Perpignan travel guide
Catalan squares, a Majorcan palace and Visa pour l'Image
Perpignan is the Catalan capital of Roussillon, a short ride from Mediterranean beaches and 80 minutes by train from Barcelona. Visit April to June or September to October to avoid the summer heat and traffic; two or three days lets you add Collioure or the coast. Prices are above average, and Schengen rules apply.
Perpignan is the last big French city before Spain, on the Roussillon plain between the Pyrenees and a Mediterranean shore 10 to 15 km away. It feels as Catalan as it does French, and street signs come in both languages. The kings of Majorca made it their mainland capital in the 13th and 14th centuries; their palace still stands on its hill south of the old town.
The old centre runs south from the Castillet, the red-brick gate tower that once guarded the walls, into the Saint-Jean quarter. Place de la Loge is the main square, with the Gothic Loge de Mer and a Maillol bronze in the middle. From outside, the cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, begun in 1324 under King Sancho of Majorca, looks like a plain brick barn; inside it is dim and gilded. Avoid the Saint-Jacques district after dark.
Late summer belongs to Visa pour l'Image, the photojournalism festival that fills old churches and convents with exhibitions in September. Food is Catalan too: anchovies from Collioure, botifarra sausages and all i oli, the garlic sauce. Canet's beaches are a short bus ride away. In July and August, leave the car behind: central car parks fill early and the streets jam.
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A Catalan old town, a royal palace of the kings of Majorca and beaches within reach.
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Best time to visit Perpignan
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Warm and bright for the old town and the coast, with Visa pour l'Image in September.
Hot and crowded, with jammed streets and full car parks; spend the days at the beach and the evenings in town.
Visa pour l'Image runs from late August into September with free exhibitions across the old town; the opening professional week is the busiest.
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Getting there
Bus 6 from Rivesaltes and TGVs under the Pyrenees
Perpignan-Rivesaltes Airport, just north of the city, is small: Transavia flies from Paris Orly, and Ryanair adds Charleroi and Marrakesh plus summer routes from the UK. Sankéo bus 6 links the terminal with the town centre; check its timetable before you land, since some early, late and Sunday trips must be booked as on-demand rides, and taxis wait outside. Girona, Carcassonne, Béziers, Toulouse and Barcelona airports are alternatives. The station on Place Salvador Dalí is on the high-speed line through the Pyrenees: TGVs reach Paris in about five hours, run to Lyon and Marseille via Narbonne, and head south to Girona, Barcelona Sants (about 80 minutes) and Madrid. Regional trains follow the coast to Cerbère and Portbou, the old route into Spain. FlixBus runs daily from Paris (about 12 hours 30 minutes) and on to Barcelona.
- Perpignan-Rivesaltes (PGF)
- Sankéo bus 6 to the centre, or a taxi from the rank
- TGV south
- Girona, Barcelona Sants in about 80 minutes, and Madrid
- TGV north
- Paris in about 5 hours; Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse and Montpellier via Narbonne
- Regional trains
- Every hour or two along the coast to Cerbère and Portbou
- Coast trains to Collioure leave from the same station as the TGVs, so you can go straight from a high-speed arrival onto the coast line.
- BlaBlaCar Bus is often the easiest coach option to Girona, Barcelona and towns across southern France.
Where to stay
Saint-Jean lanes, the Basse quays or Canet-Plage
Base yourself in or near the old centre for sightseeing; the beach resorts suit a summer stay but empty out in winter.
- Saint-Jean and the Castillet
- Brick lanes around Place de la Loge and the cathedral; lively, some streets noisy at night
- Along the Basse
- Quays and gardens by the river near Place Arago and the Castillet; cafes and easy car parking
- Station quarter
- Practical for early trains to Spain and the coast, but dull after dark
- Canet-Plage
- Beach resort about 10 km east, on the bus to town; busy in summer, very quiet out of season
Getting around
Sankeo routes to the Canet shore and the electric boat on the Basse
The old centre is compact and largely pedestrianised, so walking is the way to see it; the main sights are within about 15 minutes of each other. Sankeo buses reach nearby towns and the Canet beaches. Regional buses go to Argelès-sur-Mer, Thuir and Ille-sur-Têt. From spring to autumn a tourist train and an electric boat on the Basse add easy loops. Avoid driving in summer: streets jam and central car parks fill early.
- On foot
- Castillet to the Palace of the Kings of Majorca in about 15 minutes
- Sankeo buses
- City routes plus nearby towns and the Canet beaches
- Regional buses
- Argelès-sur-Mer, Thuir, Ille-sur-Têt, Le Boulou, Quillan
- Basse boat and tourist train
- Warmer months only, around the old centre
- Use the open-air car park on Square François Arago or the underground one at Place de la République, both a short walk from the Castillet.
Know before you go
What makes Perpignan worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Place de la Loge in the evening, with tables around Maillol's Venus and the Gothic Loge de Mer.
- The Palais des Rois de Majorque, a hilltop castle looking across the city to the Pyrenees.
- The station Dalí called the centre of the world, now decorated with paintings in his style.
Good to know
- Leave the car outside the centre in summer; streets jam and central car parks fill fast.
- Take care in Saint-Jacques: go with company, and keep valuables out of parked cars anywhere in town.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Perpignan, month by month
Perpignan has a hot, dry Mediterranean climate with strong tramontane winds; July and August are the hottest months and October the wettest. Select a month to compare Météo-France heat and rainfall figures.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Perpignan (Météo France, via Wikipedia).
