Car Hire Perpignan - Mini guide to Perpignan
At Perpignan you may think you've crossed the border into Spain, for it was once Catalonia's second city after Barcelona. Even earlier it was the capital of the kingdom of Majorca. Its heyday was in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, when the kings of Majorca held their court here, and it is from this period that most of its historical interest derives.
Today Perpignan permeates with Catalan influences, and there are brilliant ‘blood and gold’ flags hanging everywhere. Perpignan is one of the sunniest places in France where you can take a 6-mile ride to the beach to cool off or chill out at Basse River, a site of impromptu night time concerts, beer drinking, and the devouring of endless tapas, a tradition inherited from nearby Barcelona.
The Castillet is one of the chief sights of Perpignan. The machicolated and crenellated redbrick building from the 14th century is a combination gateway and fortress. It houses a museum containing exhibitions of Catalon regional artifacts and folkloric items, including typical dress.
An uphill walk across the vieille ville brings you to the sloping red-rock walls of Perpignan's 15th-century Spanish citadel. Concealed inside is the simple, square 13th-century Palais des Rois de Majorque, where the Majorcan kings used to breed lions. Its towers give an amazing view of the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenées
Canet-plage, a seaside town offering the best beaches near Perpignan, is well worth a drive to test the clear waters of the Mediterranean. Another place worth visiting is the vine-girt village of Tautavel, 25km northwest off the St-Paul-de-Fenouillet road. In 1971 the remains of the oldest known European human being – dated to around 450,000 BC – were discovered near the village, they are now on display the village's Musée de la Préhistoire.
Aéroport de Perpignan-Rivesaltes is 10km northwest of the town center, just outside of town with international flights to several European destinations. Nearby is Marseille, with its busier airport.
