The 2024 edition of the Pyrénées-Orientales – Catalan country guide published by Le Petit futé has come off the presses. 336 pages of advice and addresses for a stay in the most Catalan of French departments. Spend a few days there or why not even stay there because “this guide is aimed at tourists as well as locals”, confides Yann Even, the new departmental publishing manager.
Responsible for the Audoise edition of Le Petit futé for 27 years, he has just taken over from Gérard Marion on his way to an active retirement. At his side, the writer of the Catalan edition, Laurent Pierson, a professional English teacher: “a guide represents nearly eight months of work,” he explains, in search of new nuggets or to update update those already present.
It’s not just “a catalog of addresses”
Among his latest favorites: a hike in the Madrès mif on the borders of the Pyrénées-Orientales and Aude, a night at the Le Cèdre 1830 farmhouse in St Feliu d’Avall in the north-east of the department or even a meal in an institution in Collioure, Les Templiers, “completely dusted off by the new manager and his new boss.”
For seven years that he has been working each year on the development of this guide, Laurent Pierson has been able to note an emergence of the hinterland, boosted by the development of organic, ecotourism and well-being. “Le Petit futé is not an address catalog,” he insists. “Among our criteria for choosing a restaurant or accommodation, there is not only what you find on your plate but also the quality of the service and the customer’s welcome. This all matters a lot. » Another advantage of this guide compared to others, according to its author: the fact that it resides on site “and all year round! » So many guarantees for the reader to be able to discover the territory as a local would.
Pyrénées-Orientales – Catalan country, print version: €11.95 – digital version: €6.99