Que faire

The heart of the year. Baqueira Beret usually opens in late November or early December and runs to April, its snowier, Atlantic-facing position making it one of the more reliable resorts in the Pyrenees. High season spans Christmas/New Year, the February half-terms and Easter; January to March is the most snow-sure window.

A long-distance cross-country ski festival held for decades on the Pla de Beret, organised by the Conselh Generau d'Aran and Baqueira Beret. It draws around 1,000 skiers from across Europe over 42 km, 21 km and a popular 10 km, and features on the FIS popular-races calendar and the Spanish long-distance championship. Check the current year's date before planning.

The Val d'Aran's summer-solstice fire festivals, part of the 'Falles del Pirineu' inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2015. On the night of Sant Joan (23 June) villages burn a great tree trunk — the haro at Les, the taro at Arties — along with spinning cherry-bark torches (halhes), marking the start of summer. A striking, deeply local spectacle.

The Val d'Aran's own national day, on 17 June, when the valley celebrates its distinct Aranese identity and self-government. It marks the restoration of the Conselh Generau d'Aran — the valley's historic governing council, abolished by a Spanish royal decree in 1834 and restored in the early 1990s. Expect institutional acts, Aranese flags, and traditional music, dance and food across Vielha and the villages — the clearest window onto why Aran feels like a place apart within Catalonia.

One of the Pyrenees' great trail-running festivals and part of the international UTMB World Series, based in Vielha each early July. Seven race formats span from the 163 km Torn dera Val d'Aran ultra (around 10,000 m of climbing) down to the 18 km Sky Baqueira Beret, so the resort's own slopes host one of the courses. Thousands of runners and spectators fill the valley; the 2026 edition ran 1–5 July, with exact dates confirmed each year.