Pyrenees-Oriental Tourism

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Mas Camps is in the foothills of the Pyrenees, surrounded by vineyards and offers you the commanding scenery for which it was selected as a Roman camp over 2000 years ago. In this idyllic setting, we offer you an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life and yet we are only 20 minutes from the dynamic city of Perpignan with its convenient daily connections to London, Toulouse and Barcelona. Although in the country, we are within 30 minutes of the Spanish border, about 40 minutes from the beach resort of Canet Plage, under an hour and a half to the ski resorts and 2½ hours from Andorra making this an excellent base for exploring the region as you can see below.

We hope you enjoy your time here and to help you get the most out of it, we’ve selected a few short tours which you may wish to fit into your stay and we've gathered together a list of some of the local events and festivals to help you decide when would be the best time to come.

Within 15 minutes of Mas Camps

There is a wide range of holiday and vacation options within just 15 minutes drive of Mas Camps, including:

	The Cathar history of the region spoken about in the Da Vinci Code has left a considerable number of hilltop castles (chateaux forts as opposed to decorative chateaux such as Versailles) such as Quéribus Castle (where the Cathars made their last stand in 1256) across the road from Mas Camps, and Peyrepertuse (right) which is a little further along. Naturally, there is a considerable degree of uphill walking from the various visitor centres to the castles themselves. There is an entrance charge to most of these of around 5€ per person.
	Cycling. The region is host to sections of numerous cycle races including the Tour de France and the Tour de Languedoc-Roussillon (which, as you can see, passed directly in front of Mas Camps). In addition to the cycle races themselves, there are innumerable routes than can be taken by mountain bike either independently or on escorted tours. The cycling season runs roughly from September to early December, restarting in early January and running to early July when it gets a little too hot for cycling. We have cycles available for hire.
	Numerous festivals in various villages around the region such as this one in Tautavel (left) with a medieval theme and the annual Amorioles wine festival (right) held in Maury each July. Most of these village festivals are very poorly publicised but you can get an idea of the range of them from our events page and details of the wine-related ones at Vitisphere.
	Opportunities to learn French, with courses offered locally by Rousillanges among others.
	The mountainous nature of the landscape gives rise to a number of attractive gorges like Gouleyrous shown here and a wide variety of others slightly further afield. Gouleyrous is a very popular area for swimming in the Summer.
	There are fantastic motorbike routes all over the Pyrenees offering snaking roads in excellent condition with little traffic and great weather. If you'd like a local biker to show you around, Alistair from Pyrenees Adventures can point you in the right direction with self-guided tours or, if you wish, show you round some of the routes that make the most of the scenery all around us. Either way, you'll come across a lot of fellow bikers from the many who pass us each day to those you'll meet along the road and with secure storage of your bike during your stay at Mas Camps.
	From a somewhat earlier historical era, the village of Tautavel is where the 450,000 year old Tautavel Man was discovered. It hosts a museum and exhibition depicting the state of the landscape in his time. You can purchase discounted tickets for the Centre Européen de Préhistoire in Mas Camps.
	The two main tourist trains in the region are the red train which takes you from Rivesaltes through the Fenouilledes to Axat in a couple of hours during the summer and the Train Jaune which takes you through the mountain passes from Villefranche to Latour de Carol in around three hours for about 30€ return all year. There isn't much to see in Latour and aside from the café in the station no convenient places to eat.
	Several walking routes cross the region. The Sentier Cathare takes you on a 12 day exploration of the history of the region taking you past the two nearby hilltop castles mentioned above in addition to several others (there is also a horseback variant of this route). Mas Camps itself played its part in history, being the site of one of the Templar encampments (Mas del Camps). We can arrange professionally guided walking tours showing you some of the sights such as Caramany lake (left) if you give us two or three days notice.
	Wine tasting in countless vineyards including our own Mas Camps with Mas Amiel, Château Sainte Roch and Mas Lavail among countless others just across the road. Mas Camps is one of the few wineries to provide accommodation which makes us a popular base for the professional wine buyers.
	and, of course, the views of the Pyrenees which surround you in the other activities.

