Spain has thousands of abandoned houses — from the Indian mansions on the Cantabrian coast to the moss-covered Galician pazos, the modernist villas of the Mediterranean with tiles still on the facades, and the stately homes of the Castilian interior with coats of arms still carved in the stone of the entrance. Abandoned houses in Spain are the most emotionally charged type of urbex — they are not factories or hospitals but homes, and their interiors frozen at the moment of abandonment preserve the lives of specific people more faithfully than any other space. Discover the 5 best spots in our Mapa Urbex España — 600+ GPS locations across Spain.
Why Abandoned Houses Are the Most Powerful Urbex
An abandoned factory tells the story of an industry. A sanatorium tells the story of a disease. But an abandoned house tells the story of a family — the furniture they chose, the photographs they hung, the calendars they stopped changing. That intimate dimension makes domestic urbex the most emotionally intense of all types of urban exploration.
1. La Mussara – Vilaplana, Tarragona — Haunted House in the Mysterious Village of the Serra de Prades, Legends of Disappearances, Mediterranean Views (Known Location)
The haunted house of La Mussara in the abandoned village of the Serra de Prades is famous for the legends surrounding it — La Mussara was depopulated in the 1950s-60s, and since then its houses have fallen into ruins attracting explorers and curious visitors seeking to uncover the mysteries hidden within its walls. The views of Camp de Tarragona and the Mediterranean from the windowless houses add a visual dimension that no plain house can match. The entire village is a cluster of abandoned houses in the most literal sense: dozens of homes that in a few decades went from everyday family life to mountain silence. Documented on the carte-urbex.com blog as a reference for house urbex in Spain.
🔗 Source: Diari de Tarragona – Ghost Towns of Tarragona
2. Villa Excélsior – Luarca, Asturias — Indian Palace from 1912, Tower with Green Tile Dome, Abandoned Garden with Trees from Around the World (Known Location)
Villa Excélsior in Luarca is one of the most extraordinary and accessible Indian palaces in Asturias — commissioned in 1912 by Manuel Méndez de Andés, nephew of an Asturian who became wealthy in Argentina, designed by architect Manuel del Busto who mixed classical and modernist elements in a tower with a dome covered in green tiles. The garden was designed by Pedro Múgica with trees brought from all over the world — palm trees, cedars, cypresses, lindens, and acacias — now completely overrun by unpruned vegetation since abandonment. Manuel died on the ship returning from Argentina in 1931 and the villa declined; his heirs lived there until deterioration made it impossible. Documented by Mis Viajes y Sensaciones as the most accessible and atmospheric Indian palace on the Asturian coast.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Must-See Abandoned Sites in Spain →
3. Casa Torre de Aldán – O Morrazo, Pontevedra — Medieval Tower Covered in Moss in the Enchanted Forest of Frendoal, Two Battlemented Towers (Known Location)
Casa Torre de Aldán in the Enchanted Forest of Frendoal (O Morrazo, Pontevedra) is the most magical and specifically Galician abandoned house in national urbex — a medieval tower with two battlemented towers that the Atlantic forest has covered with moss and undergrowth to the point that the boundary between architecture and vegetation is practically indistinguishable. One of those Galician houses where abandonment is not decay but transformation: the moss does not destroy the tower, it covers it, integrates it, making it part of the forest. Documented by El Español as the most extraordinary "enchanted forest" in Galicia.
🔗 Source: El Español – Abandoned Places in Galicia with History
4. Abandoned Modernist Mansions – San Pedro de Nós, A Coruña — Complex of Luxurious Mansions from the First Third of the 20th Century, Facades with Tiles, Overgrown Gardens (Exclusively on Our Map)
On the N-VI road near San Pedro de Nós (Concello de Oleiros, A Coruña) you can see from the road the remains of a complex of luxurious modernist mansions in a lamentable state of abandonment — facades with colorful tiles, glazed galleries, and gardens completely overrun by Atlantic vegetation. A luxury residential complex from the first third of the 20th century that time and lack of maintenance have turned into one of the most melancholic images of the Galician coast landscape. Documented as one of the most visible and photogenic abandonments in the province of A Coruña. GPS coordinates available on our Mapa Urbex España.
5. Palace of the Santa Eulalia Colony – Villena, Alicante — Mansion of the Count of Alcudia with Lounge, Library, and 12 Rooms, 19th Century Utopian Community (Off the Radar — Only on Our Map)
The palace of the Santa Eulalia Colony in Villena is the most extraordinary stately home in Alicante urbex — the mansion of the Count of Alcudia and Gestalgar where you can still distinguish the lounge, the office, the library, the 12 rooms, and the central courtyard of what was the social and administrative center of a 19th-century utopian agricultural community. The entire colony — theater, store, factory, casino, station — is the context of this mansion whose abandonment since the Civil War has made it one of the most historically charged domestic interiors in the Valencian interior. Find it on our map — with access rating and condition report.
Safety Tips
- Deteriorated floors: abandoned houses have wooden or plank floors that can give way without warning — never step on a floor area that sounds hollow or looks rotten
- Roofs: never enter a room whose roof looks like it is about to collapse — the weight of tiles on rotten beams can fall without warning
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and share your location
The urbex code: "Leave everything as you found it — the next explorer deserves the same experience."
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most famous abandoned house in Spain?
The haunted house of La Mussara in Tarragona — the abandoned village in the Serra de Prades with decades of paranormal legends and Mediterranean views. Villa Excélsior in Luarca is the one most specifically charged with personal history: the 1912 Indian mansion whose owner died on the ship returning from Argentina before he could live there again.
Why are there so many abandoned houses in Spain?
The combination of rural exodus in the 1950s-70s — which emptied thousands of villages and towns in the interior — with the aging rural population and the complexity of inheritances among multiple heirs has produced a number of abandoned houses unmatched in Western Europe. Added to this are the Indian houses in the north, whose owners emigrated and whose descendants live in America or big cities with no interest in maintaining the family heritage.
Can I enter an abandoned house in Spain?
It depends on ownership. Houses in a state of abandonment are almost always privately owned — entering without the owner's permission may constitute trespassing under article 202 of the Penal Code. The practical rule is to respect any fencing, locks, or no-access signs. Photography from outside, however, is completely free.
🎯 Summary
The best abandoned houses in Spain range from the Indian mansion in Luarca with the green tile dome to the houses in the mysterious village of La Mussara in Tarragona and the palace of the utopian colony in Villena. Each preserves the lives of specific people with a fidelity that no sanatorium or factory can match. Find them all — and 600 more — in our Mapa Urbex España.
Mapa Urbex España
- ✓ 600+ GPS locations across Spain
- ✓ Exclusive locations not found anywhere else
- ✓ Instant access after purchase
- ✓ Free updates forever
29,99€
Explore the 600+ Locations →
