How one family enjoyed their spring holiday
Thursday : Beach at Argelès-Plage. Nice beach but not really the sort of sand for making sand-castles. It was very windy which made it a bit cold and also rather difficult to fly the kite. On a less windy day this would have been a great place. Repaired to the house for lunch then set off for Les Gorges De La Fou at Arles-Sur-Tech. This is a 3000m (2 x 1500m) walk up and back down a narrow gorge mostly on a metal suspended walkway including some steps. Excellent for a warm day! The walk climbs steadily and there are some very narrow and especially dark sections; there are some areas where you get dripped on from above but you don't stay wet for long! Ewan (almost four) had no difficulty and it was perfectly safe. Hard hats were provided (for hard heads).
Friday : Drove to Villefranche to get the little yellow train. Arrived some time before the next departure - good sandwiches and chips from the cafe next door to the station. Splendid views all the way up and back on the train. We got off at Mont Louis and walked up to the town - but it was a bit of a scramble to get back in time to catch the next (optimal) train back which is perhaps worth noting. Because of this we didn't get a chance to have a good look at the town
Saturday : Went to the Sigean African Reserve, just off the Autoroute between Perpignan and Narbonne. Very good, although quite pricey: €24 per adult to get in. Part is like a safari park - you get to drive through areas with lions, bears, rhino, ostriches, emus, giraffes, water buffalo, various elk-type things. There is also a more zoo-like area (quite big) with elephants, chimpanzees (playing hard to get), various reptiles, more giraffes, zebras, etc. Decent self-service restaurant for lunch. This place is excellent and you could easily spend all day there.
Sunday : Had a brief look at Perpignan - tourist information centre excellent. Went swimming at Perpignan pool, the pool was amazing. The main pool provided excellent swimming/diving opportunities, the children’s pool was warm and perfect for little ones. The slide was excellent, long and fast, although you must be over 6 to go on this - note they don't allow men to wear swimming shorts, must be trunks. Under 18s can't go in the jacuzzi.
Drove to Thuir and went in the shop at Caves Byrrh - had to ask how to get in to this as they seem to expect you'll go on the tour which (inevitably) ends at the shop. Ended up being personally escorted there! Tour is probably excellent; shop has plenty of stuff and is probably suitable for alcoholics in desperation when all other outlets are shut (as they were).
Drove to the Monastir del Camp which does 45-minute guided tours which end with some wine tasting and the opportunity to buy. Worth it at the very least for the free samples - a 20+ year old port and a muscat.
Monday : Drove to the monastery at Serrabonne. Once you leave the dual carriageway it's a 25 minute drive up the mountain on narrow roads with drops on one side and lots of hairpin bends - not for the faint-hearted or the car-sick. Very pleasant when we got there, but the monastery was shut - one of the four days (1/1, 1/5, 1/11 and 25/12) of the year that it is. Nice gardens and views though. 10 minutes down the hill (by car) there is a small shop/cafe selling sandwiches. Generally disappointing (not least because they charged us twice).
Drove to Les Orgues D'Ille Sur Tet - sandstone pillars and other formations. It's an easy 60 minute walk and well worth it - again good views and lots that is interesting to see.
Tuesday : Day trip to Barcelona. The drive is easy on the Autoroute. Rather than driving into Barcelona itself we headed for Montgat (slightly north of the city on the coast) to park and catch a train. Since it's obviously a commuter area parking was initially difficult but once we found out how to get beach-side of the railway there were plenty of spaces and it was only 5 minutes walk back to the station. Trains were frequent, clean, cheap (get a T-10 ticket - can be shared between people and allows 10 journeys for €7.20) and had piped Mozart playing.
Walked around various sites including the cathedral, Las Ramblas (plenty of entertainment for Ewan in the form of pet shops and street entertainers) and the Temple de la Sagrada Familia. This has to be the most impressive building site you can visit! The (extra €2) trip up the towers is good but not for the vertiginous; it is also unsafe for children (in my opinion).
Wednesday : Drove in to Perpignan, needing to top-up the diesel in the car before taking it back. The obvious Esso garage is self-service and pay-at-the-pump - unfortunately it only seems to take cards and only French ones at that! The Total garage on the other side of the road (back south a bit) is more accommodating.
Walked up to the Citadel. This is worth the walk and climb and you can see most of the outside of the buildings (plus the views) without paying.
footnote: prices may have changed since this family's visit.