Had anyone been to Argeles sur Mer in France?

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delgirl

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A friend has an apartment in Argeles sur Mer and has offered it to us for two weeks in August. I don't know the area at all and would appreciate any views/opinions.
Thanks.
 
Hi Delgirl,

I think you should take up your friend's offer before someone else does! Argeles is lovely, close to Spanish border, Collioure,Ceret and the Pyrenees though can be busy in August. Have a look at www.argeles-sur-mer.com for more information.
 
I particularly recommend Sunday morning brunch of a 1/2-dozen fresh oysters and a glass of sparkling white (about €6-€8 for the lot) at the Collioure market. Mmmmmmm........... :)
 
What a spot! Absolutly fantastic... Go south aswell to a place called Collioure (Spelling!!)... beautiful.
 
Yes highly recommend Collioure - its my favourite place in France...........brilliant market & restaurants & lots of places to go see on day trips.
Andorra - we did this as a day trip which was a bit mental - but you could defo drive over & do an overnight
Barcelona is only about 2.5hr drive away (or can go by train)
Best thing about the area is the shoe store Besson (just outside Perpignan) Every time i go there I spend about 3 hours in the place & come away with about 10 pairs of shoes!
 
Winnie said:
Best thing about the area is the shoe store Besson (just outside Perpignan) Every time i go there I spend about 3 hours in the place & come away with about 10 pairs of shoes!
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When I showed this to my husband, he just frowned, stomped out of the study and said 'I think maybe we should go somewhere else'! :rolleyes: They just don't get the shoe thing do they?

Thanks for the tips!
 
It's a wonderful location for a family holiday. We went there last year with two young kids and are seriously considering going back again this year - unusual for us as we are normally the type that think life's too short to holiday in the same place twice!

The town itself is great - good selection of cafes and restaurants. Great atmosphere down near the seafront in the evenings and during Summer there's a funfair there for the kids every night.

You'll need a car to make the most of the surrounding area. Perpignan has loads of shopping potential. People have already mentioned Collioure as a nice pleace to visit - wonderful atmosphere there. Within a comfortable drive you have Villfranche De Conflent, a great medieval town that could be a film set but its actually real!. There's a great drive down the coast to Spain as well - lovely scenic routes, if a little windy. Some of the Spanish coastal villages just over the border were great. A little further away you have Carcassonne - well worth the trip. We did Andorra in a day and it was way too much, there wasnt really enough time to take it all in.

We flew to Girona and then hired a car to drive up - that worked our really well. You will have a great time!
 
lfcjfc said:
We flew to Girona and then hired a car to drive up - that worked our really well. You will have a great time!
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That's exactly what we're planning to do - fly into Girona and hire a car. We're having a look at the area with a view to possibly buying something there, so the car is a must.

Many thanks for the info!
 
Sounds like a wonderful spot for a few weeks. must have a look at rental properties in the area. If you hire a car at say Girona would you have to inform the car rental company that you intended to drive it in another eu country ie France for insurance purposes? Would it be easier to take the train from either Girona or perhaps the tvg and hire locally in argeles?
 
Good point cuchulainn! I've been looking at car hire with these people -they have the best price I could find and they allow the car to be taken to France.

Our flight arrives late evening in Girona, so I think the train possibility wouldn't be a good one for us. If you're arriving on an early flight, it might be worth looking into.

Some rental properties are available in the Argeles area .
 
There is a train but it involves one change and the last train leaves at 18.53. I don't think it is a problem bringing a standard vehicle accross into France, the problem is with the larger "haut de gamme" models in which case it isn't possible. Delgirl did you try Hertz for a quote as they can be very competitive but don't book from Ireland use either .es or .fr when looking for price!
 
gauloise said:
...don't book from Ireland use either .es or .fr when looking for price!
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Actually, as I recall, it's not so much a question of using the .fr or .es website as of 'telling' the Hertz website that you live in France/Spain... ;)

It shouldn't make any difference for the purposes of your rental, since the voucher and any other correspondence will be sent to you by e-mail.

(Or, at least, Hertz haven't told me any different — I've had no reply yet to the query I e-mailed to them following that thread, gauloise...)
 
DrMoriarty said:
Actually, as I recall, it's not so much a question of using the .fr or .es website as of 'telling' the Hertz website that you live in France/Spain... ;)




(Or, at least, Hertz haven't told me any different — I've had no reply yet to the query I e-mailed to them following that thread, gauloise...)
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I called the service centre and asked why I would pay more when giving Ireland as my address as opposed to Puerto Rico..not surprisingly I didn't get an answer so I look forward to your response (should you get one!) Do you mind me asking who you addressed it to?
 
I just sent it to info@hertz.ie; info@hertz.fr...
Dear Sir/Madam,

As a previous customer of Hertz, I had been about to recommend you to an Irish colleague who wishes to rent a car in France for three weeks this summer. However, in the course of a discussion on the well-known Irish financial website www.askaboutmoney.com, I was astonished to discover that the same rental, for the same vehicle, on the same dates, from the same airport location in France is charged at over 21% more to an Irish resident than a French one. I understand that Hertz, like many international companies, will apply different rates in different markets, but this seems to be an extraordinarily wide margin, especially given that the service is presumably subject to French TVA @ 19.5%, rather than Irish VAT @ 21%..?

For information, the relevant discussion thread can be found at http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=23380.

Best wishes/Bien cordialement,
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If you mark the info@hertz.fr to the attention of Liesl Rogers as she is the manager in Ireland for France you might get a response..otherwise head office is in Manchester for Hertz Europe Ltd..I do have a contact there..just can't seem to access my archives!
 
Delgirl,

We used carjet.co.uk last year. They charged €7 per day extra to take the car into France. However, their prices are very competitive anyway and tend to include all the extras including extra drivers, child seats etc so it still worked out a lot cheaper than renting in France. They operate from a van outside the airport but their cars are good - we had a brand new Ford Fusion for €330 all inc last year.
Driving up to Argeles is easy - catch dual carriage way/motorway from roundabout at airport exit, follow North across the border until you see the signs for Argeles exits.
 
As a family we have spent the last four years on holiday in Argeles mostly staying in campsites. It is a fantastic place. We eventually bought a house there and will be staying there this summer. Flights by ryanair to gerona is the best way to get there. Hire a car at the airport. Only an hours drive to argeles. Once accross the Fench border take the first exit and your there in twenty minutes. Great small villages like Colliure, Ceret and the best wine region in France. Car hire and flights through ryan air for five adults in july for four weeks cost 1100 euro. Take up your friends offer. You won't regret it.
 
Thanks to everyone for their replies.

Rexel, we're thinking of buying either a house or apartment in this area - do you have any contacts / agents who I might contact before we travel?

What area did you buy in? Are you happy with what you bought? Do you rent it out and, if so, do you use an agent?

We have got some information from our friends who have owned their apartment for 3 years now, but would like to hear someone else's perspective.

Thanks.
 
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