The Pyrenees
To have a look at the mountains
The Pyrenees is the mountain range in France, Spain and Andorra, between the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean Sea. This is one of the most picturesque regions of the country - the green mountains in the west give way to snow-capped peaks and dry foothills to the east, the population is also heterogeneous - here are living Basques, Gascons, Catalans, and representatives of small nations of Europe. And yet, compared with the same Alps, nature is pure and untouched, there is an extensive protected areas, but has nothing to do with fashionable and noisy resorts of Alpine type. The Pyrenees resorts are small, cozy and are not focused only on the snow, but also are well-prepared for other outdoor activities. In this case, the western slopes of the mountains run into the seaside resorts of the Spanish Basque Country and French Silver Coast, and east out to the warm Mediterranean coast. As a result, in the Pyrenees can find the conditions for virtually any type of vacation, which attracts many tourists in the first place - the French and the Spaniards themselves.
Pyrenees are almost unknown within Russian tourists, with the exception for Andorra. This is a perfect alternative for those who love mountains and are looking for a different mountain range in Europe.
Ski Holidays
The Pyrenees is one of the most exciting and rapidly developing centers of ski vacations. This is not surprising – a mountain range stretches for 400 km (with a width of more than 70 km), has nearly a hundred peaks above 2000 meters, and obviously attracts the attention of athletes and tourists.
Stretching between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, the Pyrenees get significantly more snow than many areas of the Alps, and even though the weather here is hardly stable, but the diversity of all the activities is almost fantastic. Even if on one side of the range is raging blizzard, on the other is often calm and sunny. Here is noticeably warmer than in the Alps, that sound attractive for elderly people and families with children. The slopes are not so difficult as in the mountainous districts, but virtually there is no shortage of snow - at altitudes over 1,400 meters, it falls in amounts 2-3 times higher than in the Alps.
Winter tourist season usually begins here in the middle of December, and the best time to visit is usually considered to be the period from February to April, while in the northern slopes the snow stays till the end of June. Going down to the sea, Catalan Pyrenees are very low and green, like the Caucasus Mountains. They protect the coast from strong winds and form in each geographic area of its own microclimate. In summer you can find a huge amount of entertainment to suit all tastes
