Perpignan: more Catalan than French

Former capital of the Kingdom of Majorca in the Middle Ages, Perpignan remains culturally closer to Spanish Catalonia than to the rest of France.

The centre, of Catalan language and culture more than French, is easily explored on foot.

The Palace of the Kings of Majorca, a twelfth-century fortress-residence, recalls the brief period when Perpignan was the capital of an independent kingdom extending to the Balearics.

A short walk away, the Castillet, a tower in red brick and symbol of the city, houses a small museum of Catalan art and traditions, visible from much of the historic center.

Continuing, you walk along the La Basse River, once an open-air canal, today transformed into a public garden in the heart of the city, shaded by plane trees.

As evening falls, the covered markets in the center sell typical Catalan products, from cheeses to fruit preserves, appreciated also by Spanish residents of the border.

The Catalan language is still spoken by part of Perpignan's population and appears on many street signs alongside French, a cultural heritage never entirely absorbed by the central state.

Salvador Dalí defined Perpignan's train station as 'the center of the world,' an eccentric claim that the city has adopted as its own tourism slogan.