Llupia Car Boot Sale

A car boot sale in the heart of a millennial Catalan village

The Llupia car boot sale is a local event that enlivens the village association in the middle of winter. Private exhibitors and bargain hunters from neighboring villages of the Aspres, the Roussillon plain, and the Perpignan metropolitan area gather to offer and find second-hand items, clothing, toys, books, small furniture, and trinkets. The atmosphere is friendly and family-oriented, typical of Catalan villages where community life is intense and where everyone knows each other.

Llupia, Aspres village with Carolingian origins

Llupia (or Llupià in Catalan) is a commune of the Aspres, a natural region located between the Roussillon plain, Vallespir, and Conflent, 15 km southwest of Perpignan. The village appears for the first time in 1019, during the Carolingian era. Its name comes from its church, the current 12th-century Romanesque church of Saint-Thomas. A castle existed there from 1195, depending like most castles of the Aspres and Vallespir on the viscounty of Castelnou. The lords of Llupia played an important role in medieval Roussillon nobility: they were notably the second owners of the famous Casa Xanxo in Perpignan.

An exceptional Romanesque heritage

Llupia's heritage is essentially built around its parish church of Saint-Thomas dating from the 12th century. The church of Sainte-Catherine, classified as a historical monument since 1886, is one of the most important and original Romanesque monuments of Roussillon. This rich architectural heritage and the gentle way of life of the Aspres make Llupia an endearing village, where the car boot sale is an opportunity to discover both good deals and the Catalan soul of a preserved territory.