Why Visit the Sagrillas Location?

Sagrillas is the filming location of Spain’s longest-running television series “Cuéntame cómo pasó,” and the actual village is Arahuetes in Segovia province. This 30-resident hamlet offers visitors a chance to walk through the streets where the Alcántara family’s story unfolded over 23 seasons, combined with authentic Castilian rural charm and proximity to the medieval town of Pedraza.

The Cultural Significance of Arahuetes as Sagrillas

The small village of Arahuetes gained national recognition when it became the filming location for the fictional town of Sagrillas in “Cuéntame cómo pasó.” The series, which aired from 2001 to 2023, documented Spain’s transition from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy through the lives of the middle-class Alcántara family. With 413 episodes spanning Spanish history from 1968 to 2001, the show became the most awarded series in Spanish television history.

Arahuetes provided the perfect backdrop for this narrative. The village’s authentic architecture and unchanged character meant it required minimal modification to represent a 1960s-70s Spanish rural town. Production teams chose Arahuetes specifically because its isolation and preservation made it an ideal stand-in for the fictional Albacete location. While interior scenes were filmed in studios near Madrid, the exterior shots that defined Sagrillas’s visual identity were all captured here.

The relationship between the series and the village created something unique in Spanish television history. Many local residents appeared as extras throughout the series, and the Plaza Mayor became so synonymous with the show that visitors now commonly refer to it as “Plaza de Cuéntame.” The final episode of the series was filmed here, bringing the story full circle to its origins.

Filming locations you can visit:

• The Alcántara family home (visible from Plaza Mayor)
• San Andrés Church (site of multiple key scenes including weddings)
• The plaza where village gatherings were filmed
• The cemetery that featured in several storylines
• Streets where iconic vehicles like the Seat 600 were filmed

What Makes Arahuetes Worth Visiting

Beyond its television fame, Arahuetes represents an authentic slice of rural Castilian life that has remained largely unchanged for decades. The village sits at 1,096 meters elevation in Segovia province, approximately 43 kilometers from Segovia city.

Architectural Heritage

The San Andrés Church stands as the village’s most significant monument. This baroque-style building from the 17th-18th centuries houses several notable features, including Renaissance altarpieces by Diego de Aguilar and Mannerist paintings from the circle of Alonso de Herrera. The church also preserves a Romanesque baptismal font and a 17th-century silver chalice.

Near the village, the Santa Águeda hermitage ruins offer a glimpse into the area’s religious past. Though only the exterior walls remain, the rectangular structure with its straight apse demonstrates the simple, functional architecture of rural religious buildings.

The Plaza Mayor itself deserves attention. Clean, well-maintained, and surrounded by traditional stone houses, it feels perpetually ready for visitors. The old forge building on Calle La Fuente maintains its original interior elements, including a wooden stocks device, providing insight into village life from previous centuries.

Natural Surroundings

Arahuetes is surrounded by forests of juniper, holm oak, and Aleppo pine. The landscape supports diverse wildlife including vultures, roe deer, wild boar, and various bird species. The Santa Águeda stream crosses the village territory before joining the Cega River near Pajares de Pedraza.

Several hiking routes begin from the village:

• Senda de los Pescadores (Fishermen’s Path): Follows the Cega River
• Ruta del Cubillo: A 4-kilometer route along the riverbank
• Ruta de Tierra de Pedraza: A 26-kilometer circular trail connecting La Velilla, Val de San Pedro, Requijada, Arahuetes, and Pajares de Pedraza

Monte Picazo (1,131 meters) stands as the highest geodesic point in the area, offering panoramic views of the valley and the Guadarrama National Park. The summit provides an excellent perspective on the region’s geography.

The Pedraza Connection

Visiting Arahuetes becomes significantly more rewarding when combined with nearby Pedraza, located just 6 kilometers away. Pedraza ranks among Spain’s best-preserved medieval villages and was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1951.

This walled village has fewer than 500 inhabitants and maintains its medieval character so thoroughly that it has served as a filming location for over 200 films and series. The entire village can be accessed through a single gate that opens in the morning and closes at night, a practice that continues today.

Key attractions in Pedraza:

• Pedraza Castle: A 13th-century Romanesque fortress built on Arab foundations
• Plaza Mayor: One of Castile and León’s most beautiful main squares
• Medieval Prison: A 13th-century building reconstructed in the 16th century, now open to visitors
• San Juan Church: Featuring Romanesque architecture
• Calle Real: The village’s main street lined with noble houses bearing family coats of arms

The village celebrates the “Noche de las Velas” (Night of Candles) on the first two Saturdays of July, when all electric lights are switched off and the entire village is illuminated only by candles. This event attracts thousands of visitors annually.

Pedraza’s gastronomy centers on traditional Castilian dishes, particularly roast suckling lamb prepared in wood-fired ovens. The village gained international recognition when The Times included Restaurante El Soportal in its 2024 list of the 28 best places to eat in the Mediterranean region.

Practical Information for Your Visit

Getting to Arahuetes

From Segovia (43 km, approximately 45 minutes): Take the N-110 road heading north to La Salceda, then turn onto the SG-P-2322. At La Velilla, turn left before crossing the river onto the SG-V-2313. The turnoff to Arahuetes appears shortly after.

From Madrid (approximately 140 km): Take the A-1 highway to Santo Tomé del Puerto in Segovia, then follow the N-110 south. At Arcones, turn right onto the SG-V-2512 toward La Velilla, then follow the directions above.

A rental car is highly recommended as public transportation to small villages in this area is limited.

