A walk along the utterly gorgeous Côte Vermeille leaves an impression. The waymarked paths took me from the charming former fishing village of Collioure, through the more workaday Port-Vendres to Banyuls-sur-Mer, the attractive and lively birthplace of great French sculptor Aristide Maillol. Along the way you pass through vineyards clinging to steep hillsides, cross beaches where you can cool off in the sea, and drop into small bays and coves.
The walk on rough tracks over cliffs, hopping from cove to cove, with the Mediterranean on one side and the foothills of the Pyrenees on the other, is one of the finest day hikes imaginable. The only downside is that the landscapes are so captivating, not paying attention to your footing risks going over the edge of the many cliffs into the sea below. Every twist and turn on the route seems to open up another extraordinary vista.
It was August and hot, so I set off early from Collioure. Passing beneath the immense walls of the Château Royal de Collioure and skirting around the harbour, I was soon on the road to Port-Vendres. The views over Collioure and the coast beyond were fabulous. Port-Vendres is a more industrial port town, with sizeable fishing boats and cargo ships, but the harbour backed by colourful houses is pretty.
Port-Vendres has been a port since at least Roman times, so it has some history. It was a favourite spot of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Scottish architect and artist who lived here between 1923 and 1927. I didn’t linger, heading instead for Cap Béar Lighthouse, the southernmost point of mainland France. The headland offers splendid views over of the jagged coastline towards Banyuls-sur-Mer.
Beyond Cap Béar the route gets wilder and even more beautiful. A steep descent passed through a small group of villas, and into a cove with a couple of sail boats that had anchored for the night. I passed through lovely and rugged little coves before arriving at the former dynamite factory in the Cove of Paulilles, which has a large beach and a car park. The sudden crowd of people was a shock.
Now a protected park, this was once the home of the French Nobel Dynamite Factory (as in Nobel Peace Prize), founded in 1870. The site has witnessed several major accidents, on one occasion in 1882 twenty factory workers died in a massive explosion. Today, it’s a peaceful and protected area that also houses a repair shop for traditional Catalan fishing boats. They also have good bathroom facilities.
Paulilles was something of a watershed, after seeing few people on the way here, there were a lot more walkers afterwards. There were also plenty of military fortifications, many dating to the Second World War. It wasn’t long before I was approaching Banyuls-sur-Mer. I’d covered about 18km and it was getting hot, so the sight of the town’s main beach and, more importantly, beach bars was very welcome.
I walked along the pretty boardwalk and met up with the other member of the group who had sensibly taken the bus. Along the front are a series of sculptures by Aristide Maillol. A close associate of Picasso, Matisse and Dali, Maillol was born and died in Banyuls, and while it might not have the same charm as Collioure we really liked it. We found a nice restaurant on the front and ate lunch looking out to sea.
Banyuls-sur-Mer is renowned for its sweet aperitif wine, but we chose a flinty dry local white wine to accompany a delicious selection of seafood. Afterwards, we strolled around the attractive streets before cooling off with a swim in the sea. We hopped on the bus to return to Collioure. Not only was it air conditioned, it only cost €1. This is an effort by the regional government to get people out of their cars and it’s brilliant.
