With bags packed and pillows grabbed, we headed off to the Pyrénées-Orientales for our weekend away to the coast.
This trip we were heading to Canet Plage in the Pyrénées-Orientales to be close to Perpignan to watch our first Rugby League game of the season, Catalans Dragons versus Warrington Wolves.
The hotel we had decided to stay at was Hotel and Restaurant Le Galion, Canet Plage. Given that it was winter, a lot of hotels were not yet open, however, Le Galion is open year round.
The hotel was very easy to find, good parking, clean and comfortable rooms, a little fridge, good WiFi, extremely friendly staff that liked to speak English and a fantastic breakfast available for €12 per person.
Our room was €69 per night booked direct on the hotel website. It’s always good to check the accommodations own websites as they are sometimes cheaper than the booking sites.
There is a swimming pool that is covered for winter but we didn’t try it out. Maybe next time, we’ll take a dip in it. The location of the hotel is great! Walking distance to the beach and just before the area that becomes a pedestrian zone in peak season. The hotel restaurant is open for evening dining and looked and smelt lovely.
As it was late afternoon when we arrived, we dumped our bags and went looking to see what was open for dinner later. Surprisingly it was busy! The sun was shining, it was the French school holidays and everyone was out enjoying the late afternoon sun.
After a quick wander around the Marina, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
Pizza Rimini, Canet
We’d chosen Pizzeria Rimini for our evening meal. It gets great reviews and for good reason.
Already at 19h15 it was busy but we got seated close to the open pizza kitchen. It was quite interesting watching the production line. One guy rolls the dough, the next does the toppings then two men cooking the pizzas to perfection (2 minutes) in the wood fired oven, fascinating!
Our pizzas were lovely…..
As usual we tucked in before we remembered to take photos!
Stuffed, we headed back to the hotel and an early night. We had a lot planned for Saturday!
Banyuls-Sur-Mer
Upon waking, we did the usual morning rituals before heading out to find breakfast. We’d noticed a local boulangerie close by, La Fougasse, so stopped there to pick up a multi grain baguette and the obligatory croissants. How French we’ve become tearing off chunks of dry bread for breakfast!
Off we headed towards Banyuls-sur-Mer. We decided to take the coastal road as it’s only around 38kms and a 45 minute drive and there are some fantastic sea views.
The initial impression of Banyuls isn’t great. You arrive through the back door! It isn’t until you climb the hill and around the corner that you get to see the pretty bay and colourful houses.
Sculptor Aristide Maillol
The sculptor, painter and printmaker Aristide Maillol was born in 1861 in Banyuls-sur-Mer. He moved to Paris in 1881 and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and had an interest in decorative art which led him to to take up tapestry design.
He opened a tapestry workshop in Banyuls but later abandoned this for sculpting.
The subject of nearly all of Maillol’s mature work is the female body sculpted in bronze and around the town are sculptures of his work. He seemed to like the ladies…..
On September 27th 1944 at the age of 83, Aristide was killed in a car accident in Banyuls. His home a few kilometers outside Banyuls, also the site of his final resting place, has been turned into a museum, The Musée Maillol where a number of his works and sketches are displayed.
Sculptor Cyrille André
French sculptor, Cyrille André, (1972- ) designed work for the Biodiversarium of Banyuls-sur-Mer which is a centre of scientific culture, an eco-museum, an aquarium and an educational garden.
These sculptures seek to make visible part of the underwater mystery between land, sea and sky.
Banyuls sur Mer is also famous for its wine, ‘Banyuls’. Acres of vines are growing on the hillsides of the Pyrénées-Orientales producing sweet, fortified red, white and rosé wines. Visit a local cave or try a wine tasting tour.
After a lovely wander along the promenade and through the back streets admiring the beautiful buildings, we headed back to the car and onwards towards Collioure
Collioure
Collioure is a victim of its own success! A beautiful town, history, little beaches, Port, restaurants, walks, it has it all…. except parking! Even on a sunny Saturday February afternoon, we couldn’t get parked. After driving around for a while we finally got lucky spotting a place on the roadside.
Collioure is famous for its lack of parking! It’s crazy busy in summer and winter as locals and tourists alike want to enjoy the beautiful restaurants and wander along the bay towards the port, passing alongside the walls of the Fortress.
The Chateau Royale, dating from the 13th Century dominates the seafront from every direction. It’s possible to visit the Fortress, €7 entry fee.
Collioure is definitely the jewel in the crown of the area. Being a traditional village and port, it’s well worth a visit.
After parking the car we joined the hoards walking towards the port and restaurants lining a second bay. A couple of mad women were taking a swim in the sea!
Armed with our ice creams (€5.50 for two boules) we found a spare bit of wall and sitting in the sun, enjoyed half an hour of people watching.
As we only had an hour of parking, we hot footed it back to the car.
Collioure is definitely worth a visit, just be prepared to search for a parking spot.
Our drive back to the hotel took us through Argelès-sur-Mer and St Cyprien. We stayed in St Cyprien last year and loved the beach between there and Canet-en-Roussillon. We can’t imagine the crowds in peak season but off peak the beaches are pretty empty and glorious.
Catalan Dragons
A quick change of clothes and we were off to the game. The Hull FC shirt had been unpacked due to our dismal performance the night before!
We decided to drive to the ground instead of our usual park and bus ride in from the centre. Heading to Avenue de la Salanque, it was easy to park with plenty of spaces and just a few minutes walk from the entrance to the stadium. Arriving very early, we found a spot close to the hospital.
The atmosphere in the ground was fantastic. Beer is €7 a pint including a reusable cup so the next pint is a little cheaper. Bottles of Coke have the bottle tops removed…there’s an obvious solution to that…..
The stadium is great but the stand behind the goal posts is far too far from the action. If you’re travelling to watch your team, buy your ticket off the Catalans website and choose a spot in the stands alongside the pitch.
After an entertaining game won by the Dragons (yay), we made our way to Buffalo Grill, our go to chain Steakhouse! They do a great veggie burger for Alison! We find Buffalo Grill to be reasonably reliable, good value and open after 21h!
After a very busy day we returned to the hotel.
The next morning, we took breakfast at the hotel before setting off for home. There was a great selection, cereals, fruit, eggs, every kind of bread, pancakes, waffles, cheese, ham etc.
We’ll definitely stay at the hotel again, in fact we’ll be going back in 3 weeks to see the Dragons V Hull FC. Our support will be for our beloved Hull that week (unless they’re getting battered which is pretty likely, then it’ll be Allez les Dracs!) We may even be brave and don our Hull shirts….
Summary
Whatever your reason for being in the area, a beach holiday, wine tour, Rugby League, history or a road trip, take your time to discover this beautiful corner of coastal France.
Pyrénées Orientals, Department 66, Côte Vermeille, Languedoc-Roussillon, Occitanie. Visited 16th to 18th February.
Temperature was a pleasant 15-18 degrees with some strong winds.
