Recently returned from a trip - last 2 weeks in May where we flew into Perpignan with BMI Baby - they MUST be the best flight option from Manchester!
Had a week in a villa in L%26#39;Escala on the Costa Brava - this is an area of Spain that is very green - the town was delightful at this time of year - empty beaches - such a lot to see - hardly any English around at this time - very tranquil!
For our last few nights, we drove back to France and stayed at the Auberge du Roua - a BEAUTIFUL place - recently been renovated and well worth the drive into the countryside. There was a little noise from the nearby motorway, but the accommodation and service and the FOOD! more than made up for the inconvenience.,
HOWEVER .......... we thought Argeles was not particularly nice. What a strange place - miles from the sea - and even when you arrive at the beach it was a GREAT disappointment. Yes there is an amazing beach miles and miles long. But the town is just like BLACKPOOL - chicken and chips, kebabs, fair grounds, etc - it was not what we had expected and nothing like the way it is portrayed on the website.
The new marina is beautiful with some lovely bars and restaurants and a little further down the road is another very quiet little village Le Racou - very 60%26#39;s and a couple of nice restaurants.
Argeles for me? I don%26#39;t think so.
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I%26#39;m glad I read this, we drive down through France into Spain every year %26amp; always take a different route - Argeles was one of the places we said we%26#39;d stay at one time. No, it definitely wouldn%26#39;t be for us either, thanks for the tip.
Isn%26#39;t the Costa Brava beautiful, we%26#39;re staying in Roses for 1 night on our way down this year. We stayed on the outskirts last year on our way back %26amp; didn%26#39;t get to see the town. Did you drive the coastal road back to Argeles, very twisty turny %26amp; steep...........but what views!!!!!
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Yes we drove along this fantastic road - as you say - amazing views.
Have you seen http://www.cbrava.com/ - very useful info on the area.
We also visited Cap Begur - so beautiful, we dropped on a little place called Sa Tuna - a tiny village with only 2 restaurants and only 8 parking places, so go early if you wish to stay a while!
On the road back to France we passed through a lovely place Banyuls sur Mer - we had found accommodation there and now wished that we had stayed here instead as it looked much prettier and less touristy than Argeles - not forgetting it was early season.
If you are looking for accommodation we can%26#39;t recommend the Auberge highly enough - it really made our holiday.
Enjoy your trip!
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The little town of Collioure, just a few km east of Banyuls-sur-Mer, is even nicer - almost painfully lovely...
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Couple, thanks for the link, I%26#39;ll check that out. We drove through Banyuls , but didn%26#39;t stop - you know how long that road takes to drive %26amp; we had a hotel booked in the Gorges du Tarn we had to get to. If you%26#39;re ever in that area again, visit Cadaques, it%26#39;s a beautiful artists village - worth a detour. Dali%26#39;s summer home is nearby at Port Lligat
IrishRovr, we drove through Collioure too, we will check it out in the future.
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WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH !!!!!!
DO NOT be put off by this inaccurate view...
Argeles is a beautiful village. We go to Argeles at least 4 times every year.
The Centre Ville is a sleepy little French/Cantalan village with restaurants/cafes, set in the beautiful narrow streets that are emblazoned with colourful flowers.
It is a walk from the Centre Ville to the Plage or there is the little yellow train (a bus that looks like miniature train) that also runs for the less active.
The plage it’s self has 2 short streets that run parallel with the beach, there are ice cream parlours, a few shops and again bars/restaurants – by no means could you call this blackpool.
The tree lined walk way from the plage to the port is particularly pleasant, the clientele in the area is either families or couples (not a single sexed group in sight!!).
Infact the clientele are predominately French – I think that says a lot about the area…
How someone who has holidayed on the Costa Brava can compare the area with Blackpool I do not know!!
Go for yourself and see.........
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As per the last message - PLEASE do not be put off by the reference to Blackpool - this is such a long way from the truth. My husband and I took our holiday in Argeles during the last two weeks of June and had a wonderful time. The village, port, and the central beach area are all linked by the little road train which is a delight to use. Never before, and we are widely travelled, have we been to an area of such contrasts. The village is tiny, very french and a meal at The Flowers is wonderful and inexpensive. The port area is lovely for a quiet evening simply eating in the fish restaurants, La Bouchon would be our recommendation and looking at all the little boats was heaven. I agree that the Central Beach area is much livelier and maybe a bit much in July/August, but for us the contrast now and then to the village and port area was great, most people I know like a bit more life and a few shops to mooch around now and then. The latest train back to hotels is at mid-night - so hardly Blackpool ! The resort is for couples and young families - it would be a terrible disappointment to young groups - again, as per previous messages - do get along to Colloire and Carcassone both are magical and made our overall holiday first class. With BMIBaby from Manchester so cheap - go for it !
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Argeles Sur Mer - helpful info requested ASAP!!!!
If anyone has driven from Barcelona airport and can recommend the best way I would appreciate your help!
However, back to the reviews and am I pleased that I continued to read down all the reviews!.
After reading the %26quot;Blackpool%26quot; review I was horrified as we have booked for a fortnight in August with our three children aged 12, 10 and 8 and Blackpool (nice as it is) wouldn%26#39;t have been our choice of holiday! We have been to Pollensa in Majorca and we were hoping that Argeles would be a similar type of holiday!!! Our expectations are:- beautiful scenery, sunshine, opportunities to visit little towns to mooch around in in the evenings, beautiful food, evening walks or driving in the local area but obviously after the kids had spent their days swimming, swimming and more swimming!!!! Collioure sounds pretty - how far from Argeles would this be?
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Have to agree with Blackpool sur la Mer - wasn%26#39;nt mad keen on Argeles at all. Just returned from holiday there two weeks ago. Its a very busy place with lots of traffic - nothing quaint about it at all. Argeles Ville is nice but the rest of the place is tacky and cheap. There is (if you have kids) the Argeles Adventure Centre which is great for kids. For something much more %26quot;French%26quot; and authentic - Collioure is a must - very very pretty town and Banyuls is also very pretty. Lovely restaurants and great atmosphere. Also, if you have the time Elne is a really quaint town - its near St. Cyprien - just off the motorway - well worth a visit.
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It is probably less than a 10 minute drive from A-sur-M to Collioure,, about 15 to Banyuls-sur-Mer.
For the best route from the Barcelona airport to A-sur-M try www.viamichelin.com
Have a great holiday!
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Have to agree - not quite Blackpool but probably French equivalent of complete with casino. Look at the tourist info - usual population 9000 summer population 90000 - enough said. An exceptionally windy place complete with forest fires last week. Far better to go to Elne Collioure Ceret or Castlenau if you want to experience the true France.
If you want directions anywhere the AA website has an excellent European route finder and gives very comprehensive directions for free.
Also when travelling to Argeles fly to Girona or Perpignan and avoid Barcelona like the plague. It took us more than 2 hours after touchdown to collect our luggage and collect the pre-booked car.
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