3 Best Sights in The Pyrenees, Spain

Affectionately called le petit train jaune ("the little yellow train"), this line runs from Bourg-Madame and La Tour de Querol, both easy hikes over the border into France from Puigcerdà (Bourg-Madame is the closest). The border at La Tour, a pretty hour-long hike from Puigcerdà, is marked by a stone painted with the Spanish and French flags. The carrilet (narrow-gauge railway) is the last in the Pyrenees and is used for tours as well as transportation; it winds slowly through La Cerdanya to the medieval walled town of Villefranche-de-Conflent, where it can also be picked up. The 63-km (39-mile) tour can take most of the day, especially if you stop to browse in Mont-Louis or Villefranche. The last section, between La Cabanasse and Villefranche, is the most picturesque. In low season the trains have infrequent and unpredictable timetables.

With its porticoes and covered walks, this square named for a hero of the Carlist Wars is protected from the gusty mountain wind. It is ringed by pastel-painted Renaissance houses, some with decorative sgraffito designs and all with balconies.

The 12th-century Santa Maria church in the center of town was largely destroyed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War, but the bell tower remains and is open to visitors. At the top, take in a 360-degree panorama of La Cerdanya's towns, bucolic farmlands, and snowy peaks.