Finestret has a population of about 150, mainly resident but with a few holiday homes and village gites. Village life centres around the church and the salon de fetes with many, all welcome, village events over the year. The village is surrounded by peach and cherry groves, great scenery for a bicycle ride or a short walk, several longer walks start from the village and for the more adventurous Mount Canigou beckons.
The river Lentilla runs through the village and provides natural pools for swimming and several companies base canyoning trips from the village.
Although Finestret has no shops (but a daily bread van passes through the village) Vinca is only 4km away with post office, bank, several restaurants, many bakeries and a swimming lake.
From here you can also catch the Petit Train Jaune up the mountain to the ski resorts of Font Romeau. By car it is 45mins to the closest slopes and Andorra is two hours away.
A little further afield......but only 8km from the village, is Prades, home of the renowned Pablo Casals music festival, larger supermarkets, more restaurants and a lovely weekly market.
The Mediterranean and the Cote Vermeille towns and beaches, such as historic Collioure (45minutes) and the Costa Brava (1 hour), all make great day trips, as do visits to some of the many vineyards of the Languedoc Rousillon, the largest wine producing region of France.
Getting to Finestret:
Finestret is easily accesible with 3 airports under two hours away:
Perpignan - Flybe, BMIBaby & Ryanair - 35 mins;
Girona - Easyjet - 75 mins;
Barcelona - BA, Flybe, Easyjet & Jet2 - 120 mins;
By car from Perpignan take the N116 direction Prades and Andorra, from junction 42 (South Perpignan) of the A9-E15 autoroute, La Catalane. Leave the N116 at Vinca and Finestret is a 4km drive to the South.
Other Activities:
Canyoning