What to Expect

Arahuetes is not a commercialized tourist destination. With approximately 30 permanent residents (increasing to around 200 in summer), the village maintains its authentic character. There are no museums dedicated to the television series, no official guided tours, and minimal tourist infrastructure.

This authenticity is precisely what makes it special. You can walk freely through the streets, photograph the locations, and experience the village as it actually is rather than as a curated tourist site. The locals are accustomed to fans of “Cuéntame cómo pasó” visiting and are generally welcoming, though remember this is their home first and a filming location second.

Accommodation and Dining

Arahuetes has limited accommodation options, primarily rural houses available for rent:

• Casa Rota Arahuetes: A restored 300m² house with five bedrooms
• Valle de San Pedro properties: Two rural houses in a tranquil natural setting

For dining, La Farola restaurant in nearby La Velilla offers traditional home-cooked cuisine featuring local meats, seasonal fish, and wines from Ribera del Duero, Rioja, Rueda, and Cigales regions.

Pedraza offers more extensive accommodation and dining options, with several hotels, rural houses, and restaurants specializing in roast lamb.

Best Time to Visit

Spring (April-June) and autumn (September-October) provide the most pleasant weather for exploring the area. Summer brings more visitors and livelier village life, particularly during local festivals. Winter can be cold at this elevation, but the village takes on a different character that some visitors prefer.

The village celebrates San Blas on February 3rd and Nuestra Señora del Rosario on the first weekend of October. San Roque festivities in mid-August include communal meals organized by local associations.

Combining Cultural and Natural Tourism

The real value of visiting Arahuetes lies in experiencing multiple dimensions of Spanish rural heritage. The “Cuéntame cómo pasó” connection provides the initial motivation, but the surrounding region offers much more.

A Suggested Itinerary

Morning: Arrive in Arahuetes, explore the Plaza Mayor and filming locations, visit San Andrés Church, walk through village streets photographing scenes from the series.

Midday: Drive to Pedraza (10 minutes), explore the medieval village, walk the walls, visit the castle and prison, enjoy lunch at one of the traditional restaurants.

Afternoon: Choose between hiking one of the routes around Arahuetes or continuing exploration of Pedraza’s shops and galleries.

This combination allows you to experience both the television series nostalgia and genuine Spanish cultural heritage. The contrast between the small, working village of Arahuetes and the preserved medieval jewel of Pedraza illustrates different aspects of Castilian history and rural life.

Photography Opportunities

The entire area offers excellent photography subjects. Arahuetes provides that specific connection to Spanish television history, with recognizable doorways, plazas, and street corners. The natural light in the early morning and late afternoon creates atmospheric conditions similar to those in the series.

Pedraza’s medieval architecture, particularly the castle silhouetted against the sky and the Plaza Mayor’s harmonious proportions, creates striking images. The surrounding countryside, with its mix of farmland and forest, captures the essence of inland Spain.

Understanding the “Cuéntame” Phenomenon

To fully appreciate why Arahuetes matters, it helps to understand what “Cuéntame cómo pasó” represented in Spanish culture. The series served as collective memory therapy for a nation processing its transition from dictatorship to democracy. Through the everyday experiences of the Alcántara family, millions of Spaniards revisited their own family histories.

The show’s creators chose to tell this story through the perspective of the youngest son, Carlos, narrating events as an adult in the early 2000s. This narrative device allowed the series to examine historical events through personal memory rather than documentary-style reconstruction. The result was a show that felt intimate despite covering decades of political and social transformation.

Sagrillas functioned as the family’s emotional anchor – the place they returned to, the location of childhood memories, the site of family gatherings. By rooting such a nationally significant story in a specific, recognizable location, the producers created something viewers could actually visit and touch. Arahuetes became, in a sense, a pilgrimage site for Spanish television history.

When you visit Arahuetes today and recognize a doorway or plaza from the series, you’re not just seeing a filming location. You’re standing in a place that helped Spain process and understand its own history. That’s a different experience from visiting locations used in most television series.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you actually enter the Alcántara family house?

The house visible from the Plaza Mayor that served as the Alcántara family exterior is a private residence. While you can photograph it from the plaza and appreciate its role in the series, interior access is not available. All interior scenes were filmed in studios near Madrid, not in actual houses in Arahuetes.

Is there any official “Cuéntame” exhibit or museum in Arahuetes?

No official museum or exhibit exists. The village itself is the attraction, preserved much as it was during filming. Some organized tours from other cities include Arahuetes as part of “filming locations” itineraries, but the village itself has not developed commercial tourist infrastructure around the series.

How long should I plan to spend in Arahuetes?

The village itself can be explored in 1-2 hours. However, combining it with Pedraza and the surrounding hiking trails warrants a full day. Many visitors make it part of a longer Segovia province tour, spending 2-3 days in the region.

Will I meet anyone from the “Cuéntame” cast?

No. The series wrapped production in 2023, and actors do not live in or regularly visit the village. Many local residents who appeared as extras over the years still live there and may share stories if approached respectfully, but remember this is their daily life, not a tourist attraction.

For fans of “Cuéntame cómo pasó,” visiting Arahuetes provides tangible connection to a series that shaped Spanish television. For others, it offers an authentic glimpse of rural Castilian life combined with access to the stunning medieval architecture of nearby Pedraza. The region rewards visitors who appreciate slow travel, local culture, and landscapes that have remained largely unchanged for generations. Whether you’re making a cultural pilgrimage or discovering an unspoiled corner of Segovia province, Arahuetes delivers an experience quite different from Spain’s more commercial tourist destinations.