Gourmet and sightseeing stay in the Catalan Mediterranean Pyrenees

Arrival at the Hôtel Le Clos Cerdan in the late afternoon. Check-in.

Welcome drink with a sangria fountain and a buffet of home-made savoury puff pastries, presentation of the programme of the stay.

Raclette evening with a surprise dessert (a choux and nougatine pièce montée depicting the citadel of Mont-Louis, with the inscription of your choice), Catalan induction ceremony with Rivesaltes wine drunk “à la régalade” from a pùru (Catalan glass flask), and a dance.

In the morning, by shuttle, visit of the Lac des Bouillouses, a listed natural site with its immense dam and wild high-mountain scenery dominated by the Pic Carlit.

Lunch at the hotel to enjoy “the trout”.

In the afternoon, guided tour of Mont-Louis, Vauban’s fortified town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (tour of the fortifications, viewpoint indicator, visit of the solar furnace, the church and its 17th-century Christ).

In the evening, a meal with frogs’ legs and a caramelised, flambéed stuffed omelette. Belote tournament with prizes.

In the morning, passing through the Spanish enclave of Llivia with its cathedral, visit of Puigcerdà, a Spanish border town, with its shops and shopping streets. Shopping.

On the way back, tasting and sale of cured meats at the ham-drying room of a local master craftsman who holds the Guinness World Record for making the longest sausage in the world.

Lunch at the hotel, with sausage in brioche with Banyuls sauce and shoulder of lamb with poivrade sauce.

In the afternoon, visit of the “Thémis” solar power plant via the Chaos de Targasonne, then a panoramic stop at the Dorres thermal baths: breathtaking view over the Cerdagne plateau. Tasting and sale of local produce at a producers’ cooperative.

Dinner, followed in the evening by a big bingo night with a ham for 20 people and a free place for a future group stay as prizes.

In the morning, guided discovery of the Capcir area with the Les Angles ski resort and its lakes, then of the Cerdagne with the Pyrénées 2000 resort, the viewpoint, the Col du Calvaire, the Ermitage, the pre-Olympic high school, the Font-Romeu resort, the Odeillo solar furnace… Couscous.

In the afternoon, excursion to the typical village of Valcebollère, “the end of the world”. A crêpe at a fellow hotelier’s, then free time in the Font-Romeu resort.

In the evening: a meal with plaice fillet stuffed with prawn mousse, and baked Alaska. Dancing with games and prizes.

Excursion to Andorra via the Col de Puymorens, the Pas de la Casa and the Envalira, with very steep high-valley landscapes. Then Andorra la Vella. Duty-free shopping in this tax haven.

Typical meal in a high-mountain inn, in the narrow, winding gorges of Os, with unlimited port, plenty of grilled meats, “love liqueur” and accordion music.

Return via La Seu d’Urgell and the Segre valley in Spain.

In the evening, a meal with half a brown crab “en bellevue”, followed by a video screening about the Catalan lands.

Free morning: you may, if you wish, walk around Vauban’s fortifications on the “sentier des oiseaux” (bird trail), and use the shared facilities of the “Aquaforme” area in the hotel’s balneotherapy centre.

In the afternoon, visit of Villefranche-de-Conflent, the pink marble town listed among the hundred most beautiful villages in France, with its local crafts. Return aboard the little yellow tourist train (Train Jaune), across numerous bridges, tunnels and engineering works, through the unspoilt, preserved nature of the Pyrenees.

Grand farewell evening with a giant paella, a large farewell cake and a dance with games and prizes.

Breakfast and end of our services.

Free access, included and subject to the timetable, to the “Aquaforme” area of the hotel’s balneotherapy complex for all participants, throughout the stay.

Facilities include: swimming pool with counter-current swimming, waterfall, hydromassage swan-neck jet, jacuzzi, sauna, hammam and fitness room.