Within an hour of Mas Camps

	Abbeys such as the hilltop Abbey St Martin pictured left. It takes about an hour of uphill walking to reach this so you need to be relatively fit. The tours (only in French) cover four areas of the abbey and take a rather tedious hour, the last one starting at 5pm in the summer. St Michel de Cuxa (right) is much more accessible but a bit over-restored. If you are heading towards Narbonne (see below), the Abbeys of Lagrasse and Fontfroide are worth a detour. Lagrasse is a lovely medieval town worthy of a visit in its own right. It's best to arrive early at Fontfroide to avoid the crowds (you can only see inside the abbey during the one hour guided tour).
	Canet Plage (left, the closest beach to Perpignan) and numerous other beaches, all the way down to Spain in fact. You will also find the usual variety of water parks along the coastline and in summer the full range of water sports is on offer. Whilst most of the French beach resorts close down almost entirely towards the end of September, Banyul-sur-Mer (right) always seems to have something going on right throughout the year such as the weekend long festival of the oranges in January.  The only downside of the village seems to be that it takes ages to pass through it when one of their larger festivals is in full swing. Collioure (left) is one of the more picturesque of the French coastal resorts and the home of Fauvist Art as practised by Matisse and Derain. Today you'll find it filled with artists along the waterfront in the Summer and although they aren't up to the standard of Matisse, the town retains it's picturesque charm.
	More castles such as this one at Salses and Fitou. Those not on hilltops are considerably more accessible as they do not require a climb to reach them. Most charge around 5€ per person and some have shops stocking an excellent range of texts on the medieval history of the region. As well as the famous castles there are countless others in the Corbieres such as this one right in the village of  Villerouge-Termenes where the last heretic (William Belibasto) was burnt at the stake in 1321.
	The Gorges de Galamus which have the Hermitage of St Antoine built into the cliff-face. These are a short drive from St Paul de Fenouillet.
	Picturesque medieval villages such as Eus (pictured here) and Evol. In the off-season the gift shops in the smaller villages only open in the afternoon (usually from 3pm). The beautiful walled village of Castelnou which offers you a fairly complete medieval village including a small castle. The village itself is well maintained and is filled with little craftshops producing beautiful products such as these marriage and christening eggs at L'Oeuf Surprise. In contrast to the larger Villefranche, it remains quite lively out of season. There is a lively market on Tuesdays from June to September beside the church just outside the village gate. Most of the craftshops remain open in the afternoons throughout the Winter.
	Medieval monasteries such as this one at Serrabone which is on one of the compostella walking routes. It's best to visit Serrabone on a calm day because it gets very, very windy as you approach the hilltop. Serrabone has a beautiful botanical garden.
	Alet Les Bains, where Nostradamus was born in this little house on the corner of Place de la Republic on December 14th, 1503. There is quite a sizeable section of half-timbered houses remaining in the town plus the remains of the abbey.
	The rock formations of Les Orgues near the lovely town of Ille-sur-Tet. There is a charge if you want to see them up close but you can get an excellent view of them from the road that runs above the town.
	Roman ruins such as this aqueduct at Ansignan and the uncovered Roman road in the centre of Narbonne with its magificent medieval cathedral. The centre of the city is sometimes closed off to traffic around the time of festivals and the Christmas market when you just have to park where-ever you can and walk to see the attractions.
	Perpignan, the main city in the area and capital of the Pyrenees-Oriental. Whilst not a large city per se, it is the southernmost French city on the French mainland and something of a crossroads. Salvador Dali called the railway station "the centre of the universe" in the last century but I suspect that you will wonder why when you see it. The centre is largely pedestrianised witxh a useful free bus ("Le Pet't Bus") taking in most of the central section. Throughout the summer season there are almost daily events at various venues around the city and in September Perpignan is host to Visa pour L'Image, the international festival of photo journalism.
	Prades where you can visit the Pablo Casals Museum and experience a series of festivals throughout the Summer from the Romanesque Days in early July, followed by the Film Festival and finally the Pablo Casals chamber music festival taking you up to mid-August (see our events page for more details). The ancient Abbey of St Michel de Cuxa is on the edge of the town.
	The Sigean wildlife park is a short drive north along the coast from us.
	Spain. If you would like a taste of Spain, your best bet is to go down to Figueres where you can see the Salvador Dali Museum (the town itself is a bit of a dump), then head towards the coast at Roses (right). For scenery, return via the stunning 90 minute costal route passing through Llança and Port Bou before ascending the hillside on the way back into France.
	The walled town of Villefranche-de-Conflent dating from 1092AD with the overlooking Castle Liberia (there is a free shuttle up to the castle which saves a steep climb). Sadly, you can't currently walk along the ramparts whilst much needed restoration work is being carried out. We can arrange guided tours if you give us three days advance notice.

