|
South East
Narbonne
Medieval Narbonne was a port to rival Marseille in Roman
days. It was the first town outside Italy to be colonized
by the Romans, but the Mediterranean, now 8km (5 miles)
away, left it high and dry. It's an intriguing place, steeped
in antiquity.
After Lyon, this was the largest town in Gaul. Even today
you can see evidence of the town's former wealth. Too far
from the sea to be a beach town, it attracts history buffs
to its memories of a glorious past. Some 50,000 Narbonnais
live in what is really a sleepy backwater. However, many
locals are trying to make a go with their vineyards.
|
The Cathedrale ST-Justd's
construction began in 1272, but it was never finished.
Only the transept and a choir were completed.
The choir is 39m (130 ft.) high, built in the bold
Gothic style of northern France.
At each end of the transept are 58m (194-ft.) towers
from 1480. There's an impressive collection of Flemish
tapestries.
The cathedral is connected to the archbishop's palace
by 14th- and 15th-century cloisters.onjon Gilles-Aycelin |
Cathedrale
St-Justd |
Palais
des Archeveques |
The palace was conceived as part fortress,
part pleasure residence. It has three military-style
towers from the 13th and 14th centuries. The Old Palace
on the right dates from the 12th century, and the
so-called "New Palace" on the left dates
from the 14th. It's said that the old, arthritic,
and sometimes very overweight archbishops used to
be hauled up the interior's monumental Louis XIII-style
stairs on mules.
Today the once-private apartments of the former bishops
contain three museums. The Musée Archéologique
contains prehistoric artifacts, Bronze Age tools,
14th-century frescoes, and Greco-Roman amphorae. Several
of the sarcophagi date from the 3rd century, and some
of the mosaics are of pagan origin. |
Perpignan
Here you might 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.
But when the Roussillon -- the French part of Catalonia
-- was finally partitioned off, Perpignan became permanently
French by the Treaty of the Pyrénées in 1659.
However, Catalan is still spoken here, especially among
the country people.
This is one of the sunniest places in France, but summer
afternoons in July and August can be a cauldron. That's
when many of the locals take the 10km (6-mile) ride to the
beach to cool off. There's a young, vibrant scene here,
especially along the quays of the Basse River, site of impromptu
nighttime concerts, beer drinking, and the devouring of
endless tapas, a tradition inherited from nearby Barcelona.
Castillet Musee des Arts et Traditions Populaires Catalans
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
the museum, also known as La Casa Païral, which contains
exhibitions of Catalan regional artifacts and folkloric
items, including typical dress. Part of the charm of the
Castillet derives from its bulky-looking tower, which you
can climb for a good view of the town.
|
The important historic site of Chateau
de Salses is in the hamlet of Salses, 25km (15 miles)
north of the city center.
Since the days of the Romans, this fort has guarded
the main road linking Spain and France. Ferdinand
of Aragón erected a fort here in 1497 to protect
the northern frontier of his kingdom.
Even today, Salses marks the language-barrier point
between Catalonia in Spain and Languedoc in France.
This Spanish-style fort, designed by Ferdinand himself,
is a curious example of an Iberian structure in France.
In the 17th century, it was modified by the French
military engineer Vauban to look more like a château.
After many changes of ownership, Salses fell to the
forces of Louis XIII in September 1642, and its Spanish
garrison left forever. Less than 2 decades later,
Roussillon was incorporated into France. |
Chateau
de Salses
|
Palais des Rois de Majorque
At the top of the town, the Spanish citadel encloses the
Palace of the Kings of Majorca. A structure from the 13th
and 14th centuries, built around a court encircled by arcades,
it has been restored by the government. You can see the
old throne room with its large fireplaces and a square tower
with a double gallery; from the tower there's a fine view
of the Pyrénées.
In predictably surreal fashion, Salvador Dali had this to
say of Perpignan's train station when he visited the town
in 1965: "It all became clear in a flash - there, right
in front of me, was the centre of the world."
|
|
