Province of Lleida

	Largest groups of foreign residents
Romania	21,748
Morocco	7,094
Senegal	3,703
Ukraine	2,947
Algeria	2,549

Province of Lleida

*Província de Lleida* (Catalan)
*Provincia de Lérida* (Spanish)
*Província de Lhèida* (Occitan)
Province of Lleida Província de Lleida (Catalan); Provincia de Lérida (Spanish); Província de Lhèida (Occitan)
Province
	Ranked 33rd
Official languages	Catalan; Spanish; Occitan (Aranese);
Parliament	Cortes Generales
Website	www.diputaciolleida.cat

Monastery of Santa Maria de Bellpuig de les Avellanes.

The Province of Lleida (Western Calatan:

Aranese: Lhèida [ˈʎɛjda]) is one of the four provinces of Catalonia. It lies in northeastern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Catalonia, and is bordered by the provinces of Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Zaragoza and Huesca and the country of France and the principality of Andorra

. It is often popularly referred to as Ponent (i.e. the West).

Of the population of 414,015 (2007), about 30% live in the capital,

archbishop of which is also the co-prince of Andorra), Mollerussa, Cervera, Tàrrega, and Balaguer

. There are 231 municipalities in Lleida.

Located in the

Aranese, a variety of Occitan

, as its official language.

The Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park is located in this province.

The province enjoys a thriving fruit-growing industry, including pears and peaches.

According to the 2006

Comarques Centrals

(Central Counties) Vegueria. The plan is currently on hold as of 2015.

Language

The province of Lleida has a characteristic

Western Catalan block, and as such, shares some features with Valencian

(whose dialects are also part of that group).

Lleida is the only province in Catalonia to have a second native language:

Aran Valley

.

Tourism

Lleida is located in the western part of

adventure sports

.

Nature

Lleida has a wide variety of landscapes. This includes the mountain area of the Pyrenees. The Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, the only National Park in Catalonia, and the Alt Pirineu (High Pyrenees) and Cadí-Moixeró natural parks are all in the Pyrenees region. The Collegats-Terradets Territorial Park, the Boumort Natural Hunting Reserve and the Congost de Mont-rebei gorge are in the Pre-Pyrenees.

In contrast, the Lleida Plain has more peaceful landscapes. In some cases, these are rather sober, while in others there is fertile land with century-old olive trees, fruit trees, meadows and crop fields. In this area, it is particularly relevant to highlight such spectacular settings as the Estany d'Ivars i Vila-sana pool and the Aiguabarreig (confluence) of the rivers Segre, Cinca and Ebro. On 6 January 2021, in Tuc de la Llança, Spain's absolute minimum temperature of −34.1 °C (−29.4 °F) was registered.^[3]

Sports

The comarques (local districts) of Lleida are also market leaders within Spain in the provision of adventure sports, with more than 170 companies organising around fifty different activities on land and water and in the air. This area is also Spain's leading ski destination.^{[citation needed]}

Lleida has 11 different ski resorts which are marketed under the brand "Neu de Lleida" (Lleida Snow) and offer over 450 km (280 mi) of ski slopes. Their 81 ski lifts have the capacity to carry 115,000 skiers per hour, while the area immediately surrounding these winter sports complexes can also accommodate more than 30,000 visitors.^{[citation needed]}

Culture

Lleida has a rich architectural heritage. The churches of the

Museum of Lleida

, the Paper Dresses Museum of Mollerussa and the Skiing Museum of the Val d'Aran); the organisation of routes to help discover the natural, cultural and monumental treasures of Lleida (with the Castles of Sió Route, the Pyrenean Counties and Nostalgic Pallars Route, the Wine Route of Les Garrigues, and the Literary Routes of Pallars, etc.); and also projects to promote excellence in the field of tourism, such as the Network of Villages with Charm.