One finds the first mention of Argelès into 981 on a document indicating that the city belongs to the abbey of Génis Saint of the fountains and that it was in addition about the extreme limit of the possessions of this abbey (and due, further it is the sea…) This document mentions already the presence of a fortified town belonging as all the remainder of Roussillon to the descendant of the count Guifred the Hairy one.

Until 1258, date of the treaty of Corbeil fixing a border enters France and the kingdom of Aragon, it does not have there traces of Argelès. Even though the border, placed much more at North (in Bélesta) didn’t have effect on the each day life, the fact of changing capacity officially directing structured the life of the villages.

Thus during the XIII E century a home of the Order of the Temple appeared, whose tutor was certain Borrellus in 1273. These houses were very frequent in the cities, some had so much importance which they directed the city itself.

1860: planting of the pine forest.
1893: creation of the first town housing estate south of the pine forest (nowadays, allées Jules Aroles, des Tamarins and du Racou).
1904: creation of the local initiative committee prefiguring the future local tourist office (1929).
1924: setting up of wood huts on the beach of the pine forest.
1930: urbanizing 75ha north of the pine forest and construction of the Hotel Xatard (nowadays, Hotel Plage des pins).
1950: creation of the pilot camp, nowadays Roussillonnais campsite.
1954: creation of the first private campsite: Bouix campsite.
1962: classing the town as a holiday and seaside resort.
1964: inaugurating the new casino.
1965: creation of the Leisure Centre for the Young at the Roussillonnais campsite.
1970: construction of the Coastal road between Argelès and Saint-Cyprien.
1971: creation of Municipal Tourist Office.
1973: first section of the construction of the seafront promenade.
1982: pedestrianizing allée Jules Aroles.
1989: inaugurating Port-Argelès.
1993: new premises of Municipal Tourist Office.
2001-2002: modernizing avenue Charles de Gaulle.
2002: modernizing the waste water treatment plant (capacity 120,000 inhabitants)