French is spoken by almost all the population. Minority languages in the region are Catalan and Occitan, which between them are estimated to be spoken by rather more than a quarter of the population and understood by more than 40%.
On 10 December 2007, the "Departamental Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales" recognized Catalan as a regional language of the department, though French is still the only official language in France, according to the Constitution.
Pyrénées-Orientales is a wine-growing area and a tourist destination.
The area is famous for its wine with the predominately red grape varieties grown all over the department.
Some places of interest are:
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin ( ​]; Alsatian: "Unterelsàss", "‘s Unterlànd" or "‘s Ingerlànd"; traditional German: "Niederrhein"; English: Lower Rhine) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the Rhine river that flows along its eastern border. The prefecture (capital) of Bas-Rhin is Strasbourg.
Bas-Rhin means "Lower Rhine", however, geographically speaking it belongs to the "Upper Rhine" region. This is the last French department to have kept the term "Bas", meaning "Lower", in its name. Other departments using this word preferred to change their names.
Bas-Rhin is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was divided in four districts: Haguenau, Benfeld, Strasbourg and Wissembourg, with Strasbourg as is capital. Soon, the district of Sarre-Union was created and the name of the district of Benfeld was changed to Sélestat (in its origins, Schlestadt).
In 1800, with the creation of the "arrondissements" in France, the five districts were changed into four "arrondissements": Strasbourg, Barr, Saverne and Wissembourg. The subprefecture of Barr was moved to Schlestadt (Sélestat) in 1806.
The Bas-Rhin department was eliminated in 1871 when the territory became part of Germany.
In 1919, Bas-Rhin is again an department when the territory became part of France with the "arrondissements" Strasbourg-Ville, Strasbourg-Campagne, Erstein, Haguenau, Molsheim, Saverne, Sélestat and Wissembourg.
The "arrondissements" Sélestat and Erstein were combined in 1974 to form the "arrondissement" of Sélestat-Erstein.
In 2015, the "arrondissements" Strasbourg-Campagne and Wissembourg were eliminated and their territories passed to the remaining "arrondissements", and only 5 were kept: Haguenau-Wissembourg, Molsheim, Saverne, Sélestat-Erstein and Strasbourg.
The Bas-Rhin department is in the Grand Est region and borders 5 departments, all in the Grand Est region: Haut-Rhin to the south, Vosges to the southwest, Meurthe-et-Moselle to the west and Moselle to the northwest. To the north and east, the department borders Germany along the Rhine river.
Bas-Rhin has an area of . Its highest point is Champ de Feu () in the southwestern part of the department; it is high.
The main river in the department is the Rhine that forms the eastern border of the department, and of France.
The area around Strasbourg, at an altitude of about , is characterized by climates with few extremes of temperature. The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Strasbourg is a "Marine West Coast Climate" and of the subtype "Cfb".
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Strasbourg is . The month with the most precipitation on average is July with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of .
The average temperature for the year in Strasbourg is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .
Bas-Rhin is managed by the "Departmental Council of Bas-Rhin" in Strasbourg. The department is part of the Grand Est region.
There are 5 "arrondissements" (districts), 23 "cantons" and 517 "communes" (municipalities) in Bas-Rhin.
The following is a list of the 23 cantons of the Bas-Rhin department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
The inhabitants of the Bas-Rhin department are known, in French, as "Bas-Rhinois" or (women: "Bas-Rhinoises"),
Bas-Rhin had a population, in 2014, of 1,112,815, for a population density of inhabitants/km. The "arrondissement" of Strasbourg, with 484,157 inhabitants, is the "arrondissement" with more inhabitants.
Evolution of the population in Bas-Rhin
The 10 "communes" with more inhabitants in the Bas-Rhin department are:
Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the Rhine river that flows along its eastern border. Its name means "Upper Rhine". The prefecture (capital) of Haut-Rhin is Colmar.
Haut-Rhin is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was divided in three districts: Altkirch, Belfort and Colmar, with Colmar as is capital.
In 1800, with the creation of the "arrondissements" in France, the three districts were changed into five "arrondissements": Colmar, Altkirch, Belfort, Delémont and Porrentruy. The "arrondissements" Delémont and Porrentruy were eliminated in 1814 and transferred to Switzerland.
The subprefecture of Altkirch was moved to Mulhouse in 1857.
The Haut-Rhin department was eliminated in 1871 when the territory became part of Germany except for a part that forms the Territoire de Belfort.
In 1919, Haut-Rhin is again an department when the territory became part of France with the "arrondissements" Colmar-Ville, Colmar-Campagne, Altkirch, Guebwiller, Mulhouse, Ribeauvillé and Thann. Its capital is Colmar.
The "arrondissements" Colmar-Ville and Colmar-Campagne were combined in 1934 to form the "arrondissement" of Colmar.
In 2015, the "arrondissements" of Guebwiller and Ribeauvillé were eliminated and the name of the "arrondissements" of Thann and Colmar were changed to Thann-Guebwiller and Colmar-Ribeauvillé.
Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less populated of the two departments of the former administrative Alsace region. It is in the Grand Est region and borders 3 departments in 2 regionsː
To the east, the department borders Germany along the Rhine river, and to the south it borders with Switzerland.
Haut-Rhin has an area of . Its highest point is Grand Ballon () in the Vosges Mountains, in the eastern part of the department; it is high. The lowest point is high along the Rhine river.
The main river in the department is the Rhine that forms the eastern border of the department, and of France.
The area around Colmar, at an altitude of about , is characterized by climates with few extremes of temperature. The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Strasbourg is a "Marine West Coast Climate" and of the subtype "Cfb".
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Strasbourg is . The month with the most precipitation on average is June with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of .
The average temperature for the year in Strasbourg is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .
Haut-Rhin is managed by the "Departmental Council of Haut-Rhin" in Colmar. The department is part of the Grand Est region.
There are 4 "arrondissements" (districts), 17 "cantons" and 366 "communes" (municipalities) in Haut-Rhin.
The following is a list of the 17 cantons of the Haut-Rhin department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
The inhabitants of the Haut-Rhin department are known, in French, as "Haut-Rhinois" or (women: "Haut-Rhinoises"),
Haut-Rhin had a population, in 2014, of 760,134, for a population density of inhabitants/km. The "arrondissement" of Mulhouse, with 350,032 inhabitants, is the "arrondissement" with more inhabitants.
Evolution of the population in Haut-Rhin