The last motorway exit of Le Boulou leads
you up the Vallespir Valley (on the D115) to Céret.
Céret (30 mins) is
a small market town, where several famous artists have lived
for short periods (Picasso,
Chagall,
Braque). Céret boasts a famous Museum
of Modern Art and plays host to bullfighting festival every
year in July.
Amélie les Bains
(20 mins), a thriving spa town with its medieval district of Palalda,
is the next stop up the Vallespir. Here you will
find a casino with a very good restaurant. If you fancy dancing
before
lunchtime,
you could visit the Grand Café de Paris in the centre of
town.
In Arles sur Tech (15 mins)
there’s
a beautiful Abbey from the 13th century which is worth a visit.
The town also has
a museum
dedicated to what used to be the main living in this region: iron
production and forged ironwork (which is where Montferrer – our
nearest village – gets its name).
From 'Arles', it is
but a short drive to the village of Corsavy, which
is beautifully situated with wonderful views.
From Corsavy you can either continue further up to La Batère (with
a café and hotel at 1500 metres) where you will find
the old mine, or turn back towards
Montferrer and Can Llouquette.
The journey from
Can Llouquette to the village of Le Tech is only
a few minutes by car. In Le Tech you can have an excellent lunch
at the Café Union, a genuine Catalan café.
From Le Tech you can
proceed to the impressive small town of Prats de Mollo
(10 mins) where a Medieval Age play is arranged every summer
on the ramparts of Fort Lagarde.
If you continue further up this road you will
arrive in La Preste, the last village on this road
and another of the many spas in Roussillon.
Carrying on from Prats de Mollo you are about
20 minutes' exhilirating drive over the massif of Col D'Ares and
the border, to Mollo and Camprodon in
Spain.
