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Collioure is a beautiful small town at the french Riviera, Occitan region, and it used to be divided into two villages separated by the river Douy, the old town to the south named Port d’Avall and the upstream port, Port d’Amunt. How did we found this picturesque location? Well… some time ago me and my husband went for a dinner to our favourite french restaurant in Poland. We had absolutely outstanding wine there and spontaneously decided to go to the place of the production. And voila! No travel motivation is a bad motivation if you discover such nice locations full of charming corners and delicious wines, right?

How to get there?

The nearest airports are Girona – only 1 h by car, and Barcelona – 2 h by car. From both cities there is a super easy way to get to Collioure and the town is offering several park places where your can park your car for free. If you don’t want to travel by car you can also get there by train from Girona main station. The average train journey time between Girona and Collioure is 2 hours and there are few trains per day to choose from. Train schedule info you can find here.

Where to stay?

We stayed in a small B&B La Bona Casa hotel run by a family and located right in the center. Rooms are simply decorated, nice and cozy. Collioure is a really small town and staying in the center, as we did, allows you to enjoy nice walks through the charming streets and beautiful marina of Collioure, without the need of using the car during your stay. There is also a bakery just next door to the hotel where you can get delicious pastries and croissants. Obligatory food when in France!

Where to have the wine testing?

As Collioure is located in the Rousillion wine region you can discover much more about the local wines joining one of the many wine testings this region is offering. Collioure is the name of an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) situated around the town and producing red, rose and a few white wines. Local vineyards located in the hills behind the town provide also grapes for the apéritif and dessert wines of the Banyuls appellation, which shares its boundaries with Collioure.

The Cellier Dominicain – wine testing place located in the center of Collioure. The building is absolutely beautiful as the cellar is actually the former church of the Dominican monastery, really monumental masterpiece of the thirteenth century. They offer great choice of wines (white, rose and red), good prices and free wine tasting. If you plan some wine shopping – card payments are accepted.

Domaine Tambour – found this place on the way from Collioure to Banyuls. To make your wine discovering easier, the selling and tasting location is right at the road, so you will not miss it for sure. Good choice of Collioure wines (only dry) and Banyules wines (only sweet). We tested all the dries and took some bottles home. Wine tasting is free but if you plan to buy something, only cash payment is accepted.

Domaine Pic Joan – last one from the three wine testing we attended. Located at the entrance of Banyules town, when travelling from Collioure direction. Free wine testing offering white, rose and red wine. Best red we had during that trip so of course we took it home! They accept card payments.

Where to eat?

Casa Leon – famous from fresh fish, also attended by locals what is always the best recommendation. A bit hidden in the street at the end of the marina so don’t miss it!

Restaurant San Vicens – really good grilled calamari. May look touristic as it’s located in the main boulevard but worth going, also because of good wine list.

La Plage Aux Mouettes – located right in the Collioure harbour with beautiful harbour view. We had absolutely outstanding tuna steak there – deliciousness! A bit higher prices than in the rest of the restaurants we have visited in Collioure but food and service will not disappoint you.

What else can you do?

Caves Byrrh – unique place producing byrrhan, which is an aromatised wine-based apéritif made of red wine, mistelle, and quinine. You can find there also the world largest oak barrel with capacity of 1.000.200 liters of wine. Isn’t it impressive??

Cycling trips – this part of french Riviera is famous because of really good cycling conditions, also for professional cyclists.

Boat trips – there are nice marinas in both, Collioure and Banyuls, offering boat trips.

Aquarium Arago – the oldest Mediterranean aquarium, created in 1885 by the University of Paris, for all sea-life lovers.

Bon voyage!

With love,

Betty