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Arles sur Tech

Visit Arles sur Tech (Languedoc-Roussillon, France)

Arles sur Tech is a small town in the Pyrenees Orientales department. It is notable mainly for its abbey and cloister. Arles sur Tech is just 13km from the lovely town of Ceret.

Exploring Arles sur Tech

Arles sur Tech has grown up around its 8th century Benedictine Abbey. The Abbaye Sainte-Marie has a beautiful gothic cloister built in the 13th century  and a large and impressive 18th century organ. Its most curious item though is a 4th century sarcophagus which once contained the relics of Saints Abdon and Sennen and continuously (and apparently inexplicably) secretes water.

The Mairie is housed in the Villa les Indis. This building is a curious hotch potch of architectural styles such as neo-gothique, neo baroque, neo roman, Art Nouveau and Belle Epoque. As such I'm sure it would be held in contempt by architectural purists - indeed it is not even mentioned in the town's tourist literature but I thought it was a lovely quirky building. It was built at the begining of the 20th century and has a pleasant garden in front of it.

The town itself had three entrances in the 14th century and one of these, an  arched stone gateway leads to the 'le Barri d'Amunt' with its impressive houses with balconies and attractive doorways. These were the homes of the rich families of Arles sur Tech.

The main square in the town, 'the Place du village' , contains the houses which were the first to be built around the abbey. The house at no. 4 hides the original eglise St Etienne which was built in the 10th century.

Places to visit nearby

Head up into the hills and there are two charming villages to visit nearby - Corsavy and Montferrer. Feeling adventurous? Then visit the Gorges de la Fou.

Corsavy

At 768m high Corsavy is a small attractive village surrounded by wooded mountains. The drive to the village passes through beautiful scenery and on arrival you can admire the ancient houses, signal tower and its church. There are various walks from the village that you can do.

Montferrer

Montferrer is another pretty mountain village (830m high) and sits below the ruins of a chateau from which you can see as far as the sea. The church was built in the 12th century and has a 14th century sarcophagus. There is even a small museum which tells the history fo a famous group of Catalan bandits known as the "Trabucayres". Again there are a number of walks that you can do from here.

Gorges de la Fou

The Gorges de la Fou is a 2km long very narrow gorge, indeed - it is the narrowest in the world!. A safe pathway takes you through this deep gorge with some sheer drops.

The photos below are a mixture of Arles sur Tech, Corsavy and Montferrer.

Photos of Arles sur Tech

Click any picture to start the gallery

Address: Arles-sur-Tech, Céret, Pyrenees-Orientales, Languedoc-Roussillon, 66150 || GPS: latitude 42.4575, longitude 2.634444

Map of Arles sur Tech & places nearby



 

Highlights close by

More suggestions: Castelnou 19km; Ille sur Tet 24km; Prades 25km; Eus 25km; Villefranche-de-Conflent 27km; Molitg les Bains 30km; Elne 32km; Mosset 33km; Argeles-sur-Mer 33km; Perpignan 34km; Saint Cyprien - Pyrenees Orientales 35km;

See lots more places to visit nearby and a more detailed map at places near Arles sur Tech.
See Languedoc-Roussillon and Pyrenees-Orientales (the region and department for Arles sur Tech) for more travel ideas...

Suggested tourist attractions to visit near Arles sur Tech, France

• Massif du Canigou - grand site of france (16km)
• Chapel Saint-Martin de Fenollar (Maureillas-las-Illas) - religious monument (16km)
• Prieuré de Serrabone (Boule-d'Amont) - religious monument (16km)
• Castelnou - most beautiful village (19km)
• Abbaye Saint Martin du Canigou (Casteil) - religious monument (20km)
• Abbaye Saint Michel de Cuixa (Codalet) - religious monument (24km)
• Orgued d'Ille-sur-Tet - site of natural beauty (24km)
• Chapelle de Casenoves (Ille-sur-tet) - religious monument (24km)
• Eglise de Trinité d'Aregno (Aregno) - religious monument (24km)
• Eglise de Sainte-Marie (Corneilla-de-Conflent) - religious monument (24km)

The French version of this page is at Arles sur Tech (Francais)