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The Town Of Les Angles In The Languedoc
Les Angles is a town in the Gard which is situated on a plateau overlooking the Rhone. It has a population of 7754 and covers 1177 hectares. It is a historic town with some fascinating attractions and also the largest ski resort in the area. The local economy is funded by tourism and market gardening.
It has an excellent selection of shops with the Balzac, Des Priades and Lecler shopping centres. There is a market every Saturday morning where you can buy local produce and crafts.
There is plenty to keep all members of the family occupied here with the Parc du Soleil du Cosmos astral theme park where you can learn all about the universe by following a trail which has been beautifully marked out using Mediterranean plants (garriques) and which displays the planets, stars and various satellites in miniature. Another path traces the history of the architecture and monuments of Les Angles over the centuries.
In the town centre you will find the Gothic fifteenth century Notre Dame de l’Assumption church which has been built on the site of a Saracen fortress. There is a charming open air theatre, the Chapel of St Esteve and Louis Montagne Castle.
The north east face of Mont Louis offers 32 pistes for skiing. Half of which are red rated and extend over 40 kilometres. Les Angles is unique in France because it has a “base of the extreme” offering ski-joering which is a traditional Scandanavian method of transport which involves being pulled along on skis by a horse on long reigns. It is very tricky to master and is not a sport for the faint-hearted. This takes place at the lake of Bouillouses which is situated at an altitude of 2050 metres.
The nearest airport to Les Angles is situated at Perpignan at 92 km away. Girona is 158 km and Barcelona 203 km. It can be reached via the A9 motorway from Perpignan which joins the RN116/A64 at Carcassonne which eventually leads to the resort.
