Every design for Perpignan

Perpignan sits in the middle of the Roussillon plain, between the Têt and its tributary the Basse, with the Pyrenees rising to the south and the scrubland of the Corbières to the west. It is the southernmost city of metropolitan France and the last major one before the Spanish border, which is why it is often called the entrance to the Iberian Peninsula.

Its position has defined it. A short drive brings you to the Mediterranean at Canet-en-Roussillon, the border at Le Perthus is close by, and the Pic du Canigou stands to the south-west, visible from the city centre. The Tramontana keeps the sky clear for much of the year and makes winters colder than you might expect. History came from the south too: Perpignan was capital of the County of Roussillon and the mainland capital of the Kingdom of Majorca, and the Palais des Rois de Majorque still overlooks the old town.

Today the city is known for its International Festival of Photojournalism, the medieval Trobades and a garnet craft centuries old. Le Castillet and the Loge de Mer anchor a centre of coloured houses and narrow streets, where the bodegas spill out between the banks of the Têt.