September 2023. Oriol and I are flying to Toulouse for a road trip in Occitania and (French) Catalonia. We include the Principality of Andorra, which I can finally tick off the bucket list, and Llívia, Spain‘s exclave in France. Besides Toulouse we visit Mont-Louis, Villefranche-de-Conflent, Perpignan and Carcassonne.

After leaving Llívia we drove into France, but we could barely tell, Catalan sentiment is prominent in this area of France, with many Catalan flags and signs saying Pyrénées Catalanes, while this not an official name.

Le Train Jaune

From Llívia we ventured into the department Pyrénées Orientales or Eastern Pyrenees. Often, we crossed the Ligne de Cerdagne railway, famous for Le Train Jaune or The Yellow Train. 

The Cardagne Line is a meter-gauge railway in the Pyrenees between Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg and Villefranche-de-Conflent passing the Spain-France-Llívia corridor, Mont-Louis / La Cabanasse amongst others. 

It’s an iconic train, with old rolling stock, in an iconic red and yellow colours – the Cataman colours – and including open top carriages.

But the Yellow Train is under pressure, if we can believe the many “nous soutenons Le Train Jaune” signs we saw.

But as we speak (wrote), it still is running.

Mont-Louis

We first stopped at Mont-Louis with its citadel. It was unclear from the road were to turn. And the citadel is an active army base. But the town, where not much is to be seen, is open. It’s home for a couple of hundred people. Since 2008 it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

In 1679, King Louis XIV approved the financing of Mont-Louis, defending the passage to the Roussillon region of France. Inaugurated in 1681, Mont-Louis completed the line of defences stretching from Mediterranean Sea. 

Created from scratch by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Marquis de Vauban, it is a perfect example of 17th century fortified military architecture in which Vauban was able to express his creativity fully. Mont-Louis still has a military function today—the National Commando Training Centre — the Centre National d’Entraînement Commando – is housed in the citadel buildings.

Tours can be booked, but we didn’t.

Villefranche-de-Conflent

After a low-key visit to Mont-Mouis, we continued towards Villefrance-de-Conflent. The end of the Ligne de Cerdagne and a childhood memory for Oriol. 

This medieval city, fortified by Vauban in the 17th century, is extremely well-preserved and full of authenticity In 1092, Guillem Ramon, Count of Cerdagne built a new town at the confluence of the Têt and Cady valleys to protect the pass into Cerdagne. The fortifications of Petite Vilotte, medieval capital of Conflent, would then experience many changes over the centuries, the most important being that carried out by Vauban. From 1679 onwards its ramparts were extended and strengthened, barracks, hospitals and strongholds built, and the strongholds of Cova Bastera and Fort Liberia were constructed.

The town is ranked among the Most Beautiful Villages in France and ha s been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008. 

Villefranche-de-Conflent is a typical French mountain village with few inhabitants. A perfect stopover. 

2023 Occitania – Andorra – Catalonia Road Trip

1. TOULOUSE-BLAGNAC AIRPORT | Arrival, ID check, car rental and unusually strict security at departure.
2. REVIEW | Novotel Toulouse Purpan Aéroport.
3. Circuit Andorra.
4. HOTEL REVIEW | Eurostars Andorra.
5. REVIEW | Caldea hot spring spa and treatments in Andorra la Vella.
6. Andorra la Vella & Escaldes–Engordany.
7. QUEER ANDORRA | Entre Nous, the only gay bar in the village.
8. ANDORRA PARLIAMENT HOUSE | Casa de la Vall.
9. Andorra.
10. Llívia, Spain’s exclave in France.