Collioure

Collioure is one of the most beautiful and historically significant villages on the French Mediterranean coast — a small fishing port on the Côte Vermeille in the Pyrénées-Orientales department of Occitanie, where the Pyrenees descend directly into the sea in a succession of rocky coves. The village's particular quality of light — clear, intense, and richly coloured by the meeting of mountain air and Mediterranean glare — drew Henri Matisse and André Derain here in the summer of 1905, and their experiments with pure, non-naturalistic colour in Collioure's harbourfront scenes gave birth to Fauvism, one of the defining movements of modern art. The Chemin du Fauvisme, a self-guided trail through the village, places 20 reproduction panels at the exact spots where Matisse and Derain set up their easels, allowing comparison between the paintings and the present-day scene. Architecturally, Collioure is dominated by the Château Royal — a massive 13th-century fortress built by the Kings of Majorca and later the Kings of Aragon, which sits on a promontory separating the two main harbours. The round Romanesque tower of the Church of Notre-Dame-des-Anges, its bell tower (converted from a medieval lighthouse) rising directly from the water's edge, is the village's most photographed image. The surrounding sea is exceptionally clear, making the pebble beaches excellent for snorkelling. Local production of anchovies (the village is France's anchovy capital) and Banyuls and Collioure wines from the surrounding terraced vineyards is celebrated in numerous restaurants and specialist shops. A full half-day is sufficient to explore the village; a full day is ideal for including the château, a swim, and lunch.