When to go dans les Pyrénées-Orientales ?
"Open all year round! This could be the motto of the Pyrénées-Orientales department. Imagine yourself lying with your toes stretched out on a stretch of our 72 kilometres of Mediterranean coastline, your body stretched out on a hinterland rich in local heritage and your head resting on the snow-covered peaks of our Pyrenees, it's the ideal postcard that the whole world envies us. Add 300 days of sunshine a year, a good glass of wine and you are in paradise.
Nice balance: 300 days of sunshine and 60 days of rain per year, on average. With a Mediterranean climate, the Pyrenees-Orientales have relatively mild winters. Snowfall is very rare in the plains. Summers are hot, even very hot. Two main winds play an important role: the Tramontane, a north-west wind, which frequently exceeds 100 km/h, and the Marinade, a sea wind which is accompanied by dullness and rain.
When to go to the Pyrenees-Orientales? Even if this destination has two high tourist seasons in summer for all outdoor sports and in winter for skiing, it remains pleasant all year round, given the mild climate. However, you will find fewer establishments open in the off-seasons, the advantage being that prices drop as the number of tourists drops and you can enjoy the country at your own pace by meeting more authentic producers and hospitality professionals who have more time to devote to you. In summer, the Côte Vermeille, on the Mediterranean, is a mass tourist destination, with numerous hotels and campsites, as well as attractions and activities. The mountains also see an influx of tourists, but they are not looking for seaside pleasures, rather for outdoor sports activities (hiking, rafting, mountain biking...). The year is punctuated by festivals, meetings and celebrations in the winter resorts or the seaside resorts, depending on the season. Perpignan offers an annual cultural program that can make your stay attractive in any season and particularly in September during the photojournalism meetings, Visa pour l'image de Perpignan.
