Seventy years after thousands of Jews fled across the Pyrenees to escape France's pro-Nazi Vichy regime, one Spanish province is opening up the mountain routes used by the refugees.

During the war, residents of Lleida, in western Catalonia, worked with allied secret services and Jewish resistance organisations to set up a network of pathways and volunteers for the escaping families. Around 20,000 Jews crossed the mountains from France during the Holocaust.

Four routes used by the refugees have now been signposted, with information boards and maps placed at key sites along the way.

There is also a website - www.perseguitsisalvats.cat/en - hosting videos that document the stories of some of the families who managed to cross the Catalan Pyrenees and reach freedom.

The Israeli ambassador to Spain, Alon Bar, visited the area last year and backed the initiative.

Israeli tour operator Arkia is now offering direct flights from Tel Aviv to Lleida. It is expected that 2,000 Israelis will come to see the restored pathways, and businesses in the area have investigated where to source kosher food.