Roussillon Road Trips: Top 5 Unforgettable Car Tours

Dreaming of seeing the South of France, you know, on your own terms? Like, without being stuck on a tour bus or trying to decipher train schedules? Well, so, Roussillon, with its gorgeous blend of Mediterranean coast and dramatic Pyrenees foothills, seems almost perfect for that kind of adventure. That location may give you the freedom to stop at hilltop villages that you spotted or at those tempting vineyards, right? Also, let’s get real, a car trip may offer the best way to soak up the sun-drenched scenery and, well, soak up the culture at your own rhythm. These routes give you a chance to discover castles and pretty beaches.

1. The Classic Coastal Cruise: Argelès-sur-Mer to Collioure

If you want sunshine, sandy beaches and charming ports? Yeah, then this route, very, very, closely tracing the Vermillion Coast, might be what you need. You begin, as a matter of fact, in Argeles-sur-Mer, that large, vibrant beach resort, and just head south toward the jewel, really, which is Collioure. You could, maybe, get that view of the coast road winding alongside vineyards dropping dramatically toward the sea? Plus, is that the sound of those waves crashing nearby?

There are, naturally, points of interest along the route: Fort Saint-Elme, an old castle that gives you sweeping panoramas of the coast and is accessible for viewing, as I was saying, when open, or, let’s say, the little bays ideal for taking a dip. And then there’s Collioure itself: very picturesque. I mean, what’s not to like, right? You get vibrant buildings, art galleries galore, plus restaurants specializing in seafood, really fresh seafood. Spend an afternoon getting lost in those little, narrow streets and soaking up that atmosphere, very much the sort of thing people search for.

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2. Wine Lover’s Delight: The Côtes du Roussillon Route

Love wine? Also, enjoy great scenery? Then, naturally, that route winding through the Côtes du Roussillon vineyards might be just up your street. Instead of a coastal breeze, you will have the gentle scent of vines heavy with ripening grapes.

Base yourself somewhere like Perpignan, since this place is ideal for exploration of the region. Head inland, driving at a pace that permits appreciation of this rural beauty. You may very well visit a wide range of vineyards and get a good taste, quite literally, of the wines of Roussillon. From bold reds produced using Grenache to fragrant rosés made with Syrah, you get that sensation from every sample.

For real enthusiasts of history, you’ll notice, along the way, vestiges, literally, of Roman settlement and medieval structures that may provide a little something more for your tour of exploration. Chat to local winemakers; hear them relate, actually, stories behind each bottle; sample, honestly, those terrific local delicacies, for example, olives or cheeses.

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3. Cathar Country Discovery: Perpignan to Queribus Castle

Looking for adventure? Keen on history, like castles perched at top of peaks? Very much that sort of thing? Well, so, why don’t you explore Cathar Country by beginning at Perpignan and heading west to Château de Quéribus? That is something you won’t ever regret. As I was saying, driving that kind of terrain can really give one a sense of exactly why these outposts stood where they did: seemingly impregnable.

On arrival at Château de Quéribus get ready to go back way back to the 13th century. If you ascend to the ramparts what happens then, right? Those sweeping panoramas tell you all you will need to know as regards the value this location once possessed.

Then, along the way, is that glimpse of Cathar history via places, well, for example, Cucugnan, that town immortalized due to Alphonse Daudet, actually, where you’re getting something just beyond landscape and history. This place provides a sensory memory. This is something, naturally, worth giving oneself some time to savor. Basically, explore that region in your car: an incomparable view on history as well as that region’s natural, rugged charisma. Maybe, with the car’s windows down, the breeze blows? Is it heavy with thyme? The sky might stretch before your very vision of possibilities just like something out of that movie.

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4. The Serene Tech Valley Traverse: A Circular Route via Thuir

If, in reality, what you want isn’t sweeping coastlines nor that historic battlefield site instead that quiet rural splendor then a route traveling right across the Tech Valley can tick the boxes. This less famous portion gives one sight after another regarding green vineyards alongside the River Tech.

This is almost one route that really encourages, well, slow travel. Get that perfect vista stopping as many times as, truthfully, one wants in a little stone village or to photograph an especially eye-catching panorama.

Begin at somewhere just beyond Perpignan or make Thuir, for instance, an initial staging area, known mainly for Les Caves Byrrh – which you might wish to add as a bonus. Afterward get moving to places almost beyond tourists’ gaze along minor roadways, maybe admiring orchards together with traditional houses made of tile. Every location, anyway, provides, actually, its angle regarding slow life together with nature in southern France; for anyone planning on that, there may be that something about those trips beyond cities which really does have meaning.

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5. Heights of the Pyrenees: From Prades to Mont Canigou

Want to witness natural peaks? Really? Well, so, go to Roussillon’s best feature then: Mont Canigou. Starting out from that adorable market place at Prades take one day devoted only, really, to touring near the iconic Pyrenean giant.

That part of the globe turns a dramatic backdrop of rocky inclines together with panoramic horizons for every sharp bend you get to, which is where views get that high feeling like touching somewhere close to them right? Make places such as Casteil the day’s point. Take one trip over toward Saint-Martin du Canigou Monastery–nearly a masterpiece atop this location offering history blended that closely at vistas hard ever be equaled elsewhere!

Really the very excursion into those terrains almost demonstrates mountain soul regarding that zone offering fresh, pure air mixed next its scenic allure from when viewing them. This provides that distinct kind escapade beyond other rides. If there any keenest mountain lovers? And they enjoy seeing them out on wheels–now is chance.

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