ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN FIFTIERS MAGAZINE, ISSUE 0
VERSAILLES IN SPAIN
Francesca Garrigues Aldrich – Co-Founder of LA FARM
I never thought I would end up starting a business and spending so many days of the week in a village. I, a self-declared city person, with so many years working in multinationals — the kind who knows more about buildings than the names of trees — found myself one day almost settled in La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia. When I tell people, the reaction is always the same: “And what do you do there? You can walk the whole place in half an hour.” And yes, it’s true that in thirty minutes you can stroll its streets, greet most of the neighbours, bump into the mayor, and recognise every square and every fountain. What few people know is that from here, in just twenty-seven minutes, you can also be at a theatre on Madrid’s Gran Vía, or at the Alcázar of Segovia. In thirty minutes you walk the whole village; in that same time, in a bar in Chamberí, you’d be lucky to have ordered a coffee and still be waiting for it to arrive. Let’s call it rural efficiency: here life is measured in minutes of calm, but the whole world is just a step away.
I never thought a village would give me so much work — and more than a few people share that view. I’ve spent half my life between airports and big cities, and I end up almost settling in a place where I suddenly find myself standing before the Baroque Royal Palace of La Granja, with its gardens that look like an endless canvas and sculptures as striking as any by Michelangelo. The first time I walked through the Royal Gardens I understood why people call this place the Spanish Versailles. It is not an idle comparison: the ponds reflect the clouds with the same solemnity as in France, the avenues stretch into infinite perspectives and the sculptures carry an air of grandeur that compels you to stop. There are mornings when, strolling among fountains and forests, I feel as though I am walking inside a painting, as if beauty had decided to stay and live here. I am grateful to Philip V for having that idea!
And the curious thing is that, while in big cities beauty is usually kept under lock and key, here you need only go out for a walk. It is a reminder that the sublime exists, that history is alive, and that after fifty, among many other things, one learns to savour slowness. Walking here every morning is cheaper than a spa… and considerably more impressive.
And then there is the landscape, which seems determined to remind us every day that we live at the foot of the Sierra de Guadarrama, where a war — the Spanish Civil War — left behind countless stories waiting to be told. Here hiking is not an extreme sport or a wellness trend; it is simply what happens when you go out for a walk and end up in the middle of a Romantic painting. I used to log kilometres on a treadmill staring at a white wall; now I climb towards the Camino del Chorro through oak and pine trees and come across a roe deer as a silent neighbour. Life’s ironies: here, less is more.
The surprises do not end at the Palace. The Royal Glass Factory is another of those places that shatters preconceptions. Many people think it is a museum, but it is still active, and from its furnaces come wonderful lamps, objects and perfume bottles that go on to shine in shop windows in Paris, New York or Milan. To think that those bottles destined for the hands of celebrities and designers are born in this village is a delicious contrast. That is the true meaning of glamour: craftsmanship made into a global symbol, with no red carpet required. And as proof, the recent partnership with Zara Home, which launched a hand-blown glass collection together with the Royal Factory — a limited edition that shows tradition can also be a trend. Because it is not every day that an eighteenth-century craft ends up in the most cutting-edge shop windows in the world, and here it happens with complete naturalness: from the furnaces of La Granja to your dining table.
Here the hours are not set by an alarm clock. The bells take care of reminding you that time passes. I, who always lost the battle against office clocks, now think of Queen Isabel de Farnesio’s collection at the Palace and smile. She collected clocks; I collect bell chimes. Free and battery-free. And the cultural life does not disappoint either: the Noches Mágicas fill the squares with music under the stars, the village festivals take you back to a wonderful adolescence — though your knees may disagree — and exhibitions appear in the most unexpected corners, almost like a surprise waiting around every turn. And if that were not enough, you can go to Valsaín for the summer festivities and watch the log-cutting competition in full swing: pure rural spectacle with more excitement than any urban crossfit class.
LA FARM 360º
From this setting, La Farm 360º was born — a project that cannot be understood as an isolated business, but as a way of life. We began with the renovation of forgotten buildings and manor houses frozen in time that are now full of life, stories and neighbourly gossip. We continued with Hotel La Farm, with 16 rooms in which every detail breathes calm and authenticity. Soon we will open Hotel Faisanera Golf, with 31 rooms, perfect for those who want to wake up with views of the countryside and a place to transform their wellbeing.
And beyond the bedrooms, we will add more homes. La Farm Real Estate is one of the key pillars of the project: the renovation of residential properties. Bringing five manor houses back to life after years of neglect has not only restored history, but has also brought more than thirty new owners who were as certain as we were: staying in La Granja is not an eccentricity, it is pure common sense. With new real estate projects underway and others rescued from what seemed like oblivion, the aim is to ensure the village is not just a pretty backdrop, but a place where people live, work and stay. And yes, more homes and more hotels will come. The future in La Granja is not imagined: it is restored, built and reinvented. But what I would truly like to convey is this: stop being a tourist and become a neighbour.
La Farm 360º brings together everything needed to give meaning to this new way of inhabiting a village. There is the Beauty Centre and the Pilates Studio, which remind us that wellbeing is not bought in capsules but built through time and commitment. There are the events. And there is the golf course, La Faisanera Golf, which is not just a sport but also the perfect excuse for long conversations and new friendships.
Among the jewels is La Farm Studio, a former deconsecrated church that now has a new mission: to serve as the setting for intimate concerts, cultural gatherings, celebrations, weddings and corporate events. The space has not lost its solemnity — it has simply transformed it. Bringing together neighbours, artists and professionals within those walls has something spiritual about it, even if in the diary you call it a “corporate event”: the wow factor is guaranteed.
Working in this environment is an experience in itself. La Granja is not a backdrop: it is the real frame of our everyday life. And yes, sometimes at half past eleven at night I am still in the office. Lucky me, I think — no one bothers me. Of course, no one comes to throw me out either: complete freedom to keep working while the whole village sleeps. The ironies of your fifties, when you discover that independence can also bind you… but willingly. I never understood the phrase “Choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life.” Now I do — now I am beginning to understand it.
The most valuable thing is that we did not build this alone. La Farm 360º is supported by local staff — the majority of the team are women over 50 — by partnerships with companies and exclusive partner brands that share our vision, by our commitment to environmental responsibility, food waste reduction, energy saving and inclusion, and, most importantly, by the local shops, which are the true heartbeat of the village. Because in La Granja, life is not invented or bought: it is built in community, with neighbours, with artisans and with the people who were always here.
Today I can say it clearly: I don’t want to be a tourist. I’m not interested in selfies or rushing to tick monuments off a list. I want to live in a place where the luxury is having the Palace just around the corner, where the bells serve as an alarm clock and where the neighbours are companions in an authentic life.
In my fifties I discovered that it is possible to reinvent the way you live and build a business in a village, and that the best way to do it is with projects that blend work, leisure, culture and community.
Take note, take note — it will soon become my primary residence. And if I fancy a change of scene… in 27 minutes I’m at the Bernabéu, at the Puerta de Alcalá or at the foot of the Aqueduct of Segovia.
And if nostalgia strikes, within minutes I’m having rice for dinner in Torrecaballeros, going up in a hot-air balloon, horse riding at the Eresma stables, canoeing on the Duratón, cycling with Naturcleta or dining like a king at the Reina restaurant, recently nominated for The Fork award as the best opening of 2024.
Fair warning — and forewarned is forearmed: perhaps you’d better not come; in a village like La Granja, I’m afraid there is simply nothing to do.