Property for sale in Pyrénées-Orientales

Pyrénées-Orientales is the most southerly department in mainland France, bordering Spain and retaining a strong Catalan identity that shows in its language, festivals and architecture. Perpignan's TGV service and airport keep the department well connected. Layered with Catalan history, Pyrénées-Orientales is home to Perpignan, once Catalonia's second city after Barcelona, and to Collioure, the artistic fishing village that drew painters such as Matisse. Beyond the headline sights, buyers will find Mont Canigou dominating the inland skyline, and ski resorts such as Font-Romeu, said to be the sunniest in France. Pyrénées-Orientales is likewise known for combining coast and mountain within a single department, an unusual mix even by the standards of the wider south. A Mediterranean climate brings hot, dry summers and mild winters. The housing stock runs from a Catalan mas farmhouse inland, a coastal villa near Collioure or Argelès-sur-Mer, or a mountain chalet in one of the department's Pyrenean ski resorts. With Catalan culture, coastline and mountains, it remains among France's most distinctive departments. For those weighing up the market, houses in Pyrénées-Orientales average €2,288/m².