Within two hours of Mas Camps

	Barcelona, well worth a trip, though do it by train as the city runs on for quite a bit if you're arriving by car. The city offers excellent shopping and a fantastic old city at the centre. Among the major shopping centres are Baricentro (pictured here) and Glòries. If you are heading for the airport, you need to look very, very carefully for the road signs as most are immediately before the various junctions, further complicated by the need to get from one side to the other of a five lane highway with virtually no notice (it's also very, very difficult to get back on track once you miss a turnoff).
	Beziers with it's impressive series of locks on the Canal du Midi. It's possible to go on short (or long) cruises along the canal (thoroughly recommended for a very different view of the countryside at a much slower pace).
	Cadaqués, the former home of Salvador Dali and numerous other artists. Parking is a nightmare in the height of Summer but the village is still lively out of the main tourist seasons when you have more opportunity to enjoy the narrow cobbled streets and numerous restaurants. If you want to visit the Dali Museum in Portlligat (his former home), you need to book ahead.
	The walled city of Carcassonne. This looks much better from a distance than it does close-up as they overdid the renovation in the 1800s so inside you'd think you're in Disneyland rather than a real walled city. As you can see, most of the streets are filled with souvenir shops and restaurants along with a number of museums and, of course, you can visit the castle at the centre of the city.
	Various sites of the Da Vinci Trail such as Montségur and Rennes-le-Chateau . It's best to see Montségur in the Summer months as it is in a ski area and a considerable climb up from the main road by car. Rennes-le-Chateau is relatively easy to reach all year.
	Foix, a very charming and picturesque medieval town is about 90 minutes from Mas Camps. As there is a large British population in the area, there is a British shop which stocks the odd assortment things that expats miss.
	Montpellier, supposedly the city most French people would like to live in. It's a bit like a warmer version of Paris with an equally confusing road layout.
	If you want a taste of Spain, Figueres with the Dali Museum is probably your best bet. However, for scenery, the stunning 90 minute coastal route to Port Bou is hard to beat.
	Ski resorts, including Capcir, Espace Cambre d'Aze, Font-Romeu and Les Angeles (pictured) among many others. Mas Camps is close enough to make a ski break a practical proposition and one that is cheaper than staying in accommodation within the ski resorts.
	Toulouse, home of Airbus. If you want to tour the aircraft factory, you will need to book about a week ahead. Make sure you book the English language tour unless you are brilliant at numbers in French.
	The walled military town of Mont Louis (still used by the commandoes over 300 years after its construction!) is a good deal larger than the medieval villages but rather more modern inside (other than the walls there isn't a great deal of medieval nature to see). The solar oven (just visible over the wall to the left of the photo) is an example of how little the medieval structures have been maintained here.
	Not to mention such sights such as this unusual group of skiers at Saillagouse.

Within three hours of Mas Camps

	Andorra, the ski-ing and shoppers paradise. Since Andorra isn't in the European Union, there are customs posts on the way out (or rather on the into France and Spain) although they appear to totally ignore all cars except, sometimes, those with a French or Spanish number plate.
	The Millau Bridge, on the A75 Paris to Barcelona highway, the quickest way to reach us by car from northern Europe and is tollfree, aside from the bridge itself (€4.50 and €2 more in summer). Millau is a nice town but not really worth the 3 hours that it can take to get to it via the valley that the bridge spans.