The Region
Pyrénées-Orientales, áll under the Catalan sun!
Pyrénées-Orientales,
the sunshine region of France!
Pyrénées-Orientales (marked in salmon) is part of the Languedoc-Roussillon region and is the southernmost province on mainland France.
This area is bordered by the Pyrénées to the south and the Mediterranean Sea to the east.
The province is also known as French Catalonia as it was part of Spain until the 17th century.
With 300 days of sunshine the Pyrénées-Orientales is the most sunny province of France.
Pyrénées-Orientales,
or French Catalonia…
The most southern province of France: rocky coasts, endless beaches with yellow sand Roman past, Romanesque monasteries & churches, second highest mountain of the Pyrenees, vineyards, fruit orchards, oldest man of Europe, festivals, French-Catalan kitchen, Vauban world heritage fortresses, ski resorts, Cathar Castles, wild water rafting, swimming in small lakes, modern art & fauvism, the Yellow Mountain Train, stalactive caves, wild life parks, geological monument ‘The Chimneys f Fairy’, Museo Salvador Dali in Figueres, thermal baths, capital Perpignan…
Article in the magazine En France
Click here to down load the article (in Dutch).
Artikel in het blad En France over de Pyrénées-Orientales
To visit within 15 tot 30 minutes by car
• Some medieval villages, castles, abbeys
• The lake of Vinça (swimming!)
• The lively city of Prades with one of the oldest churches of France and with lots of restaurants and shops, there is also a biological (ECO) market every week. Prades is known in the world for its annual Pablo Casals chamber music festival (July and August), the largest chamber music festival in France.
• The station of the ‘train jaune’ (the yellow train, a spectacular mountain train, the highest and longest in France)
• The stalactite caves of Villefranche
• The fortress of Liberia (Vauban architecture, UNESCO)
• The thermal Bath of Molitg les Bains
• The geological monument of Ille sur Tête (the Chimneys of Fairy)
• Many sporting facilities, like canoeing, wild water rafting, horse riding, accompanied nature hikes (also by night)
and 4 wheel drives to the Mont Canigou, to name but a few.
• The best ‘boulanger’ (baker) of France in Ille-sur-Tête
To visit within 30 to 60 minutes by car
• The open air Thermal Baths of St. Thomas
• The beaches of the Mediterranean
• The capital of the Pyrénées Orientales: Perpignan. This lovely city offers some nice museums and galleries, good-programmed theatres and a great shopping area…
• Various attractions like a butterfly garden, glass-works, whine bottling rooms, museums (like the Museum of Tautavel, where you will find the skeleton of the oldest man of Europe),..
To visit within 45 minutes to 1,5 hour
• The open air swimming paradise ‘Aqualand’ in St. Cyprien
• The impressive 17th century Vauban fortification of Salses
• The upper region of the mountains with animal preserves and the big ski resorts
• The Côte Vermeille with the city of Collioure which is regarded as one of the most beautiful harbours on the Mediterranean
• More attractions like the wild life Zoo of Sigean, the seawater thalassotherapy treatment facilities in Port Barcares and the coral reefs of Banyuls (good diving and snorkelling facilities).
• The ‘high rock’ Cathar Castles
• The city of Narbonne with a wonderful old and charming city centre and a beautiful cathedral
• Figueres, the city of the surrealist painter Salvador Dali with an absurd and spectacular museum created by the artist himself (in Spain)
To visit within 1,5 hour to 2,5 hours
• The Spanish metropolis of Barcelona
• Gerona
• Montpellier
• The red city of Toulouse, with it’s spectacular theme park ‘Cité De L’Espace (Space City).
• Carcassonne (city of the Cathars)
• The small mountain country of Andorra