Premium
#22260
Discover Cuenca, lovely town, lots to do and to visit here. Enjoy the Spanish true experience.
Apartment • Cuenca Spain
Exchange types accepted
Statistics
Listed July 2023
Views 2922
General overview
Cuenca is a World heritage site by UNESCO since more than 25 years ago. I have had lots of friends to visit, as I am originally from Barcelona and I have lived in Edinburgh and Milan. Everybody who came got shock because the city and the area is amazing and has so may things to do and visit, but still is not that known. When in Cuenca you enjoy a city that offers you the Spanish true experience, not just another touristic place. People also are really welcoming here and it is very very safe.
It is an special city because Cuenca means "canyon", the old city is built in the middle of two river canyons (Júcar and Huécar), that make a dramatic beautiful scenery city that attracted lots of painters. That is why we have a very popular abstract art museum, because in the 50's, while Spain was in a super conservative dictatorship, few famous painters move here and open this super modern museum with art works from Zobel, Saura, Mompo...).
There are few other art museums like "Fundación Antonio Pérez" with some pop art, Spanish artist mainly but also some Warhol's.
These museums are super nice to visit, because of the art works and also because of the interesting buildings where they are set, and the views from any windows are another art work. They are very child friendly visits, but no with a buggy as there are a lot of steps.
We have another interesting and super child friendly museum about dinosaurs. Some years ago they discover a new species of dinosaur here, the concavenator, they called it Pepito and got very popular, specially in Japan. Then they built this lovely museum with Pepito, another dinosaur things and a lovely program of workshops for children.
I recommend you to Google Cuenca and the other things I said if you are interested and please feel free to ask any questions.
Cuenca is the gastronomical capital of Spain this year, because there's lovely food and restaurants here.
We have a lot of availability for non sim exchanges as we can be host by the granma for short term anytime. And we have availability for simultaneous according to the school holidays in Spain, mainly July and August.
We have a young outdoor cat, very independent but that needs food and water and to have the sand potty clean (once a day), super easy and you can leave for 2-3 without problem (in fact usually much as my mum can help).
The space
We live in a 3 bedroom flat in the center of the city but with a big garden. There is a 5*3 meter swimming pool to enjoy, a lovely bbq area and we grow our vegetables, you are welcome to pick them (mostly in summer time).
We have a playroom with lots of toys and books. And also we have a office outside (in the garden) as my husband works remotely.
We have our bedroom with a queen size bed, the bedroom of the children with two single Montessori beds (90*190), a sofa bed in the living (120*200). And we have three single foldable mattress that we also use when the family comes to visit that you can use. So 4 people like us would be very comfortable, but there are some more options for more people.
The third bedroom we use it as a playroom, with lots of toys, book, a blackboard, a little table...
We have Netflix, Amazon prime video and Disney+ if you want to relax watching some films and series.
Guest access
We live in a first floor flat, with a lift. There are no steps.
The flat is completely renew, it is sunny and cosy (we love it ☺️).
We have no air con, because in our city it usually gets fresh at night, so we did the installation when we renew the flat, but we don't really need it, anyway on the main room there is a ceiling fan.
Notes
Cuenca is a lovely small town (around 50.000 people), it is in the middle way from Madrid and Valencia. We have speed train, it takes an hour to both cities, while driving it would be 1 hour and a half to Madrid city centre and 2 hour to Valencia.
Features
Washer
Dishwasher
Oven
Microwave
Coffee machine
Fridge
Iron
Hair dryer
Heating
TV
WiFi
High Speed Internet
Bathtub
First aid kit
Bed sheets
Towels
Workspace
Toys
BBQ
Pool
Balcony
Garden / yard
Deck / patio / courtyard / terrace
Covered porch / verandah
Bikes
Travel Styles
Long term
Weekend
Adventure
Budget
Family
Romantic
Sport and leisure
Foodie
Relaxing
Eco
City
Mountains
Water
Remote
Culture
Accessibility
House rules
Suitable for infants under 2
Suitable for children ages 2-12
Pets not allowed
No smoking
Allergens
Cat free
Dog free
Smoke free
Low allergen
Dates of Availability
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Neighbourhood
Our neighborhood is a very quiet area, with all the services. We have a big supermarket at 5 minute walk, and within 2 minute we have fruit and veg shop, baker's, fish shop and butcher's. Also the doctor is very close and the main hospital is a 5 minute drive. It is a 5 minute walk to the main street where there are pubs, restaurants, ice cream shops, playground for children...
We also have a little cinema 5 minute walk from our house, tennis and padel courts, winter swimming pool...
Getting to my home
If you fly you can either fly to Madrid or Valencia and then take the train or rent a car to Cuenca. It is pretty easy. The high speed train is cheaper the sooner you book it.
