sábado, 16 de mayo de 2009

FRANCE: COLLIOURE, ELNE AND PERPIGNAN


In the spring of 2009 we spent a nice week at Carcassonne and the Pays Cathare. We also wanted to visit Collioure, a charming seaside village near the border with Catalonia. But the day we were going to go to Collioure was a very rainy day and we had to give up. So a few weeks later we went back to France to visit Collioure, Elne and Perpignan.


Therefore I will show you in this post some pictures of the following villages and towns:





Collioure




Royal Castle in Collioure
From the year 981, the Counts of Roussillon and the Kings of Majorca began to fortify Collioure, which became the summer residence of the Kings of Majorca between 1276 and 1344. The Royal Castle you can see in this picture was one of the main elements of this fortification


Collioure church of Our Lady of Angels
Collioure church of Our Lady of Angels has the foundations in constant contact with the Mediterranean Sea. The bell tower, built during the Middle Ages, was also the lighthouse of the harbour


Beach of Collioure
The Royal Castle of Collioure is the masterpiece of the defense device. Chiefly conditioned by the Counts of Roussillon and the kings of Aragon between 1276 and 1344, it was the headquarters of the court of the Kings of Majorca


Church and the Royal Castle of Collioure
The bell tower of the church and the Royal Castle of Collioure from one of the piers of the village


Old town of CollioureAnother street of Collioure where you can see the colorful façades and how narrow these streets are


Royal Castle and church of Collioure
From the entrance to the Royal Castle you can enjoy a nice view of the church and one of the beaches of Collioure. The stone walls give a very attractive medieval look to this village



Royal Castle and malecon of Collioure
The view of the Royal Castle from this promenade, with the malecon of Collioure and the bell tower of the church in the background, was one of the best views in this charming small village


Antonio Machado's grave in Collioure
Letters and dedications come mostly from their country of origin accompany the eternal journey of Antonio Machado from Collioure to heaven



Overview of Collioure
Collioure is a small seaside village fully facing the Mediterranean Sea, protected on either side by two hills. It became a strategic point along the Catalan coast and therefore it has an extensive network of fortifcacions, as you can see in the upper right of the image


Elne




Cathedral of Elne
Cathedral of Elne


Cathedral of Elne
Bell tower of the cathedral of Elne, built in romanesque style


Elne in France
View of Elne from its old town



Old town of Elne
Street in the old town of Elne



Old town of Elne
Nice place of the old town of Elne


Perpinyà (Perpignan)




La Bassa in Perpignan
La Bassa in Perpinyà (Perpignan)




La Bassa in Perpignan
La Bassa in Perpinyà (Perpignan), this time walking to the old town



Le Quai Vauban in Perpignan
Le Quai Vauban in Perpignan



Le Castellet in Perpignan
Le Castellet in Perpignan



Castle of the Kings of Majorca in Perpignan
Castle of the Kings of Majorca in Perpignan


City Hall of Perpignan
City Hall of Perpignan


City Hall of Perpignan
Sculpture in the hall of the city hall of Perpignan




Some months later, also in 2009, I spent some days in Paris. You can see some pictures of these days in Paris clicking on the links below:



- Paris



2 comentarios:

Anónimo dijo...

It's a pity you don't have a donate button! I'd
certainly donate to this fantastic blog! I suppose for now i'll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
I look forward to fresh updates and will share this blog with my Facebook group.
Talk soon!

my web blog :: Vydox does it work

Frank dijo...

Thank yo very much for your comment. I am very sorry for answering so late. As you can see I keep updating the blog. I hope you still find interesting this blog.