WHAT TO SEE IN VALLE DE ARáN: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES

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Bagergue Corner in the Aran Valley in the Pyrenees of Catalonia

To begin I will recognize that since I discovered it many years ago, I consider the Aran Valley as one of the most beautiful corners of the Spanish geography.

Located in the Pyrenees of Catalonia, to the North of the province of Lleida, its location to the north of the mountain range leads to landscapes with great leafiness and greenery.

By this orientation, the Aran Valley it is actually located geographically in France, and you will arrive after crossing the very long Vielha tunnel.

Arties in the Aran Valley in the Pyrenees of Catalonia

Therefore, the waters of its rivers are heading north to flow into the French atlantic.

But what I like most about this Pyrenean valley that hosts the best and most prestigious ski resort in Spain, Baqueira Beretare their beautiful villages With a very uniform architecture.

Most beautiful villages in the Aran Valley

Indeed, in Vielha, which is the capital of the Aran Valley, and in other small villages that stretch along the valley and along the slopes of the surrounding mountains, all buildings retain the characteristic aranese architecture.

Romanesque church of Sant Andreu in Salardú in the Aran Valley

How is Aranese architecture

These are buildings with exposed stone facades, wooden windows and doors and slate roofs.

And that whether it's old buildings, some of which date back to the Middle Ages, as of the most modern apartment buildings that have been built during the last decades due to the tourist boom of the ski resort.

In this way the villages of the Aran Valley they set up architectural ensembles with great charm, which is also favored by the presence of small Romanesque churches They show an indigenous architecture.

In addition, the wealth generated by the aforementioned ski resort, makes all the villages very well maintained, with stone roads and many flowers on the facades of the houses and in different corners of them.

In my recent trip to the Aran Valley I had the opportunity to walk through some of these pretty villages, and thus discovering its beautiful corners, which you will see reflected in the photographs that accompany this report.

Vielha in the Aran Valley in the Pyrenees of Catalonia

They are towns that reach their greatest tourist boom during the winter season, during which they are quite busy because they have installed numerous restaurants They are very frequented by skiers.

If you visit them outside the winter season, they will walk almost without vehicles or the presence of people, and you can see beautiful scenes of rural architecture.

Vielha in Aran Valley

Specifically in Vielha, the aforementioned capital where some 5,000 inhabitants reside, half of the population of the entire Aran Valley, besides visiting the San Miguel's Church, which dates back to the twelfth century, you must stroll through the streets that run along the river.

Although today we appreciate the charm of the stone facades seen, which are majority in the houses of the valley, the truth is that in the Middle Ages the way to exhibit wealth was, on the other hand, whitewashing those facades.

Still in Vielha We can see some example of a historic building that maintains its alcurnia with its whitewashed facade.

Facade of historic building in Vielha in the Aran Valley

Arties in Aran Valley

In Myself Aran Valley tour to see beautiful villages we headed east on the road that goes up to Baqueira Beret.

So in Artiesin addition to beautiful rural architecture of all its buildings, you have the church of Santa María de Arties, which centuries ago was surrounded by a walled enclosure from which you can still see the remains of some canvas.

Salardú in Aran Valley

But if it's a church, perhaps the most prominent one is in the nearby town of Salardú.

The St. Andrew's Church, with three ships and a large bell tower, in its interior apses shows some tardogotic painting They recovered late last year.

Bagergue Corner in the Aran Valley in the Piriones de Cataluña

Bagergue in Aran Valley

Already heading up the ascent towards Baqueira you find Bagergue, whose narrow streets are worth getting lost appreciating the characteristic rural architecture.

In Bagergue you can also visit the little one ethnographic museum Eth Curra, a private initiative of Felipe Moga, who in 1959 was Spain's ski champion,

In this museum there is a wide collection of objects, equipment and tools used in the past in the Aran Valley.

In theAran Valley excursion I didn't have the chance to expand the beautiful villages route with the visit of others that extend through the valley along the road from Vielha He goes to France.

Rincon de Vielha in the Aran Valley in the Pyrenees of Catalonia

Bossóst in Aran Valley

But for my next trip I have noted that Bossost It is also a town that is worth visiting, and a good reflection of this is that there are many shops souvenirs which are frequented by the French neighbors who visit it.

In Bossost there is also an outstanding Romanesque church of the twelfth century, and in the near Vilamós there's a ecomuseum, the Joanchiquet House, which shows a traditional aranese house.

In sum, the beautiful villages of the Aran Valley, with its homogeneous rural architecture and framed by mountainous green landscapes, as I said at the beginning, they make up one of the most charming corners you can find in Spain.