Nearest airport
Madrid (1 hour and a half drive) or Valencia (2 hour drive). Or one hour high speed train to Valencia o Madrid center.
Getting around
We are 5 minute walk distance from the city center. The old town starts at 10 minute walk (it is up in the hill, so maybe you prefer to take the local bus, 3 minute from the house or just a taxi, around 6 euro).
We can swap or rent our car.
A part of the lovely city, there are a lot of beautiful places to visit:
- "Ciudad encantada" (an amazing walk with stone that have interesting shapes all natural made by erosion). On the way you can see "El ventano del diablo", which is an amazing scenery spot from two "windows" in the rock.
- "Nacimiento del río cuervo" (where this small river is born, with waterfalls and beautiful scenery).
- The ruins of Segobriga (roman ancient interesting ruins in a good condition).
- The mosaics of Noheda (incredible huge and beautiful roman villa mosaics that were discovered few years ago).
- The important Monasterio de Uclés.
- For summer time there is a lovely River beach were you can book a canoe and have lunch or picnic.
- There are also few river and lake amazing swimming spots, like the "pocetas" in Palomera o "las chorreras" en Enguidanos.
- There are some beautiful little lakes, "Las lagunas de Cañada del Hoyo", one of them very popular because some time of the year due to a bacteria (I think) the water becomes pink.
- One hour drive is the beautiful village of Belmonte, with a stunning castle where the Medieval Combat World Tournament was this year. The village itself has lots of heritage.
- Not far from Belmonte you can find the traditional windmills like in Don Quixote, on Saturdays there is a demonstration of how they use to work, as they still can work.
- Also another stunning village is Alarcón, with a castle converted into a hotel "parador" and nice streets and a swamp.
- Another lovely one hour trip is to see "las caras de Buendía" where they sculpted some faces into the stones.
- Cuenca is very popular for climbing because all the walls of the canyon, there are also climbing schools for children and adults. Our children did a week morning summercamp before leaving for holidays, that they loved.
Map of Approximate Location
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People Like Us Local Guide
I offer myself as a guide and love to meet for a coffee or beer.
Feedback
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We spent a wonderful time at Ana's place. The home is really comfortable, very well equipped and perfectly located to enjoy Cuenca, which a beautiful city with lots of things to do and places to visit (also in the surroundings). Ana provided us with lots of information, tips and ideas, which helped to make our stay even better. We had the opportunity to meet Ana and Alberto and even enjoy some drinks together, so we could confirm how lovely and nice they are. It was great but very short, we will meet again for sure. Don't hesitate to exchange with Ana and her beautiful family, highly recommended! Thanks a lot Ana, Alberto, Alejandro and Sol (and Luna, the cat) for sharing your home with us, it was more than great! -
Thank you, Mayte. You are welcome anytime to come back and have some more time to discover other places in and around Cuenca!!! It was lovely to meet you!!!
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Ana y su familia fueron absolutamente fabulosos. Y la casa es perfecta para niños. Hicieron todo lo posible para que nos sintiéramos genial. Ana nos recogió en la estación de tren de Cuenca. Tenía un regalo de bienvenida para nosotros. Nos prepararon paella. Nos prestaron su coche. Nos dieron su tiempo y compañía. Gracias por todo, y gracias por mostrarnos un lugar muy bonito que no conociamos, Cuenca. Esperamos volver a verlos. Siempre seréis bienvenidos en Lemvig. -
Muchas gracias, Daniela, nos volveremos a ver seguro 😊!!!