The Castillet, the Palace of the Kings of Majorca and Collioure
Two days work well in Perpignan. On the first, see the Castillet and its Catalan museum, the Loge de Mer, the cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste and the Palace of the Kings of Majorca. On the second, take the regional train to Collioure on the coast, or a bus to Les Orgues at Ille-sur-Têt and the Byrrh cellars at Thuir.
The red-brick Castillet gate tower houses the Casa Pairal museum of Catalan life, and its roof looks out to Canigó. Walk south into Saint-Jean to Place de la Loge, where Maillol's bronze Venus stands in front of the Gothic Loge de Mer, then on to the cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Inside, gilded Catalan altarpieces glint in the dark. Next door, the Campo Santo is a rare walled medieval cloister-cemetery.
After lunch, climb to the Palace of the Kings of Majorca on its hill at the southern edge of the old town. It has a two-storey royal chapel and a courtyard with views to the Pyrenees.
Collioure's church bell tower was once a lighthouse; arrive before midday in summer, when the lanes fill. Les Orgues at Ille-sur-Têt is a canyon of pale earth pillars carved by wind and rain.
Collioure anchovies, cargolade and rousquilles in Perpignan
Perpignan cooks Catalan food, mixing sea and mountain on one plate. Start with Collioure anchovies, grilled botifarra sausage with white beans and all i oli. The spring feast is the cargolada, snails grilled over vine cuttings. For sweets, buy rousquilles, and drink Banyuls or Rivesaltes. Most restaurants are in Saint-Jean around Place de la Loge.
Anxoves de Collioure are anchovies salted and matured in the coastal town, served with roasted peppers or on toast with olive oil. Botifarra, the coarse Catalan pork sausage, is grilled and served with white beans; fuet is the thin dry version for picnics. Everything comes with all i oli, garlic pounded with olive oil until it thickens.
The suquet is a fish stew with saffron and tomato, and bullinada a fisherman's pot of fish and potato from the coast. At a spring cargolada, often a village gathering, the snails are followed by grilled sausage and lamb.
Crema catalana has a burnt sugar top; rousquilles are soft ring biscuits flavoured with lemon or aniseed and glazed with white icing. Banyuls comes from the terraces above the sea and Rivesaltes from the plain; Byrrh is the bitter aperitif from Thuir. Summer brings peaches, apricots and cherries from the plain.
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How we research our Perpignan travel guide
Airport bus, TGV and regional train details are compared with Sankéo and SNCF before each review. Perpignan city facts come from mairie-perpignan.fr and France.fr, entry rules from the EU's Entry/Exit and ETIAS portal.
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Checked against trusted sources:
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Perpignan.
Getting there
Yes, line 6 links the terminal with the town centre. Check its timetable on the airport website before you fly, since some early, late and Sunday trips must be booked as on-demand rides; otherwise take a taxi from the rank outside.
The Côte d'Améthyste beaches, such as Canet, are 10 to 15 km east and reached by local bus. Further south, the Côte Vermeille around Collioure has rockier coves.
Yes. Regional trains run along the coast every hour or two, and Collioure station is a short walk from the harbour.
General
Yes, in about 80 minutes, and some services continue to Madrid. Girona is on the same line.
The TGV takes about five hours; FlixBus is far slower at about 12 hours 30 minutes but runs direct and continues to Barcelona.
A Catalan feast of snails grilled over vine cuttings and eaten with all i oli, usually followed by grilled sausage and lamb.
It has a reputation for petty crime, so go with company. Anywhere in town, avoid wearing jewellery and leave nothing in parked cars.
July and August, with highs of about 30°C and barely 15 to 25 mm of rain. October is the wettest month.
Both. It is in France but was long part of Catalonia, so you will see Catalan street signs, flags and food alongside French ones.
The old centre is compact and largely pedestrianised, so walking is the way to see it; the main sights are within about 15 minutes of each other. Sankeo buses reach nearby towns and the Canet beaches. Regional buses go to Argelès-sur-Mer, Thuir and Ille-sur-Têt.
Perpignan is best known for:
- Place de la Loge in the evening, with tables around Maillol's Venus and the Gothic Loge de Mer
- The Palais des Rois de Majorque, a hilltop castle looking across the city to the Pyrenees
- The station Dalí called the centre of the world, now decorated with paintings in his style
Visa & documents
An international photojournalism festival held each year from late August into September, with free exhibitions in churches and convents across the old town.
Timing & weather
The best time to visit Perpignan is Apr to Jun, Sep to Oct. Warm and sunny without the midsummer heat and traffic; September brings Visa pour l'Image.
- Best overall: April - June, September - October (Warm and bright for the old town and the coast, with Visa pour l'Image in September)
- Summer: July - August (Hot and crowded, with jammed streets and full car parks; spend the days at the beach and the evenings in town)
July is the warmest month in Perpignan, with average highs of 30°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 5°C. October is the wettest month, at about 82 mm of rain; July is the driest. Perpignan has a hot, dry Mediterranean climate with strong tramontane winds; July and August are the hottest months and October the wettest.
Health & safety
Crime against visitors to France is mostly petty. Pickpocketing is common in Paris on the Metro, especially line 1, and around the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre and Gare du Nord. Rail and air strikes and street demonstrations can disrupt transport, so check before travel days and keep away from protests.
