The Côte Vermeille and Collioure in 4 days
Where the Pyrenees drop into the Mediterranean, between Argelès and the Spanish border, the coast folds into schist coves, headlands and colourful harbours. This is the Côte Vermeille: 30 km of cliff road and four villages, Collioure, Port-Vendres, Banyuls and Cerbère.
The plan, day by day
Day 1
- Morning
Royal Castle of Collioureabout 1 h 30Summer residence of the kings of Majorca, then of Aragon, later ringed with bastions by Vauban, with vaulted halls, ramparts and views over the harbour.
- Afternoon
Collioure bell tower and the Fauvism trailfree · about 1 hA former lighthouse at the water's edge, painted by Matisse and Derain in 1905; the trail sets some twenty reproductions where their easels stood.
Day 2
- Morning
Coastal path from Collioure to Port-Vendresfree · about 1 h 30About 90 minutes through vines and schist coves, below Fort Saint-Elme, with the sea always in view; strong walkers continue past Cap Béar to Banyuls.
- Afternoon
Paulilles Bayfree · about 2 hSite of Alfred Nobel's dynamite factory from 1870 to 1984, now 17 hectares of gardens, pine woods and three shingle beaches with very clear water.
Day 3
- Morning
Banyuls vineyards and the Cellier des Templiersfree · about 1 h 30Narrow terraces on schist, held by dry-stone walls and drained by channels, all worked by hand, giving Banyuls sweet wines and powerful Collioure reds.
- Afternoon
Maillol Museum, Banyulsabout 1 hThe farmhouse in the Roume valley where Maillol, born in Banyuls in 1861, sculpted his bronze nudes; his tomb lies in the garden.
Day 4
- Morning
Peyrefite underwater trailfree · 2 to 3 hIn France's first marine reserve, created in 1974, a 250-metre snorkelling trail marked by buoys crosses seagrass meadows and rock where groupers and octopus live.
- Afternoon
Tour Madelocfree · 2 to 3 hA 13th-century watchtower at about 650 metres, looking from the Roussillon plain to Cap de Creus; a three-hour loop climbs from Collioure.
Where to sleep in the Côte Vermeille and Collioure
- Hôtel Méditerranée · €95 a night
- Hôtel Boramar · €95 a night
- Hôtel Casa Dina · €85 a night
- Casa Païral · €180 a night
- Princes de Catalogne · €120 a night
- Le Mas des Citronniers · €130 a night
- Le Bon Port · €260 a night
- Grand Hotel du Lido · €230 a night
- Hôtel Madeloc · €220 a night
Plan this trip
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