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We had a lovely stay in Ana’s home in Cuenca! It is an especially nice stay with kids. There were plenty of toys for our girls to play with, and we all loved the pool! It was easy to walk into the shops and cafes in the new town and the historical buildings and sights of old town were gorgeous. We also really enjoyed the archaeological and science museums. The high speed train also made it convenient to travel to Madrid and Valencia. We also really enjoyed getting to know Ana and her family and look forward to the day we can meet them in person! -
Ana and her family are absolutely wonderful to exchange with. Their home in Cuenca is lovely. It has everything you need for a pleasant stay. The beds are super comfy, the shower is great, the kitchen is well equipped and there were plenty of toys to keep the kids entertained. The highlight, though, is definitely the outside area. A beautiful pagola for a shaded seating area and a pool that kept the kids entertained for hours a day! We had a very warm week with temps of 39 degrees during the day, so to have the delightful outside area with pool to keep us cool was wonderful! We did manage to venture out in the mornings before it warmed up too much.... We had a lovely time visiting the old town of Cuenca (easily accessible from the apartment), we visited the Science and dinosaur museums (great for the kids!). We also explored some of the Beautiful scenery around Cuenca too - the gorges are so dramatic and the water a beautiful colour. Ana's home is also close to lots of lovely restaurants and tapas bars (and all the staff were alway very friendly and put up with my broken Spanish!). The welcome book had lots of recommendations for nice food places, and all of the ones we chose were so delicious!... We just needed more time to try them all 😁 Communication with Ana has been super easy before and during our stay. The home manual had plenty of ideas for outings / trips etc. And we were welcomed with some thoughtful gifts from the area 🥰 Our stay was just perfect 💖 thank you so much Ana for a wonderful swap, we hope we get to meet you and your family in person one day 💖 -
Ana and family went above and beyond to make us feel at home. As soon as we met in person, we felt like we had known them forever. They invited us to join their activities so we were able to experience life in Cuenca. Their home was beautifully renovated with anything you could need with the kids especially loving the playroom. One of our favorite memories is using the pool in the evening after our siestas. Cuenca is such a beautiful part of Spain that wouldn’t have been on our radar prior to exchanging but Ana’s passion for the area was infectious. I’m so glad that we were able to experience it as a family and we can’t wait to host them in LA! Would highly recommend reaching out to Ana for an exchange if you want to visit Spain! -
Another excellent exchange with Ana and Alberto. 150% recommended -
Cuenca was certainly a surprise for us. So much to see and do, but meeting Ana and Alberto was the icing on the cake. Fantastic hosts who couldn't do enough to make sure we enjoyed our visit. I doubt we will do too many more exchanges as good as this. 100% recommended! We can't wait to repay their hospitality.
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Ana and Alberto are amazing hosts! Because we had a non-simultaneous exchange, we were able to spend time together. Their home is happy and bright, and it is especially well-suited for families with kids. Mine were super happy here, and they had tons of fun playing in the backyard and playroom (with "foosball" table). Everything about the exchange was comfortable and inviting. The kitchen has everything you need, and the home is very clean. Ana and Alberto truly went above and beyond (making paella and lots of recommendations) and they were so welcoming - put an exchange in Cuenca on your list! -
This was our very first exchange, and it was all that we hoped for and more. We were welcomed by the whole family, and they are lovely, fun, kind and very helpful. And the kids Alex and Sol were just so sweet and adorable. Ana gave us a very informative guide of all the things to see and do in Cuenca and the surrounding area. Plus a restaurant guide. We were gifted snacks, cheese, wine ect. which was much appriciated at our late arrival. We had a quick introduction to the apartment, the laundry room, the garden ect. We felt so very welcome. The next day we were invited to a guided tour of the of old town, followed by homemade paella, prepared by Alberto, at the apartment. It was such a great day. Maybe the best day :) The old town and the canyon is stunning. Ana helped throughout the week with planning trips ect. And we had a tapas night together as well, Ana cooked, as we arrived home late from yet another adventure. I really hope we can repay their kindness, when they come to us. The apartment was just as nice as in the pictures, and very clean. All the nice personal things made it very homely and cosy. The garden is somehow nicer than the pictures. Perhaps because it is a little bit surreal, with a garden in between the apartments. We understand why they like it so much <3 and we would have been spending much more time there, had it been summer. Their home is absolutely fantastic if you have kids, there was a whole room, with toys and things for crafts. Another nice thing is that Ana, Alberto and their lovely kids lived in Ana’s moms apartment right next to us us, which made it so easy to meet for a glass of wine ect. And not to worry, we had all the privacy we needed, Ana made sure to balance it all so well. (She was like: “I’m here if you need me, when not at work of course”) We definitely feel that we made new friends in Cuenca. And I guess this is what PLU can do :) The only thing that was a little difficult was finding a parking spot late in the evening. But we managed to find a spot every time we got back :)
Premium
Ana
We are a family of 4 from Spain. I'm Ana, I'm a Spanish teacher at a public high school in my town. I'm originally from Barcelona. My husband is Alberto, he works remotely as a Software Engineer.
We have two children, Alex, 7 years old, is a very friendly and curious boy who loves sports, football, outdoor activities and reading, and Sol, 5 years old, is very communicative and fun and loves painting and crafts (and unicorns, hehe).
We love traveling, cooking (and eating), discovering new places, new flavors, new friends...
Travelling group
Desired Destinations
Open to any destination
Dates flexible
"We can do short or long term simultaneous in July, August and other school holidays. But we are able to host for maximum a week anytime as we can be host by the grandma.
We are looking for destinations mainly in Europe, but we are open to any suggestions"
Dates flexible
"For bank holidays, "puentes" and weekends"
Dates flexible
"We prefer in summertime"
Dates flexible
"We prefer in summertime"
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