The first stop on the D115, the main road which follows the Tech valley inland all the way up to the Spanish border at Prats-de-Mollo, is CÉRET, capital of the Vallespir region, and served like the rest of the valley by regular buses from Perpignan's gare routière. It's a delightful place, friendly and bustling, with a wonderfully shady old town overhung by huge plane trees. The streets are typically narrow and winding, opening onto small squares like the place des Neuf-Jets, so called because of its trickling fountain. There's a large and varied Saturday market, which spills out of place Pablo-Picasso into the main street, avenue d'Espagne, where two remnants of the medieval walls, the Porte de France and Porte d'Espagne, are visible. In summer, Céret is also a big centre for corridas (bullfights); the arena is on the other side of town from the market, out towards the Amélie-les-Bains road. Annual high points include the Easter Sunday procession of the Resurrected Christ, at the time of year when Céret's famous cherry harvest is also getting under way. And there's an international sardana jamboree on the penultimate Sunday in August.Céret's main sight, however, is the remarkable Musée d'Art Moderne (May to mid-June & mid-Sept to Oct daily 10am–6pm; mid-June to mid-Sept daily 10am–7pm; Nov–March daily except Tues 10am–6pm; €5.50), just off boulevard Maréchal-Joffre. In the early years of this century, Céret's charms, coupled with the presence here of the Catalan artist and sculptor Manolo, drew a number of avant-garde artists to the town, including Matisse and Picasso, who personally dedicated a number of pictures to the museum; it also contains work by Chagall, Dalí and Dufy, among others. The Picassos include a marvellous series of ceramic bowls illustrating bullfighting scenes and a sketch of a sardana. You can get more information on the corridas and other aspects of the town from the tourist office on avenue Clemenceau (July & Aug Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 2–7pm, Sun 10am–12.30pm; Sept–June Mon–Fri 10am–noon & 2–5pm, Sat 10am–noon; tel 04.68.87.00.53, www.ot-Ceret.fr). If you wish to stay, try the very attractive and reasonably priced Hôtel Vidal in the place du 4-Septembre (tel 04.68.87.00.85, fax 04.68.87.62.33; €30–40; restaurant from €15). For campers, there's a municipal campsite just out of town on the Maureillas road. Eating options include a good, cheap restaurant-crêperie, Le Pied dans le Plat, on place des Neuf-Jets, while gourmets with money to spare can try the best food for miles around at Les Feuillants (tel 04.68.87.37.88; closed Sun eve & Mon; from €42), serving utterly delicious Catalan cuisine.
Pages in section ‘Ceret & Tech’: Amelie and Arles, Prats-de-Mollo.
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