Located in the heart of the Pyrénées is a small village tucked away known as Évol. Now why did I come here? I never heard of the village when I was driving along the main road between Andorra and Perpignan on the N116. The only reason I stopped here is because I saw a brown sign from the main road which I know well with its association logo. Les plus beaux villages de France means ‘the extra beautiful villages of France’ and Évol is part of this. I have only checked out one village before Évol and that is Gereboy in the Hauts-de-France region in the north of France. I have many more to tick off.
I was not to be disappointed. Turning off onto the D4 road (just west of the village of Olette), the village was nearly 2km up the hill side before pulling into a parking space on the left hand side of the road before entering the village. (My advice is when driving here, do not go looking for a parking space in the village, as one can tell from the photos on this post, it's not car friendly apart from the road which goes through the village). At this point I am standing 800 meters above sea level.
The village is known for its Romanesque church as well as visiting the reading room of Ludovic Massé who was a novelist born in the village. There is a museum of art and popular traditions which can be enjoyed here as well as checking out the ruins of Castell d’Évol. The castle which was built in 1260 now only has pieces of the wall remaining as well as a tower which remains in good condition.
I loved walking up and down the cobbled streets here, checking out the beautiful schist houses with their thackstone roofs. I saw nobody, only a cat who kept following me around. Not one Evolencs to be seen for the few hours I was here. An Evolencs by the way is a name used for the villagers who lives here but are also known as ‘snails’. Well, life seems to be at a standstill here, let alone a slow pace of life.
In conclusion, I would recommend coming to Évol just to have a stroll, to look at the beautiful buildings and take in the wonderful views of the surrounding mountains. Including the walk to the castle, I would allow ninety minutes to two hours here, maybe longer if a Evolencs was to come up and have a chat.
Some extra advice to plan a trip to Évol
How to get to Évol: As mentioned earlier, it lies on the N116 road at Olette which is between Prades (direction: Perpignan) and Andorra/Llivia. From Andorra it's an hour drive and from Perpignan I would allow ninety minutes. For fuel, the last main stops before reaching Évol are Prades (from Perpignan) and Bourg-Madame which is a French town on the border of Spain (this is before turning onto the N20 which is the road to/from Andorra).
The nearest train station is at Olette - Gare d’Olette - Canaveilles-les-bains which local trains run from Bourg-Madame to Perpignan. This is operated by TER Occitanie and the route is known as Line 6. The nearest high speed TGV services depart and arrive at Perpignan so this is ideal for connecting trains to the region.
By plane the nearest airport is Perpignan but other airports to the region (if renting a car which is highly recommended), is Girona and Barcelona El Prat in Spain whilst Toulouse and Carcassonne are also in the region.
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