Travel Guide Perpignan

Benvinguts en Perpinya la catalana, welcome to Perpignan la catalane, you can read on the signs at the entrances to the city. The city announces its colors, and what colors they are! the blood and gold of its flag, with the legend of Guiffré le Pelut, Count of Barcelona, who dipped his fingers in his own blood to affix them to his golden shield; the blue of its sky; the ochres and reds of its facades; the greens, yellows and oranges of the market stalls; and then the colors of the faces of its inhabitants, proof, if any were needed, that Perpignan is a city of mixed races, where peoples have crossed paths or settled. Perpignan is a city that moves to keep its shops in the pedestrianized medieval heart of town, a city open to the world with its history torn between France and Spain, where identity is a religion. The people of Perpignan are proud to be Catalan and to belong to a people that has always welcomed the stateless, the landless and the persecuted. Both rooted in the past and looking to the future, over the years Perpignan has become an increasingly popular destination for tourists who originally came to recharge their batteries in the Catalan mountains or relax on the coast. The town center has more than one charm up its sleeve: listed monuments, museums, shops, bars and restaurants are sure to enchant you. And don't forget, as Salvador Dali rightly reminded us, that you're "at the center of the world"!