My overriding memory of my first visit to Collioure is eating a pain au chocolat the size of a dinner plate. I wasn’t a toddler, but 20 years old, and to this day I’ve never seen a viennoiserie to match it. I was working as an au pair for a French family whose summer home was at Sainte-Marie-la-Mer, 30km up the coast.
The family rarely surfaced before 9am, except on market day in Collioure. On many occasions, on a Wednesday or Sunday morning, we’d be up when the sand was still undisturbed and sleep hung over the town. We’d chug along to Collioure by sea, often spotting dolphins from the motorboat along the way.
This year, Collioure, Occitanie, has been voted the village préféré des Français (the French public’s favourite village). The competition, now in its 13th year, sees one town or village from each region put to a public vote. It’s a kind of TV talent show, except, instead of staring at Simon Cowell’s blinding teeth, viewers admire quaint cobblestones and flower-filled window boxes.
“The news has been very well received in Collioure,” said Dominique Fabre, a spokesperson for the tourist office.
“The results were broadcast on a giant screen in town, and the jubilation and pride were palpable. We’re used to welcoming large numbers of tourists, and car parks outside of town, with bus links, help us to manage this well.”
I’ve visited Collioure many times since that summer and, while I never tracked down the gargantuan pain au chocolat again, it’s the sheer colour of the place that always bewitches me. So many artists have set up studios that every narrow street feels like a gallery.
There are hundreds of different kaleidoscopic interpretations of the town, the harbour and the Mediterranean Sea. The ivy-covered buildings and fronds of bougainvillaea spilling from balconies feel like another part of the carefully curated exhibition, as do the Catalan fishing boats at berth.
Its two beaches include a crescent of custard-coloured, slightly shingly sand between the harbour and bell tower, and Plage de Port d’Avall, the other side of the Château Royal, which is framed by houses as colourful as an artist’s palette. The Château Royal looks like a sandcastle between them, angular and built in blocks, as though it’s made from Lego.
The winner of the 2023 edition, Esquelbecq in Hauts-de-France, saw its visitor numbers increase sevenfold over the past year. With 3.5 million tourists already descending upon Collioure annually – a huge number for any village, but even more so when you consider that the permanent population of Collioure is fewer than 3,000 – does being elected France’s favourite village threaten to do more harm than good?
If visitor numbers increase in the way they did for Esquelbecq, quite possibly, but Collioure is already equipped to deal with tourists.
When the town’s main industry, anchovy fishing, fell into decline in the 1960s and 70s, Collioure’s good looks stopped it from becoming a ghost town.
It had already attracted some of the most notable artists of the early 20th century, including Matisse, Picasso and Chagall, and their vibrant interpretations of Collioure encouraged visitors to flock here. Former anchovy salting factories became accommodation, such as Casa Païral (doubles from €239), which looks more like a riad than an old factory.
Although there are no anchovies left in the waters around Collioure, two businesses still salt fish here. Maison Desclaux and Anchois Roque source their anchovies from south-west France, Spain and even Argentina, and prepare them in the traditional way, a process that takes at least six months.
France’s favourite village was judged on craft (visible everywhere in Collioure, with the galleries, anchovy salting and the restored Catalan fishing boats), but also on history and cuisine. The castle that frames the harbour dates from the 13th century, when Collioure was still part of the Kingdom of Mallorca. This region, still staunchly Catalan – as is evident by the road signs, car bumper stickers and omnipresence of images of a donkey, the emblem of Catalonia – only became part of France in the mid-17th century under the Treaty of the Pyrenees.
That heritage has shaped its cuisine. With paella from Le Jardin de Collioure, sushi given a Catalan twist at La Bodeguita, and tapas from the tiled ceilinged restaurant at Hôtel la Frégate, I’ve never gone hungry here. Bars for enjoying a chilled rosé from Languedoc-Roussillon are six to the dozen, but my favourite is Derrière le Clocher (behind the belltower). It is a laid-back beach bar, and you can easily get there on foot by following the sea wall. However, since the harbour is largely protected from the elements, consider going by paddleboard instead (they are available to hire from the Club Nautique).
There are two guaranteed ways to beat the crowds. The first is to go hiking, no matter the season. The foothills of the Pyrenees that frame the town are littered with goat track trails and, after a 30-minute plod uphill, you’ve escaped almost everyone. A short (10 minutes from Plage de Port d’Avall), yet extremely scenic, goes through the olive groves to reach the hilltop Moulin à Huile (olive oil mill).
The second is to visit out of season. I like early May, when the wisteria blooms. Sometimes Collioure is battered by La Tramontane, a fierce, cold wind that blows on Languedoc. But, on those days, shelter can be found at the Musée d’Art Moderne (modern art museum; standard adult entry €3). It has works from the artists that holidayed or lived here (open May–Oct). Or you can enjoy a glass of wine with a sea view as you wait out the storm.
Getting there
The closest airport to Collioure is Perpignan (direct flights are available from Stansted and Birmingham). From here, Collioure is 20 minutes by rail. High-speed (TGV) trains from Paris to Perpignan take just over five hours. Leave the car at home if visiting in peak season, parking is infernal.Staying there
Hôtel la Frégate has doubles from €119 a night, fregate-collioure.com/la-fregate-chambres/
Casa Païral has doubles from €239 a night, hotel-casa-pairal.com/fr