DID YOU hear the one about the little-known area that has Mediterranean beaches, stunning hills, wonderful wine, amazing history and fantastic weather?
The area that is less than two hours away by plane?
Pyrenees-Orientales, part of Roussillon, is often described as ‘the best secret in France.’ In Collioure, it is home to the country’s most beautiful village.
Yet there are many, many others that give it a run for its money.
In about an hour’s drive, people from the area can fly direct to Perpignan from Leeds/Bradford Airport – from Manchester, Carcassonne is only a train ride away.
Once you get there, the thing that immediately hits you is the pride people have in the main town and the area as a whole.
Picture postcard villages are dotted around the French part of Catalonia. Collioure, which sits by the Med, may have taken the prize but Torreilles, Sainte Marie la Mer, Saint Laurent de las Salanque and Tautavel push it close.
Each also offers something different to the traveller. If it is peace and quiet you want, the first three are for you. If it is stunning scenery of valleys in the shadow of the Pyrenees, the latter provides it in abundance.
If you are after the beach, Le Barcares, Canet en Roussillon and Argeles sur Mer will satisfy you.
Accommodation ranges from camp sites – there are several around the area, with villages of about 5,000 inhabitants growing to a population of about 25,000 during holiday season – to luxurious hotels, like Maison Gaia in Torreiles.
Then there is Perpignan, the southernmost city in France. One which has a long history moulded by conflict and has essentially two centres, the commercial and the historic.
History plays a big part in what is known as Perpignan Mediteranee Metropole. Tautavel is home to the earliest human bones ever found in Europe, dating back to 350,000BC.
Further down the coast, Argeles sur Mer was the location of a concentration camp, where up to 100,000 defeated Spanish Republicans were interned in 1939 during the Spanish Civil War.
Attractions that need no backward thinking include the Electrobeach Music Festival at Le Barcares, which attracts up to 100,000 fans, and its Village de Noel, Christmas Village, one of the largest in the south of France.
Because of its location – it lies next to the Spanish border, about two hours’ drive north of Barcelona – the area also gets good weather. From March to November, temperatures average in the mid-teens, with hot summer days in the mid-30s and even 40 degrees not unknown.
When it comes to rain, April and May attracts the most days – a huge five. Since June 2022, restrictions on water usage have been in place.
It is possible to do a walking tour around Perpignan, taking in the Cathedral Saint Jean Baptiste – construction of which began in 1324 and all the other historic sights, including what remains of the ramparts that once guarded it and its most familiar landmark, Le Castillet.
Because of its proximity to Spain and resorts like Lloret de Mar, which proves popular with English rugby league supporters who have travelled to watch their side in action at Perpignan’s Super League side, Catalans Dragons, efforts are being made to convince them to stay in the area.
Given the surroundings, the scenery, the weather, the food – the French eat plenty of the quality produce grown, caught and reared on their doorstep, especially at lunch – and the wine made in the region, it should not take much convincing.
Especially when you think flights from Leeds/Bradford to Perpignan, which run from March until the end of October, can be bought for less than £100.
Having experienced the area and everything it has to offer, we can only ask one simple question – why not?
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