre is 7.7 km away, and the reported hospital drive is 11 min.
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 11 min top 8% of 8,132 towns
- Nearest health centre
- 7.7 km top 45% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 142 days #16 of 17 regions, +39 days vs national 32% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Santa Pau?
Santa Pau has 3 schools in town; the nearest international school is 29 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 3 top 19% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 29 km top 33% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 469 #12 of 17 regions, −10 vs national 12 below the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Santa Pau?
Santa Pau's reported registered long-let rent is €5.36/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- no local data
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €5.36/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €4.53/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €6.33/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- no reliable sale-price data — yield not imputed
- Net income per person
- €18,407 top 6% of 8,059 towns 27% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 30% top 27% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Santa Pau?
Catalonia has a co-official regional language, and public schools commonly use regional-language immersion or bilingual models rather than Spanish-only teaching. The exact classroom language depends on the school and programme, so confirm the current model before enrolling. See the Catalonia region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Santa Pau?
Santa Pau's reported population is 1,578.
Who lives here
- Population
- 1,578
- Born in Spain
- 93.1% 4.3% above the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 2.2% 1.7% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 1.27 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Santa Pau?
Santa Pau is a reported 62 min drive from the nearest airport, with 83% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 62 min top 37% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 83% bottom 34% of 8,132 towns 4% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 85% bottom 28% of 8,132 towns 2% above the Spanish average (83%)
Numbers: Spainability town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Registered long-let rent is SERPAVI declared-contract data; its p25–p75 values show the observed band. Registered-rent yield is gross, excludes costs and is never imputed. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
How does Santa Pau fit you?
These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Santa Pau against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 53 min from Girona, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Santa Pau for you →Questions to verify locally
- Ask whether current long-let rents match the registered-contract figure.
- Request comparable sales; neither appraisal nor asking data is published.
- Test fibre speed at the exact address, not the town average.
- Visit local schools and confirm places for incoming families.
- Confirm health-centre registration and opening hours in person.
- Test the reported airport drive at the time you would travel.
Nearby towns
Other places we profile within easy reach.