Travel Guide Ceret

With its 7,600 inhabitants, the small capital of Vallespir is the main centre of Catalan tradition and folklore. Here more than anywhere else, the blood and gold flags fly in the windows, here more than anywhere else the espadrille is worn with pride. The sardana is also the main manifestation of this lively and colourful tradition. The party is here all year round, with its night bars that close later than elsewhere and this already Spanish atmosphere. We love Céret for its famous Saturday morning market, lively in summer and winter. The location of the town, 30 km south of Perpignan, where the valley of the Tech widens to form a vast plain, well sheltered from the tramontane by the foothills of the Aspres, has favoured the establishment of orchards, which make the region an important centre of fruit and vegetables. The city deserves its name of capital of the cherry! Céret is also and above all one of the art capitals of the 20th century. All the great names in sculpture, painting and graphic art have stayed there at one time or another: Picasso, Matisse, Soutine, Manolo, Dufy, Cocteau or in the musical field Saint-Saëns to name but a few. One cannot leave Céret without visiting the Fontfrède pass. Accessible by car by a small road on the hillside, this place culminating at more than 1000 m of altitude is simply magical. The peak of the same name (just above) offers one of the most beautiful 360° panoramas of the two Catalan regions!