Arles-sur-Tech Arles
Commune
Shops in Arles-sur-Tech, with the Tour Saint-Sauveur in the background
Location of Arles-sur-Tech
Arles-sur-Tech Show map of France Arles-sur-Tech Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 42°27′27″N 2°38′04″E / 42.4575°N 2.6344°E / 42.4575; 2.6344
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Céret
Canton	Le Canigou
Intercommunality	CC du Haut Vallespir
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	David Planas[1]
Area 1	28.82 km2 (11.13 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2021)[2]	2,794
• Density	97/km2 (250/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	66009 /66150
Elevation	226–1,302 m (741–4,272 ft) (avg. 300 m or 980 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Arles-sur-Tech (French pronunciation: [aʁl syʁ tɛk] ^ⓘ, literally Arles on Tech; Catalan: Arles de Tec) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.^[3]

Geography

Location

Arles-sur-Tech is located in the canton of Le Canigou and in the arrondissement of Céret.^[3]

Arles-sur-Tech is situated in the southernmost valley in mainland France before Spain, the Vallespir, through which the 84 km (52 mi) long river "Tech" flows. This small town is surrounded by the eastern Pyrenees which dominate the skyline around Arles-sur-Tech. The town sits on the only main road which passes through the valley, the D 115, making it accessible from Spain in the west and the plane of Roussillon and Perpignan in the east. It is located close to the larger and more well-known spa town of Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda.

History

At the end of the Spanish Civil War Arles-sur-Tech was the site of a camp housing Republican escapees from Spain. It was used as an initial sorting camp.^[4]

Government and politics

Mayors

International relations

Arles-sur-Tech is twinned with:

• Cubelles, Spain^[6]

Population

Sites of interest

• Abbey of Saint Mary : Arles-sur-Tech is best known for its abbey, which allegedly holds the relics of Saints Abdon and Sennen in a sarcophagus called Sainte Tombe, traditionally believed to have been brought from Rome by Abbot Arnulf in the middle of the tenth century.^[8] Its waters are traditionally believed to hold miraculous healing properties.^[9]
• The Caixa de Rotllan, a dolmen.
• Saint-Stephen church
• Saint-Saviour church
• Saint-Peter church
• Holy Cross church
• The Fou canyon, said to be the world's narrowest.