Land of rugby
Here, sport is first and foremost rugby! Seven times champion of France (and as many lost finals!), with the last Brennus Shield dating back to 2009, USAP, the emblematic club of rugby à XIV, has returned to the Top 14 elite. "És més que un club" (it's more than a club) as the saying goes. Even in Pro D2, fans have remained loyal to their team, and the Aimé-Giral stadium has never lived up so well to its nickname of "cathedral", as the Roussillon region has long been a breeding ground for champions in this field. We can't talk about XV rugby without paying tribute to the women's teams of USAP and SO Villelongue, who proudly wear the Catalan colors well beyond the borders of the département, and to the USAP U23s, French champions in 2017 and Pro D2 champions in 2021. XIII rugby is also a major passion for the Catalan Dragons, the only XIII club to have been accepted into the English professional Super League since 2006, and the only French team to have won an English Cup in 2018.
Scuba diving
From Barcarès to the Banyuls-Cerbère marine reserve (ranked among the 10 most beautiful diving spots in France), the Pyrénées-Orientales unveil a rich underwater world, accessible to all. Whether snorkeling (with fins, mask and snorkel) or diving with a tank, at depths ranging from 0 to 25 m, beginners and advanced divers alike can discover rocky scree bottoms and beautiful coralligenous formations, home to seabream, gilthead bream, groupers, corbels, dentex, rays, barracudas... For the more adventurous, there are wrecks to explore: Le Bananier, L'Astrée, Le Saumur, Le Saint Lucien, Le Pythéas... for memorable dives. Note that some centers in Banyuls-sur-Mer are accessible to people with reduced mobility and the visually impaired.
All along the coast, diving clubs welcome you for a total immersion in the Catalan countryside! In addition to sea diving, it's also possible to go ice diving in winter at Lac de Matemale between Les Angles and Formiguères. Information available from tourist offices.
Mountaineering, climbing and via ferrata
From the Mediterranean rim to the Pyrenean peaks, the Pyrénées-Orientales offers a formidable playground with natural sites that are as diverse in terms of difficulty as they are in terms of environment. With more than 700 climbing routes, the limestone cliffs of Vingrau and Tautavel are one of Europe's top climbing spots.
The via ferrata is accessible to even the most inexperienced climber, as it requires no special technique. Between monkey bridges, wooden footbridges, tyrolean traverses, rungs and ladders, adventurers can also get their fill of sensations along the "iron tracks" of Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet with the "Panoramique" and the "Pichona" or the "Escaldilles" of Llo. Ever higher! From the great granite routes of the Canigó massif, to the cracks of the Pic des Baillettes, via the beautiful goulottes of Malaza and the couloirs of Cambre d'Aze, the peaks of the Catalan Pyrenees are made for mountaineering.
A word of advice: never go it alone, even if you're an experienced climber, there are clubs and structures there to advise, accompany and equip you.
Golf
The largest and best-known is Saint-Cyprien, built between sea and pond. With its 18-hole course nestling in the heart of a bird sanctuary and its 9-hole course nestling in the middle of a pine forest, this golf course will delight all enthusiasts, from beginners to experienced players. Falgos' 18-hole course is a real "end of the world" experience. Perched at an altitude of 1,100 m on the edge of the Spanish border, just above Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans, it offers all-inclusive packages that oscillate between simplicity and luxury. A few kilometers downstream, you can hit the ball on the compact 7-hole golf course at Amélie-les-Bains. Situated on the banks of the River Tech, it's the ideal place to start out or work on your "short game". The golf course at Font-Romeu, with its eagle's nest feel, is another great way to get back on track. Perched at an average altitude of 1,800 m, this challenging mountain 9-hole stretches its undulating course through a pine forest with a river running through it. The 9-hole course at Montescot, just 10 minutes from Perpignan, brings you back to the land of the cows. Its exceptional 360° panorama lets you take in all the beauty of the Catalan countryside in a single glance.
