Day Trip 1: Rock formation Park - medieval village - stalactite cave
A nice trip with a car to visit 3 attractions on the neighboring Tet valley.
To reach the area we need to cross the hills on the north side of Ceret. Its a beautiful narrow road with nice views that serpentine through the villages OMS and Ille-Sur-Tet till you reach your first attraction point. The drive will take about 1:20 Hrs and can be seen HERE
First stop: Les Orgues d'Ille-sur-Têt
Its a small park with unique geological rock formation as you see in the images above. You park in the entrance to the park, where you will purchase entry tickets and can have a coffee or snacks. From the office in the parking, you immediately heading to a trail that will bring you to the the rock formations place. Its a short walk. Doing it slowly will take about 1 hour, that most of that time is spent in the park wondering around the formation.
The park is located HERE
Second stop: Villefranche-de-Conflent
Its an impressive medieval little village with stone walls surrounding it, with a possibility to climb steeply uphill to visit another castle. Its also on the list of the “most beautiful villages” in France. You can climb on the large stone walls and circle the area. There are only two streets in the perimeter with loads of restaurants and coffee bars. If you didn't picnic on the way, you have good opportunity to lunch here. Otherwise only a short stroll in and out and walking to our next stop.
The village is located HERE
History of the village dates back to 1098. More Wikipedia history HERE
Third stop: Grotte des Grandes Canalettes
Amazing stalactite cave and they call it :the underground Versailles gardens”. Its only 300 meters from the car park of Villefranche-de-Conflent, so you can leave your car in the same car park. Its a UNESCO world heritage.
The official site of the caves is HERE
and the location is HERE
To my opinion its worth the visit even if you have seen already other caves in other places around the world.
To drive back on the fastest route to Ceret – drive through Perpignan