Drawing by Yulia Levina
Tourism in the Pyrenees
The main sources of income in the Pyrenees are tourism, especially in Andorra, the Aran Valley and the Cerdanya, and livestock and other agricultural activities. Based on alpine tourism, i.e., winter sports (especially skiing, but also hiking, ecotourism and rural tourism in general).
However, some places have additional attractions in addition to nature or ski resorts. The Boí valley has a group of Romanesque churches classified as world heritage site. In Andorra, the Madriu-Perafita-Claror valley also has this distinction, as well as a very popular Romanesque route. Prades and Northern Catalonia use their cultural particularity as a tourist attraction, as does the Iparralde. Conflent and Cerdanya’s main attractions are their tourist Yellow Train (Tren Groc) and the citadel of Mont-Louis by Vauban, which are also a World Heritage Sites. Lourdes, in Gascony, is a world pilgrimage center.
Beside tourism, agriculture still thrives and is an important factor in the lives of the Pyrenees’ villages. While the cattle ranch is the main agricultural activity in most areas of the mountain range, in the Mediterranean Pyrenees, vines and fruit predominate. Moreover, industry used to be an important element in the Pyrenean valleys. The most typical industries were mining, dams, textile and fish farming, all now in serious decline. Some highlighted examples are: the arms industry in the Navarrese Pyrenees and the Catalan mines and forges around the Canigou and the headwaters of the Llobregat river.
The most visited places in the Pyrenees
(72 objects in alphabetical order by the countries and regions)
Spain
- Artiés
- Bagerque
- Beget
- Besalu
- Berga
- Camprodón
- Figueres
- Girona
- La Seu D’Urgell
- Llívia
- Olot
- Puigcerda
- Ripoll
- Sant Joan de les Abadesses
- Sort
- Vall de Boí
- Vielha
France
- Ax-les-Thermes
- Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda
- Bagnères-de-Luchon
- Castelnou
- Céret
- Èvol
- Eus
- Foix
- Font-Romeu
- Lourdes
- Mont-Louis
- Mosset
- Prades
- Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste
- Saint-Lary-Soulan
- Tautavel
- Villefranche de Conflent
Andorra
Sea resorts
France (Mediterranean)
France (Atlantic)
Spain (Mediterranean)
Spain (Atlantic)
Best hiking routes
The main footpaths of the Pyrenees are the GR 10 and the GR 11, which cross the range west to east on the north and south slopes, respectively, climbing to 2000 meters at some points. Two more paths, both of great length (but not specifically related to the Pyrenees) are the historical Camino de Santiago (GR65), which crosses the mountain range in Donibane Garazi or the valley of Aragon, and more recent path the Route of Catalan Countries, which traverses the whole of Catalan Pyrenees.
Other footpaths:
● The Pedals de Foc, a mountain bike and hiking route that circles the Aigüestortes National Park.
● The GR 7, between Andorra and Gibraltar.
● El Camí dels Bons Homes, between Montsegur and la Serra de Queralt in Berguedà.
● The Route of the Salt of Life (La Ruta de la Sal de la Vida), between Costa Brava and the valley of Núria.
● La Ruta dels Segadors, between Berguedà and La Cerdanya, crossing the Cadí mountain range.
Also, national and natural parks that charge admission fees, such as Kakuetta Gorges or caves, attract millions of visitors every year and represent a great economic engine.
See also France travel guide
See also Spain travel guide
See alaso Andorra travel guide
Full travel guide
Pyrenean castles, fortresses and architecture guide
Most interesting places and museums guide
Pyrenean festivals and fairs guide
