A country with much more than four seasons, rather a succession of unexpected summers and springs, where the sun rules supreme over three valleys hollowed out by three rivers (Têt, Tech and Agly), over a multitude of brooks and streams, fresh or hot springs, rocky creeks, harbours or sandy beaches, but also over high mountains, piedmonts, hills, canyons and abounding, fragrant forests...
A country where from the level of the sea to an altitude of nearly three thousand meters (Carlite peak: 2921 m and Canigou peak: 2785 m), each gap is accessible and offers its majesty and magic. Uncorrupted.
A country flooded with such a pure air, stretching out under the most limpid sky, that one thousand years drew nearly no wrinkle on the countless castles, fortresses, churches, abbeys and monasteries.
A country which abounds in fruits, wines (Banyuls, Maury, Muscat of Rivesaltes, Côtes du Roussillon) and in thousands treasures which make life more flavoursome and picturesque than anywhere else.
Such a country makes everyone dream... and it is an attainable dream since this country is only a stone's throw from here.
This is the department of the Pyrénées-Orientales or the Catalan country or the Roussillon, as you like, i.e. the unique and favoured place where the Mediterranean sea - open to the Orient and to distant worlds – meets the Pyrenean chain, the tradition and land guardian.
Exception is natural to Catalan country. It is engraved in its soil. It is its main geographical feature. It is one of the rare places, if not the only one, where one can find on the same territory all the variety and tourist charms of coastal landscapes and mountain areas linked together by distances which never exceed 100 km.
In other words, to go skiing in the morning in one of the nine ski resorts and to go diving or sailing in the afternoon, in one of the ten seaside resorts, is never a problem. The climate rarely goes against these pleasures given as a present since with more than three hundreds sunny days a year, the Pyrénées Orientales can easily compete for the title of the most favoured department in France.
Exception is also written in History. Former possession of the Kingdom of Aragon and Majorca (12th – 14th centuries) and then distant province of the Kingdom of Castilla, the Pyrénées-Orientales were brought under the French jurisdiction only in 1659, once signed the Treaty of Pyrenees by Louis XIV and Philip IV.
An act that was to determine the strong and original character of the inhabitants, the Catalans, at the same time perfectly integrated in the French Republic and deeply attached to their roots.
If the French language remains the dominant and official one, the Catalan language spoken by millions people in South Catalonia (Spanish State), is still well and alive: spoken, written and taught from the nursery school to the university.
This « dual culture », undisputedly gives the Pyrénées-Orientales Department its special atmosphere and originality, enriched by various influences due to its border situation. This is to see in the continuity of deep and strong traditions: the Sardana dance, the Fraternity of Penitents of the Sanchës procession during the Holly Week, the “pessebresî or living Christmas cribs, but also in the colours of Catalan cooking which refuses standardisation, subtly combining unexpected ingredients and bringing out the best in elaborating and preserving its regional products: incomparable cooked meats and salt foods, hazelnut-savoured anchovies...
But the soul of the Catalan Country is also filled with modernity. The sculptor Aristide Maillol was born in Banyuls. The incomparable light of Collioure inspired the “Fauvistî painters, Matisse and Derain. Picasso's group i.e. the painter Soutine and the avant-garde musician Déodat de Séverac settled for a certain time in Céret which is known both as the “mecca of Cubismî and as the tauromachian capital of Roussillon, Pablo Casals, the greatest violoncellist in the world founded his famous festival in Prades. The Nobel literature Prize-winner Claude Simon, is still living nowadays in Salses. As for Perpignan, it was called “the centre of the worldî by Salvador Dali who turned it into the very heart of his rich and frenzied world.
Nowadays, countless artists, native or not, have chosen to live in the Pyrénées-Orientales: painters, sculptors, musicians, singers, writers, dancers, actors, photographers or video makers.
No doubt this creative ferment can explain the success and the lasting quality of the numerous festivals of classical, religious, modern or jazz music, and of numerous prestigious events in the fields of cinema, choreography, theatre, photography and sport...
Sun and fame make the Catalan country strongly attractive and numerous tourists coming for a simple visit finally decide to live here for good...
Especially as the Catalan seaside and hinterland have been nearly totally preserved from a wild urbanisation.
When charm adds to talent and originality... How could one resist?
Marne
( 51 )
An holyday rental for 200 €
A trip low price
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Tarn
( 81 )
From the Montagne Noire, the southern tip of the Massif Central, to the wide, tranquil plains of the Agout and Tarn rivers, and from the rugged unspoilt Ségala region to the rounded hills of the Vaurais, gateway to the sprawling plains of the Lauragais, the Tarn offers an enormou...
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Destination:
Pyrénées-Orientales
