Argelès sur Mer

Updated on Jan 04, 2024

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Country France Department Pyrénées-Orientales Canton Argelès-sur-Mer Local time Tuesday 9:41 PM		Region Occitanie Arrondissement Céret Area 58.67 km²

Intercommunality Communauté de communes des Albères et de la Côte Vermeille Weather 11°C, Wind NW at 50 km/h, 51% Humidity Points of interest Argeles Aventure, Réserve naturelle nationale, Platja del Racó, Plage du Racou, Le Jardin Enchanté

Camping le soleil in argel s sur mer september 2016

Argelès-sur-Mer (Catalan: Argelers de la Marenda or Argelers) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

Map of 66700 Argel%C3%A8s-sur-Mer, France

It is about 25 km from Perpignan.

Geography

Argelès-sur-Mer is located in the canton of Argelès-sur-Mer and in the arrondissement of Céret.

Argelès-sur-Mer is on the Côte Vermeille at the foot of the Albères mountain range, close to the Spanish border. It has the longest beach in the Pyrenées Orientales.

History

During World War II, Argelès-sur-Mer was the location of a concentration camp, where up to 100,000 defeated Spanish Republicans were interned next to a windy beach in abysmal sanitary conditions by the French government after the defeat of the Spanish Republic. The refugees streamed to the camp from the winter of 1938/39 after the collapse of the Catalonian front following the rebel offensive.

Sports

Étoile sportive catalane is the rugby union club of Argelès-sur-Mer.

Sites of interest

Buildings

Dolmen of the Collets de Cotlliure (Monument historique)

Dolmen of the Cova de l'Alarb (Monument historique)

Dolmen of Sant Pere dels Forquets

Chapel of Saint-Jérôme d'Argelès, from the 10th century

Church of Saint-Ferréol de la Pava (Monument historique), from the 10th century

Parish church of Notre-Dame del Prat, from the 14th to the 20th centuries (Monument historique)

Church of Sainte-Marie de Torreneules, from the 8th to the 10th centuries

Abbey of Valbonne, from the 13th to the 14th centuries

Church of Saint-Laurent-du-Mont, from the 12th century (Monument historique)

Church of Saint-Martin-et-Sainte-Croix, from the 11th or 12th century, and the old village of Taxo d'Avall (both Monument historique)

Church of Saint-Pierre dels Forquets, pre-romanesque ruins

Castle of Pujols, from the 13th century (Monument historique)

Massane tower, in the Albera Massif, from the 13th century

Castle of Valmy, from the 19th century

Casa de l'Albera, museum about the Albera Massif

Natural sites

National nature reserve of the Mas Larrieu

National nature reserve of the Massane forest

The Bois des pins is the historical pine forest located near the beach front. Created in the 1860s by the General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales, it still has to this day over 8,000 centenarian pines.

Notable people

Marcelle Narbonne (1898-2012) : supercentenarian who lived and died in Argelès-sur-Mer.

David Ensor (1906-1987) : British lawyer, actor, author and Labour Party politician, lived and died in Argelès-sur-Mer.

Marc Lièvremont (1968-) : former rugby union footballer raised in Argelès-sur-Mer and former member of the Étoile sportive catalane club.

References

Argelès-sur-Mer Wikipedia

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