Perpignan at Christmas

In keeping with the last two years of visiting the local large towns at Christmastime with my brother, this year we headed to Perpignan, the largest town in the Pyrenees Orientales department. Perpignan is not far from the sea and is part of the plain of Roussillon, the Catalan part of the department. It's not far from the Spanish border with Catalonia.

Being larger than Narbonne and Beziers we found parking a bit of a pain - there are plenty of underground car parks, only they were not very well signposted. We started off walking along beside the Christmas market, which wasn't very interesting as it seemed to be 90% either food or jewellery.

Behind the market stalls was the little river Basse, which runs into the larger River Tet on the edge of the centre of town. There were still quite a few plants flowering in this mild southern town.

There is a covered food market which we had a quick look at, and a drool over the various olives....

... and all the dried and candied fruits!

A bit further along the river we came to Le Castillet, which had a big wheel next to it, which I had hoped to have a ride on, only we never found ourselves back here again later on.

Le Castillet is a 14th century red brick gateway tower and fortress. At one point it was a state prison, but nowadays it houses a museum.

I was impressed by these red marble pavements!

This beautiful C14th building is La Loge de Mer - the Sea Lodge. It was once Perpignan's stock exchange, then its maritime tribunal.

Opposite is this statue with a red marble surround. It was the planting which caught my eye!

One of the places we had hoped to visit, an ornate hotel, was unfortunately closed on Mondays, so we headed to the Indian restaurant which we had chosen as the only one in a central position. Sadly, it was crap. We were told that as it was 1.30pm (late in France for lunch!) we could only have the set meal. The chicken curry had the same sauce as the veggie curry and the lentil curry. None were nice. It's a shame as we've had some really good curries in France - when we can find an Indian restaurant!

After lunch we headed uphill to the Palais des Rois de Majorque - the Palace of the Kings of Majorca. Way back in time Perpignan was a part of Catalonia and in 1276 it became the capital of the Kingdom of Majorca. A fortified palace was built in the gothic style which was completed in 1309. Perpignan did not become a part of France until the Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed in 1659!

From here on are Keith's photos as my phone was running low on power.

Below, the Great Hall.

All but this room were empty, which was a shame. This was the Queen's chambers, but the room was closed. K got this photo through a glass window. There was an interesting narrow passageway which linked the King's chamber with the Queen's so they could avoid the main passageway and prying eyes!

Here and there were some original wall paintings.

One of the two chapels.

Back in the town, a bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) flowering - in December!

I'm suffering again with my hips and after walking to and from the palace and walking up and down steps, my hips and knees were killing me so I couldn't manage to visit anything else, so we headed home. It is a real nuisance - my tendonitis had got a lot better before our trip to Italy which was good as I suffered terribly during our Spanish holiday. However using an alpine stick does help a lot with steps and rough ground, only I didn't think I would need it in Perpignan - now I know better.

As we only really had a whistle-stop tour of the town it is hard to say what I thought of it (especially given our awful lunch!). So far I much prefer Narbonne out of the three towns. Next Christmas I hope we get a chance to visit Toulouse, which is a much bigger city than the previous towns we have visited; in fact it is the fourth biggest city in France. So far we have been to its airport multiple times and to Ikea on the outskirts so after six years it is time we headed to 'centre ville'!