Fishing
From Matemale to Cap Bear, the waters of the Pyrénées-Orientales are a peach! With 275 streams, 1,396 km of rivers, 60 mountain lakes, 435 ha of lakes and over 60 km of Mediterranean coastline, fishing here is a plural art. In the mountains, it's mainly fario and rainbow trout that are teased in the multitude of fresh, crystal-clear lakes, ponds, springs and streams. On the way down, the department's extensive network of rivers, between pools and beaches alternating with calms and currents, offers excellent spots for fishing one or more of the 29 listed species. The many stretches of water throughout the Pyrénées-Orientales will provide long hours of suspense, calm and sometimes surprising catches for any angler who knows how to be patient. The Fédération de Pêche publishes a comprehensive guide to the different routes, which can be downloaded from www.peche66.org. At sea, surf casting and big-game fishing enthusiasts will find everything they need. Beaches, jetties and shale rocks welcome you to fish for bream, bass and mullet. Aboard a boat and not too far from shore, you'll find pebbles, gurnards, whiting and conger eels in profusion. All along the coast, you'll find numerous clubs where you can share the thrills and spills.
White water sports
In the Pyrénées-Orientales, rivers and torrents have patiently carved their way through mountain rock to sculpt bubbling basins, biefs, lustrous slides and waterfalls. This is a land where water plays with stone and lets itself be splashed with a thousand rays of light. This natural playground, accessible to all but always accompanied by experienced guides, is the ideal place to indulge in the thrilling pleasures of canyoning. The most seasoned and athletic will appreciate the Llech, Cady and Taurinya gorges in the Canigó massif, while families and novices will enjoy the Castellane at Molitg-les-Bains or the Gourg des Anelles above Céret. The more adventurous can discover water trekking in the impressive Gorges de Galamus, while the more chilly and thrill-seeking can try hot-water canyoning in Thuès-les-Bains!
Hydrospeed - also known as "white-water swimming" - is a relatively little-known activity that involves descending a river in complete safety, with the upper half of the body stretched out on a sort of rigid foam sled. Equipped with flippers, wetsuit, booties, lifejacket and helmet. This physical activity is full of thrills and laughter, as you play with the currents and slalom between the rocks... The less adventurous can also enjoy tubing, where you descend sitting on a large buoy into the calmer waters near Marquixanes.
Winter sports
The Neiges Catalanes ski area stretches from Haut-Conflent to Cerdagne and Capcir, and includes 9 ski areas. If you're still in any doubt about the diversity of what's on offer, here are a few figures that are sure to change your mind: over 180 km of downhill ski runs, almost 100 ski lifts, 1,250 snow cannons, 450 km of Nordic skiing, almost 340 instructors, 14 ski schools, over 250 km of snowshoe trails and 9 snowparks. All our well-equipped resorts rival each other in creativity to offer us ever more emotions and pleasures to enjoy with friends and family. And so that everyone can make the most of their stay, Neiges Catalanes has introduced a ski-pass common to all eight areas - Font-Romeu Pyrénées 2000, Porté-Puymorens, Puigmal-Pyrénées-Cerdagne, Espace Cambre d'Aze (Eyne and Saint-Pierre-dels-Forcats), Puyvalador, La Quillane, Les Angles and Formiguères - which allows you to ski in all areas. As for the Font-Romeu climatic resort, it boasts top-quality sports facilities that regularly welcome top-level athletes. The French soccer and rugby teams come here for their oxygenation courses, as do swimmers, cyclists and, of course, national individual and team sports teams from all over the world. www.neigescatalanes.com
Cross-country skiing for the ultimate thrill!
The Nordic areas of the Catalan Pyrenees are characterized by their altitude of between 1,500 m and 2,200 m, their remarkable snow cover and exceptional sunshine. Their location allows you to enjoy a grandiose, wild landscape, bathed in light and silence, on over 240 km of marked, safe cross-country ski trails in Cerdagne and Capcir. Between grandiose panoramas, dense forests, plateaus and sharp peaks, you'll be seduced by the authenticity of the sites all along the trails for sports, fun or beginners... all the while remembering that it's certainly on these very trails that the Fourcade brothers prepared for their sporting exploits. This is the land of champions!
