Top 5 Perpignan Day Trips: Explore Beyond the City

Perpignan, you know, it’s this city tucked away in French Catalonia, and really, it acts almost like the jumping-off point to a whole bunch of super cool spots, so you might think of it as an ideal place to launch your next adventure. That is, if you’re anything like me, and find just sitting around isn’t your thing! Fancy seeing what else is in the neighborhood? Luckily, there is quite a handful of destinations a relatively short hop from the city offering some stunningly delightful and diverse ways you could spend a day away.

1. Collioure: The Pearl of the Vermilion Coast

Collioure, that is, it’s absolutely a must-see and pretty famous too! It is so for its pretty harbor and what one might consider picture-postcard appeal. Only about 30 km away, basically, it gives off that very typical Mediterranean feel which includes all the usual, very lovely, brightly painted houses sitting right at the water’s edge. If you take a wander around, that would actually be time well spent! As you would see with your own eyes that artists and writers, of all stripes, really, they flock there!

The Château Royal, very likely, is the centerpiece of the town, or you might find Fort Saint-Elme worth a climb, since the views up there are spectacular! I think, as you get the picture and perhaps start to understand how strategic this area must have been for ages; with its defensive positions going back many hundreds of years. That said, one also wants to just, basically, soak it all in. You could explore the cute lanes with tiny shops, or find somewhere that just, you know, does excellent seafood right next to the water. The Église Notre-Dame-des-Anges church, with that very distinctive bell tower, is also one that draws the eye; it’s so unusual that most will just spend time appreciating that. For visitors of the region it has what you might regard as truly iconic status.

2. Carcassonne: A Medieval Citadel

So then, there is Carcassonne! At close to an hour and half’s drive to get there, I think it represents quite a different experience but yet still totally feasible. It is just about guaranteed to fill up the best part of any day, mind. Now, while I wouldn’t normally start throwing phrases around that have too much exaggeration and puff about them; Carcassonne and, I suppose, it’s UNESCO-listed fortress, you might, after consideration, reach the opinion they do in actual fact have one of Europe’s finest pieces of medieval architecture.

Once there, walking along the ramparts feels pretty amazing; so don’t miss that. From there you get the absolute feeling that, like, maybe you’re going back in history almost. In effect you will, with very old cobbled lanes. You will have that opportunity, so, explore its narrow streets with plenty of tiny shops. As I recall there are restaurants as well, and those eateries range pretty much all the way from, almost, basic snacking all the way to fine dining. And so, you could check out the Château Comtal castle itself while finding out all concerning its past and the important part it took in French history over the centuries.

3. Cadaqués: A Catalan Gem in Spain

Fancy venturing outside France a bit, then I am sure you will admire Cadaqués? To me that says almost, like, true escapism, not to mention how appealing and well situated it actually is on Spain’s Costa Brava. It could just easily be the most easterly point on the Iberian Peninsula and it gives out all the good vibes, what I might describe as its quiet isolation really. And there is some history here too! It was, that, where Salvador Dalí spent a good deal of his life and times.

Just bear in mind that getting there will, in practice, entail, I think, just about an hour and a half of drive-time but, basically, it’s so, so well worth it. After that trip, Cadaqués greets you with all that, typically, white-washed vibe you probably figured. I believe its bays and clear blue water add to its, more or less, beauty, that it seems like it can’t put a foot wrong at all. All things considered you’ll want to visit the Dalí House Museum at Port Lligat while enjoying a taste of classic Catalan culture too.

4. The Gorges de Galamus: Natural Wonders

Anyone with a preference for something closer to the outdoors might give Gorges de Galamus consideration. These incredible limestone gorges, if you are not aware, are the kind of site where you end up looking down thinking “Wow” – every single time you look down. Really; even though you’re less than an hour from Perpignan. What is even more extraordinary: roads are right on the edge of the cliff!

These are also the kind of spots you probably don’t know too much about if, basically, you haven’t done the research, but this narrow pass will often take one’s breath. Now I won’t push you one way or the other! Some drivers aren’t always that confident as the route demands, still, that little road can also be walked and, in fact, provides a much better way that, in a way, means visitors absorb as much natural landscape around as they possibly can, yet it’s also probably more rewarding that way also! Either before that, or subsequently to walking it, do bear in mind that those tiny villages situated in either direction should most definitely form some part of those particular trips!

5. Ille-sur-Têt: The Organs

Île-sur-Têt might, just might, very easily take that prize just for being the strangest one. The name may be a little confusing so I should elaborate: known to locals simply as Les Orgues d’Ille-sur-Têt, yet what that actually amounts to means that a rather peculiar, natural site consisting exclusively of eroded rock formations, awaits! And one thing to factor in here is erosion, since one finds that wind plus rain shaped these very, very, unusual geological outcrops over literally centuries.

So basically, the entire area around it, or the place itself, has a quality like something from another world; especially for folk whose experiences up till now haven’t involved semi-arid, or even desert landscapes. Those looking for something completely a bit different, almost bizarre too, should, really, be visiting Ille-Sur-Têt and its Organs.