Discover Latour-De-France

If you’re looking for a hotel in Latour-De-France, you can focus your trip on culture, trails or winegrowing. Local highlights include historic buildings, named hiking trails, mountain biking options and visits to wineries. Appointments are required for several of these visitor experiences.

Location, the Agly and trails

Latour-De-France sits in an amphitheatre on a hill in the heart of the Agly Valley. Fishing is possible along the Agly; the Tinei waterway is also listed as an outing and leisure option. The elevated setting, a riverside activity and another named body of water therefore offer different starting points for planning a trip.

Hiking trails include “La Tourèze mystérieuse” and “Les bords de l'Agly”. The “Le Chemin de Saint-Martin” trail winds through vineyards and climbs to the Chapelle Saint-Martin, now privately owned, before continuing through a valley with capitelles and tree ferns. The sequence of vineyards, chapel and valley gives this trail its distinctive landscape and historic character.

There are also named mountain biking routes. The “Autour de la frontière” loop is listed in Latour-De-France. The difficult “Autour de la frontière de 1258” mountain bike route is 22.0 kilometres long and starts in Latour-De-France. It passes through vineyards and garrigue over gentle slopes, with stops in three villages along the way. Its length, difficulty and route provide concrete points of reference for assessing this cycling route.

Traces of history

The Chapelle Saint-Martin dates from the 13th century, and its enclosure from the 14th century. By decree of 23 August 1994, the chapel, the remains of its enclosure, the fortified gate and the ground within the enclosure were listed as historic monuments. The boundary marker recalls the former border between the kingdoms of France and Aragon. It was erected after the 1258 Treaty of Corbeil-Barcelona to mark this border.

Other historical connections can be seen in the bell tower and the church. The present-day bell tower preserves evidence of a former observation tower that was connected to the castle and served as a defensive post. The current church was built in the 17th century to replace an older church that had been destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War. The layout of the streets and the architecture of some houses also reflect a village built to defend against attacks; its location on the border was a key factor. Until 1659, the year of the Treaty of the Pyrenees, Latour-De-France was the first French commune beyond Roussillon.

Wineries and visitor experiences

The wineries offer different ways to explore winegrowing. Since 2009, Domaine des Mathouans has followed organic and biodynamic farming principles and uses natural winemaking methods.

At Domaine Les Arabesques, visits, wine tastings and sales at the winery are available by appointment. The winery has been organically certified since 2017, applies biodynamic techniques in part, and carries out almost the entire production process by hand, from the vineyard to bottling. Domaine Tribouley also offers tastings and cellar sales by appointment. Its wines are classified under the “Côtes du Roussillon Village Latour de France” AOC.

In Latour-De-France, Domaine Giocanti offers tastings, sales at the winery and visits by appointment only. When planning your trip, it’s worth keeping the appointment requirements in mind: the offerings vary by winery and include visits, tastings and sales.

Discover more destinations: Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, Espira-de-Conflent, Pézilla-La-Rivière, Osséja, Fuilla, Perpignan, Mosset, Le Barcares

For the broader travel overview: Pyrénées-Orientales.