Roussillon

Holidays by Destination Europe France Roussillon Places to Go and Things to See 

This is not an area with big sights though there are often charming little museums and small, family-friendly attractions. There are too many of these to list.

For more ideas visit the local tourist office on arrival. Ask also about current deals for families. Argeles for example offers Passport Kid with discounts on attractions including the tourist train, Aqualand and more. Particularly inland you can find out about guided walks, some with picnic en route.

In addition to the obvious draws think about stopping at the little inland towns which have the charm of places still there in their own right, not for tourists. Ille sur Tet is a good example.

History

This is an area for prehistory, notably at Tautavel, 25km north of Perpignan the site of the discovery of one of Europe's oldest known human beings. A resconstructed skull is on view in the village's Musee de la Prehistoire , worth a visit with its reconstructed scenes from the period as well as bones of all kinds of exotic beasts consumed by the cave's inhabitants. Also Belesta with a reconstruction of the Neolithic tomb and ceramics and jewellery.

Fortress towns include Villefranche-de-Conflent pretty (streets and fortifications untouched since the 17th century) but largely for tourists, and less commercial Prats de Mollo and Mont-Louis.

Other historical centres include Elne the Mallorcan capital before Perpignan with cathedral and cloister with intricate carvings, Perpignan with the Loge de Mer decorated with intriguing gargoyles and Palace of the Kings of Mallorca.

Collioure has a Chateau des Templiers from the 12th century largely used for summer exhibitions. Also check out the church belfry which was once a lighthouse. The chapel of St Vincent is reached by a causeway.

Castles include Chateau de Salses, just off the motorway (you can walk from the parking area either side) a strikingly daunting building, built for the king of Aragon in the 15th century. Fort de Bellegarde at Le Perthus is one of the 17th century fortresses by Vauban, not far from the motorway. Liberia fortress overlooks the Villefranche (1,000 steps). At Prats de Mollo La Preste 18th century Fort Lagarde offers daily shows in French, re-enacting moments in the castle's history, English version planned for 2000.

Religious buildings include at Arles-sur-Tech's fine Romanesque church, originating in the 9th century, with simple cloister and an ancient sarcophagus which inexplicably fills slowly with clean water. Prieure de Serrabona high up off the Tet valley gives a sense of how hard life must have been, the terraces for agriculture still visible. Inside was probably once infinitely richer than now but a few traces of the romanesque carvings remain. St-Michel-de-Cuxa is near Prades and more of a current religious centre. St-Martin-du-Canigou near Vernet is about 20 minutes from the road with a fine cloister (short of some bits which went to the Cloisters Museum in New York).

In the hills above Banyuls the 13th century Tour Madeloc watch tower with views on a clear day to Montpellier and Spain.

Museums

Few bar perhaps the Ceret art museum merit a trip but the others may still be fun to drop into.

The Musee d'Art Moderne Ceret. Includes a series of Picasso ceramics plus a few works by Chagall, Dali, Dufy and more. There are regular current shows.

Le Castillet at Perpignan, built as a 14th century gateway and now a museum of local folk culture.

Musee Casa de les Alberes Argeles sur Mer of traditional arts and crafts, largely in the form of a collection of old tools.

Musee d'Agriculture Catalane St Michel de Llotes, with old implements and French language films on how farmers are turning to both tourism and science.

Musee Rigaud in Perpignan covers the work of the local Rigaud who was official painter to the court of Versailles but includes also work by Dufy, Picasso and others.

Four Solaire d'Edeillo on the Cerdagne plateau, a spectacular solar powered-oven and a bunch of little hands on demonstrations of the power of light.

Centre de l'Art Sacre at Ille sur Tet, a museum of sacred art.

Musee du Jouet Canet Plage, tracing the development of toys.

Musee de l'Automobile Canet Plage largely of French cars from 1908 to the ‘70s.

Musee de la Poste Amelie le Bains Palalda.

Le Palais des Naifs Bages an overview of naif art from different countries plus shop.

Musee du Sapeur-Pompier Ille sur Tet a museum to firemen.

Tour des Parfums Mosset. A tiny museum where you stick your nose into various small scenes from round the world and try to guess the smells.

Musee de l'Aviation A personal collection outside Perpignan - models and the real thing.

Beaches

For details of current Blue Flag beaches see [Clean Beaches]. There are areas protected by the National Coastal Conservancy Board including Plage de la Fourques at Collioure, Mas Larrieu at Argeles sur Mer, Le Lido at Canet-Saint Nazaire, Campo de la Ribere at Torreilles, Mas de l'ille at Le Carcares, Cap de l'Abeille at Banyuls sur Mer, and Moulin d'Ensourd at Collioure.

Out and About

The Pic du Canigou is a symbol of Catalan nationalism, particularly over the summer solstice.

The Grandes Canalettes Villefranche de Conflent, are stalacmite and stalagtite caves offer son et lumiere shows July and August evenings. Temperatures drop to 13ºc. Part were used for military purposes. There is now a small exhibition on dinosaurs, bears etc.

There are boat trips operating between Collioure and Port-Vendres or Argeles.

The countryside off the beaten track is wonderfully unspoilt, in side valleys off the Tet and Tech, off the Cerdagne Plateau at the top of the Tet valley, and to a lesser extent the Cerdagne itself. There are a number of nature reserves. For details see tourist office listings.

Animals

Aquarium Banyuls run by the Sorbonne's marine biology department, containing regional fish and marine life.

Aquarium Canet Plage includes more tropical fish (300 varieties).

Parc Animalier Des Angles en Capcir Les Angles, where footpaths through a pine forest lead visitors past brown bears, wolves, wild boar, mouflon, marmots and bison. The full circuit is 3.5km, the shorter one 1.5km.

Parc Animalier du Casteil near Vernet les Bains, set up by a hunter turned conservationist with lions, ears, monkeys etc.

Ferme Decouverte of three hectares between Elne and Argeles including Tibetan yaks and dwarf sheep.

Les Aigles d'Argeles sur Mer gives demonstrations of eagles, owls etc in flight.

Le Tropique du Papillon Elene offers tropical butterflies.

Activities

Aqualand St Cyprien with 11 different places to have fun with water and/or slides, is the big draw for families.

There are a range of activities like rollerskating, go-karting, mini-golf, in each resort, even in Fort Romeu on the Cerdagne.

There is a range of sporting activities including for children, detailed in the Languedoc Roussillon brochure on the mountains for riding, mountain biking, fishing, golf, plus white water sports, and walking circuits. For sea water sports centres get the Centres Nautiques leaflet which lists five along the Pyrenees Orientales coast, three offering surfing and sailing, one water-skiing, and one canoeing and kayaking. For boat hire ask for The Coast booklet. Diving is also popular along the southern part of the coast, not least because of the marine reserve off Banyuls. Other options include bike hire.

Hot Water Springs St Thomas Les Bains might be fun though sulphurous and immersion is not recommended for more than 20-25 minutes. Less spectacular are the ones at Llo.