From the coast at Port-Vendres to mountain ski villages, Carolyn Reynier takes a tour of the property market in the Pyrénées-Orientales
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Entre mer et montagne – let me take you to one of those rare places where you can live between sea and mountains. The sea is the Mediterranean, the mountains are the Pyrénées. We’re off to the Occitanie region and the Pyrénées-Orientales, the ancient province of Roussillon in northern Catalonia.
Lively Port-Vendres and its deep natural harbour, sheltered from the Tramontane wind, lies at the foot of the Albères Massif close to the Spanish border on the Côte Vermeille. In 2022 it was classified as an outstanding heritage site and in 2023, although it has a rich Greco-Roman past and strong maritime history, Portus Veneris celebrated the bicentenary of its independence (from Collioure).
Meanwhile, the old Catalan mountain village of Les Angles is in the wide Capcir valley in the heart of the Parc Naturel Régional des Pyrénées Catalanes, entered via the Col de la Quillane. This dynamic, family village station has 60km of signposted ski runs through a landscape of forests and lakes evocative of Canada, offering a panorama from the Pic Carlit (2,921m) to the foot of the Canigou Massif (2,784m). There’s snowshoe, downhill and cross-country skiing in winter; and hiking (with or without pack donkey), mountain biking (VTT), horse riding and swimming in Lake Matemale the rest of the year.
PORT SIDE
In Port-Vendres you can expect to pay around €150,000 for a small one-bedroom apartment in the port, says Delphine Sanchez of Agence Immobilière du Port. In the sunny Rue Arago – known as the Rue du Soleil and the most expensive street in Port-Vendres – you can still find fishermen’s cottages, some of which have been converted into apartments. She tells me a cottage for renovation sold recently for about €400,000. In narrow streets behind the port, you may find a small old apartment with no view for around €80,000. Higher up, a one-bedroom sixth-floor apartment with sea and port views, close to the railway station, is on the market for €214,000 (Barrio Immobilier). Occasionally, some really lovely properties come up for sale. Delphine is currently marketing a new apartment and a large modern house above the village with open views of the port and the sea. Prices are in the €500,000- €800,000 bracket. A business opportunity for wine lovers, Port-Vendres’ last wine cellar, 350m from the port, is also on the market – 131m2 , bar, storage for barrels, small kitchen for tastings (€285,000, Espac
