Our French adventure began by flying direct to Perpingon from Dublin airport with Aerlingus. AerLingus offer 4 weekly flights form Dublin to Perpignan from April to September. After a short two and a half hour flight, we arrived in Perpingon – a city steeped in history so we met up with a local lady Cicile who showed us around the historic city.
One of our favourite things was the Palace of the Kings of Majorca – A palace and fortress with gardens overlooking the full city of Perpignan. With an admission fee of just €4, it is well worth the visit.
We then drove to the picturque fishing village of Collioure. Although we drove, you can also get a train which costs just €6 and takes only 20 minutes. What can I say… Collioure is a Mediterranean jewel just waiting to be discovered. Situated on the rocky coastline of the Cote Vermeille in the very south of france. We strolled through the quaint streets of this picture perfect fishing village before heading for some tapas. We got our first tast of the traditional dish of anchoivies – a must during your visit!
Collioure is located in an ideal location between mountains and sea and there are a range of water activities to enjoy – diving, snorkelling, kayaking etc. As many of you know, I am a real water baby so when the opportunity came to go kayaking with Kayak Mer along the Cote Vermielle… I, of course, said YES!! An hour a a half on the water costs just €20pp or a half day on the sea with underwater exploration costs just €30pp
We ended the day with the sunset over the village.
The following morning I got up early to make the most of the day and started with a refreshing swim before heading up to on the little train of Collioure – taking us on the adventure through vineyards, along picturesque roads and to admire the wonderful views. It’s a 45 minute excursion and costs just €8 for adults and 5 for children. Departing every hour from 10am -7pm.
Our last adventure of the day was to explore Fort St. Elme. I would highly recommend going up to the top. On one side you have fantastic views of colliour and the other side you have breathtaking views of the vineyard. The last activity was wine tasting so I am about to go meet two local wine makers and learn a little about their wines and afterwards have some tapas before heading back to the airport.
Collioure is the perfect place for a long weekend away. With a short flight and quick transfers, you will be in the sunshine in no time at all.
