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The French northeast-facing Les Angles is the largest and most advanced ski resort of the Languedoc-Roussillon province area in the Pyrenees. Intermediates are spoilt, with more than half of all pistes suitable for their level. Les Angles is surrounded by forests and lakes, with visitors only paying for time spent on their skis.

Ideal for family ski holidays, Les Angles has great facilities and is a pleasant and atmospheric village. The resort is set amid lakes and forests and is situated at 1,600m above sea level. Les Angles has a number of fashionable boutiques and ski/sport stores, plus additional top rate shopping services.

Good novice and intermediate runs, as well as runs for the more experienced, feature at this family resort. Forty kilometres of quality pistes, over 32 runs, are offered at Les Angles, whose 26 lifts have a capacity for 19,000 skiers per hour. Skiing on the majority of the fields is guaranteed by 255 snowmaking guns.

Two- to four-star hotels, pensions and private apartments offer a wide variety of accommodation in Les Angles. Rooms for up to six people, plus every conceivable amenity, can be found at Le Panoramic Residence Hotel. A multitude of bars and restaurants are offered at Les Angles, where the pace and warmth of Catalonia is infused with the vibrant nightlife and good après-ski activities. Ski kindergartens can also be found here.

Font-Romeu and Formigueres (five kilometres away) are nearby resorts providing alternative skiing, while the Des Angles animal park boasts two circuits measuring 3,500m and 1,500m, from where you can witness Pyrenean wildlife, including bears.

A claimant to the title of the highest fortified town in France, with a fortress dating from 1690, the provincial city of Mont-Louis is also located at 1600m and is 12kms to the south along route D-32.

Skiing is usually available from December to April at Les Angles, which is a year round resort. The Christmas holidays, into the New Year, and from mid-March are the cheapest weeks. Flying to Perpignan is the most practical way into Les Angles, with a journey from Perpignan train station to Mont Louis, before transfer to the resort by shuttle.

Skiing in Les angles

A top ski destination for many years for both the French and Spanish, Les Angles ski resort is located near the Spanish border in southwest Languedoc-Roussillon province. Forty kilometres of slopes cater to all levels of skiing at Les Angles - the first French ski resort to install snow cannons.

Les Angles has 32 pisted runs, serviced by 26 ski lifts with a capacity for 19,000 skiers per hour. Forty-one per cent beginner runs, 53 per cent of intermediate and six per cent advanced runs make up the 40kms of slopes at the resort. The pistes are supplemented by 156kms of trails on six circuits, providing extensive cross-country skiing.

February to mid-March has the best snow during the December to April ski season. The beginning and end of the season, plus mid-January, offer the cheaper weeks.

Apores-ski in Les Angles

There are 11 bars and a disco in the village, which also has a range of winter facilities and activities. Visitors can enjoy the sports complex, with an indoor, heated swimming pool; ice rink for skating and hockey; bowling alley; and permanent snow park with half-pipe and two quarter-pipes. Additionally, there are excellent circuits for snowshoeing and hiking; sleigh rides; two snow gardens for children; and crèche facilities (from age three months to three years).

Les Angles has a peaceful atmosphere and is an authentic ski resort village with a focus towards children and families. Sitting at 1,600m, Les Angles is in an unspoilt vacation setting consisting of lakes, streams, forests and wild animals of the Pyrenees. A good choice of accommodation is combined with an abundance of shops, cafés and restaurants.

Transportation to Les Angles

Flying to Perpignan and taking a bus/train/shuttle connection to Les Angles is the most practical way of getting to the resort. Trains throughout the day, as well as frequent buses and shuttles, all go from the airport. Hiring a car at the airport is usually a quicker alternative.

Les Angles is accessible by road, with a train station and airport within reach. The ski resort is located near the Spanish border in Languedoc-Roussillon. A flight to Perpignan Airport and hire car to the resort is the best way to get here, unless on a budget, when a shuttle/train/shuttle combination is a better choice. Driving is also popular, while a train connection from London will get you to the nearby Mont Louis.

By car Paris, Limoges and Toulouse are bypassed on the drive from Calais (1,170kms) along the main A-26, A-1, A-20 and A-61 autoroutes, taking around two days. Drive for 1 hour, 30 minutes (96kms) along the N-9, N116 and D-32 from Perpignan Airport. The main roads from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport (197kms) are the A-61 and the D118, and D-32 into Les Angles; the journey takes 2 hours, 45 minutes. Barcelona is located 185kms from the resort.

Trains take around 2 hours, 40 minutes to the station at Mont-Louis/La Cabanasse from Perpignan and leave roughly every two to three hours. A shuttle to Les Angles meets every train. A Eurostar train leaves London at 17:09 for Paris’s gare du Nord, arriving at 20:59 daily. From Paris’ Austerlitz station, an overnight train leaves to Mont Louis with a change at Latour-de-Carol station the following morning, arriving at Mont Louis at 09:53.

Ryanair services the nearest airport at Perpignan, from where you can take a bus or taxi to the rail station, with trains leaving for Mont Louis. A shuttle to the resort meets each train as it arrives, though a lot of time and effort can be saved by hiring a car to the resort instead. Alternate airports are situated in Toulouse and Barcelona

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