A rail tour of Occitanie’s coastal cities is a great way to see its gems says Gillian Thornton.
Sunday morning and the 9 o’clock train heading south from Narbonne carries only a handful of local passengers as we travel along the narrow finger of land separating the Mediterranean shore from the lagoons. Rosy flamingos sift the shallows for breakfast against a backdrop of rounded hills, before the line curves gently inland towards Perpignan.
I’m travelling with Best Buddy Liz on a zero-birthday exploration of Occitanie’s most southerly coastal cities via train, inspired by Occitanie Tourism’s rail trip recommendations (visit-occitanie.com/en). From Narbonne in the department of Aude we have slipped seamlessly into neighbouring Pyrénées-Orientales to explore Perpignan. But first, a stop in Collioure on the Côte Vermeille, one of the last French seaside towns before the Spanish border.
Collioure
At every small station as we approach we’re joined by passengers with shopping baskets. And when we all disembark at Collioure, everyone heads the same way. Not straight to the beach but to twin squares by the harbour where the produce and craft market is the hub of the retail and social scene on Wednesday and Sunday mornings.
We leave our bags at the third-generation family-run Hôtel Les Templiers (hotel-templiers.com) just 50 metres from the beach and join the shoppers in the shadow of the Royal Castle, favourite summer home of the Kings of Mallorca. Already we notice a subtle change in atmosphere. Signs are in French and Catalan, rather than the Occitan wording we have seen further north, a legacy of the days when Spanish rule extended north of the Pyrenees.
Market shopping ticked, we settle down to a glass of chilled local rosé and a scrumptious salad topped with the town’s signature anchovies at Derrière le Clocher, a beachfront tapas bar on Plage Saint-Vincent behind the famous bell tower of Notre-Dame des Anges.
At the turn of the 20th century, Fauvist artists Henri Matisse and André Derain spent many hours painting the bell tower and boats, attracted by the clear light and vibrant colours of the harbour. A century on, Collioure still exudes creativity, its narrow pedestrian streets dotted with galleries. The Hôtel des Templiers has also welcomed many artists who have all left their mark.
We tour the Royal Castle, strategic frontier post on the Catalan border until 1659, when the peace treaty between Louis XIV of France and Philip IV of Spain put an end to the Franco-Spanish war. And we enjoy a panoramic view over Collioure on a 45-minute trip into the vineyards on the Petit Train Touristique, before savouring more Catalan flavours at La Cuisine Comptoir (lacuisinecollioure.com).
Perpignan
Next day, it is just 20 minutes to Perpignan where we book into the 3* Hotel de la Loge (hoteldelaloge.com), a 20-minute walk from the station. Offering simple but spacious rooms in the heart of the historic quarter, the 16th century building is located down a quiet alley opposite the Gothic Loge des Mers. Now the city Tourist Office, the Loge was built as a trading room for merchants importing goods to Collioure from around the Mediterranean.
Pick up a free map and wind through the narrow streets of the pedestrianised old town to soak up the warm Mediterranean colours, the beguiling mix of retail and refreshment, and the city’s many cultural sites. Next door to the Tourist Office, the courtyard of the Town Hall is home to La Méditérrannée, a female statue by Aristide Maillol, born in nearby Banyuls-sur-Mer in 1861. If the Salle des Mariages is not in use, pop inside to feast your eyes on its ornate carved ceiling and Rococo style paintings that tell the story of the city.
Perpignan’s best-known heritage attraction is the vast brick Palace of the Kings of Mallorca, built on an outcrop of rock, and the seat of Mallorcan power during the 13th and 14th centuries. Join a guided tour of the royal apartments, banqueting hall, and chapel, and take in the panoramic view of the Pyrenees from the top terrace.
Close to our hotel on the banks of the river Têt, the towering red brick Castillet is also impossible to miss, a 14th century fortress, city gate and one-time prison that was adopted by the fast-growing city as its emblem. Today it is home to a museum of local history and traditions.
But not all Perpignan’s cultural attractions are quite so obvious. Behind a sober façade in rue Emile Zola, we come across the extraordinary Hotel Pams, once the home and factory of Pierre Bardou who set up the JOB cigarette paper factory here, before his daughter Jeanne and her husband Jules Pams transformed it into a sumptuous Art Nouveau townhouse with upstairs courtyard garden. Now owned by the city, this glorious property is free to visit.
We are also enthralled by the Hyacinthe Rigaud Museum that houses the city’s fine arts collection. Remembering how we shuffled round the Louvre on our teenage trip, we love the tranquillity of this small but rich museum that guides you seamlessly through four of Perpignan’s key artistic eras, Gothic and Baroque, Modern and Contemporary, with a major new exhibition every year.
Immediately after World War II, the city attracted many contemporary artists including Pablo Picasso who stayed several times in one of the two adjacent buildings that now form the museum. Look out for sketches and monochrome photos recalling his visits in the early 1950s.
We are also rather taken by Mr Rigaud himself – yes, Hyacinthe was a man – who was born in Perpignan in 1659 and rose to become court painter to Louis XIV. If his 1698 self-portrait ‘Au turban’ is to be believed, Rigaud was very easy on the eye, a delightful distraction no doubt for the ladies at court. The museum collection includes a number of Rigaud’s portraits, all his subjects pictured with a fetching half-smile.
And if architecture is your thing, or you simply like beautiful buildings, head to the Casa Xanxo – pronounced Casa Sancho – a restored Gothic property that now houses an interactive interpretation centre for architecture and heritage. And don’t miss Saint John the Baptist Cathedral with its wrought-iron bell tower and cloister cemetery, the Campo Santo, only one of its kind in Europe.
When Perpignan’s shops close for the day, the atmosphere changes in the historic centre where the buzz moves from retail to restaurants and wine bars. We enjoy the Art Nouveau atmosphere and traditional brasserie dishes at Café Vienne, open daily on Place François Arago, followed by a nightcap in a cosy wine bar.
Perpignan hosts many festivals, fairs, and concerts that bring the city alive throughout the year, often in the most idyllic settings. The Foire Saint-Martin throughout November with more than 150 fairground vendors; festive markets and illuminations as Christmas approaches; and all kinds of musical events as spring turns to summer and a packed programme of free outdoor concerts for the annual Fête de la Musique.
In fact stay a couple of days and you soon understand why Perpignan Tourism has adopted the slogan ‘Welcome to the Centre of the World’. Whatever you are after in a city stay, Perpignan seems to have it!
By Gillian Thornton, one of the UK’s leading travel writers and a regular writer for The Good Life France Magazine and website.
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