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Font Romeu/Pyrenees 2000
The Font Romeu ski area has 58km of pistes. There are 40 runs - 15 green, 9 blue, 8 red and 8 black. The resort boasts 500 snow cannons. A ski resort since the 1920's Font Romeu has the facilities to cater for families and non skiers, ie shops, tea rooms, bars and restaurants, a casino, ice skating, bowling in Pyrenees 2000, swimming pool, snowshoe treks. Situated 87 km from Perpignan and 150 km Carcassonne it enjoys high levels of sunshine all year. The town of Font Romeu is linked to the ski area by telecabine. The area above here is mostly greens and blues and suitable for beginners. Head towards the Roc de la Calme for the red runs. If driving here park at Pyrenees 2000 and take the chair up. This is the better area for intermediates and advanced. A good fast red on this side of the mountain is 'perce neige' and a great black is 'record' Most of the blacks are quite tame, apart from Bouton D'Or which starts off very steep.
In Font Romeu we can recommend the 3* Hotel Carlit, our rates are from £65 per person per night Half Board. The hotel is central to the town, 200m from the cable car and offers rooms for 2 - 4 people. Facilities include a fitness area including a steam room and sauna, 2 restaurants and a lounge. Recommended restaurant Le Cellier
Les Angles
The slopes of Les Angles overlook the village and the Lake. The main departure point is the Gondola Les Pelerins, this takes you to the plateau. From here you can go left to the sector Pla Del Mir - here you will find a lovely gentle green for learning. In the other direction you will find sector Jassettes which has the green run 'Llaret', this takes you down to the village, but in parts it's more like a blue run. In fact, even on a snowboard you can travel at quite a decent speed. From the Jassettes area take the chair, or faster drag up and head to the sector Balcere. This is red run territory, yep nothing but reds! Les Angles caters well for snowboarders with a half pipe and jumps, not to mention the little paths through the forest for the more adventurous.
Recommended restaurant: the Pizzeria at the bottom of the Jassettes Express chairlift. We had the 10 euro menu which was 2 courses plus a quarter litre of wine - I had the plat du jour which was chicken with roasted veg and potatoes and a chocolate mousse to follow - delicious!
Les Angles has an informative web site Other attractions within the resort include dog sledging, an animal park, biathlon, kite skiing, paragliding and ice diving.
Puigmal
Puigmal is the highest resort reaching up to 2700m and has 34 runs, a good proportion of these reds and blacks. A beautiful area, good for free-ride. The sign from the main road says 'Puigmal 11km' but be warned it's 11 km straight up! It's worth the drive though, the resort is a little gem! Head to the farthest lift and you will find a back bowl, along with reds and a couple of blacks all taking you down to the chairlift. The area under the chair lift is great for picking your way down through the trees, great fun in deep fluffy snow! Most of the lifts are drags, with just 2 chairlifts. Recommended for intermediate to advanced. Day tickets excellent value at 25 euros. Click for piste map
Getting to the French Pyrenees Perpignan is the closest airport to the ski resorts. Carcassonne and Gerona are alternative airports. We can Tailor make an itinerary for you - which combines skiing with sightseeing, for example a few days in the Pyrenees followed by time in the Perpignan or Carcassonne area. Email us your requests.
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