Perpignan
France
The capital of French Catalonia, once the mainland seat of the kings of Majorca, forty kilometres from Spain and closer in spirit to Barcelona than to Paris
Photo by Hilderose on Unsplash
Photos by Sue Winston, Jacques Dillies, Tommy Brunel and Maxence Bouniort on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of France
May to June, and September to October — high summer is hot and crowded at the coast, and the tramontane blows hard in the cool season
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 75mm in Oct
Where it is
42.70°N, 2.89°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Several days- Climb to the Palace of the Kings of Majorca first, for the town laid out below
- Go up the Castillet for the view and the Catalan museum
- Day-trip to Barcelona by the high-speed train
- Drive to Peyrepertuse or Quéribus, the Cathar castles on the ridges
- Come for Visa pour l’Image if photography is any interest of yours
Perpignan travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget France
Good valueEuros, and cards everywhere, the markets included. Nothing here needs cash you would have to change for.
ATMs & cards
Bank machines throughout the centre and at the station. Use a bank’s own machine and refuse the offer to convert into your own currency.
Avoid these
- Euronet
- independent machines that offer to charge you in your own currency
Use these instead
- Crédit Agricole
- Banque Populaire
- Société Générale
- BNP Paribas
French bank machines generally charge nothing of their own; decline the conversion whatever the screen suggests.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of France
Reasonably safeMore petty crime than the coast villages around it: watch bags and phones around the station and on the edges of the old town at night, and do not leave anything in a parked car. In daytime the centre is ordinary and relaxed. The tramontane can blow hard for days and makes the beaches rough.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- the station and the walk into town at night — bag and phone theft is the usual complaint; take a taxi with luggage late
- a parked car — break-ins are common, so leave nothing in sight, and nothing at all overnight
- the beaches in the tramontane — the offshore wind blows inflatables and swimmers out to sea
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa France visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of France
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
Very goodCatalan rather than French: boles de picolat, meatballs with green olives; cargolade, snails grilled over vine cuttings, at spring gatherings; anchovies from Collioure; and crème catalane, which is not crème brûlée and is flavoured with lemon and cinnamon. The sweet wines of Rivesaltes, Maury and Banyuls come from the hills around.
Travel tipsGetting around
Workable- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- G7Works here
- FREE NOWWorks here
G7 the taxi fleet, by app
- Against a taxi
- Much the same. The flat airport rate is a taxi rule and the apps price against it.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Paris — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
French
- HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
- PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
- Thank youMercimer-SEE
- Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcusez-moiex-koo-zay MWA
- How much is it?C'est combien ?say com-BYEN
- The bill, pleaseL'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON
- Cheers!Santé !son-TAY
Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic, and strictly secular
Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
- Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
- Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
- Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated
Don't
- Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
- Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
- Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
- Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised
Where to stay in Perpignan
No Holistay rentals in Perpignan yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Perpignan on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Perpignan–Rivesaltes PGF
15 minfrom the airport· 5 km as the crow flies
About 15 min by taxi, or the city bus to the centre.
Also worth pricing: Girona–Costa Brava GRO — across the border in Spain, about 1h15 by road, with more low-cost routes.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
