Collioure is a beautiful place at any time of the year however the Fall is really a lovely time to visit.  During this season, the sirocco winds tend to come through in October and November, bringing warm winds and sometimes unsettled weather with them from the Sahara desert.  The days remain warm and as the wind rises and falls, the scenery can be incredible with fantastic cloud formations.  Check out some of the lovely skies we saw in October.

One of our most recent adventures was the exploration of the beautiful city of Sète. Approximately 1 ½ hours from Collioure, you will find the lovely town that is surrounded by water. The town was founded in 1666 and known as the Venice of Languedoc, it has an enclosed salt-water lake on one side with a canal structure and the Mediterranean on the other.    The town is the largest working fishing village on the Mediterranean.  Everywhere you turn, you see fishing boats and very busy fisherman bringing in the days catch.

We started our walk along the Royal Canal and admired the pretty painted buildings with boats pulled up alongside every available slip.  The main canal has shops and restaurants all by the water’s edge.  And you can also take organized boat trips around the whole area.  Sitting on the edge of the cliff is Theatre de la Mer, which was a very interesting stone structure.

Of course being in an authentic fishing village requires that you have some kind of fish or seafood as a meal.  We were recommended to a simple restaurant on the Canal called La Mediterraneenne.  For lunch we had the specialty of the area - incredible, fresh oysters that were served with nothing more than lemon wedges.   They were large and succulent and were obviously so fresh, it was heavenly.  We also experienced the prawns cooked a la plancha and were delighted with the sweet taste of another super fresh item.  The meal was so simple but wonderfully tasty.  This was quite a treat!

We unfortunately had limited time the day we visited but will be back to see the beaches and view from atop Mont St Clair.  There is also a very popular water jousting tournament that takes place in the summer.  Sounds like a fun event to check out.

The young folks in the Tourist Office were very helpful.  Providing suggestions on what to see, where to eat and detailed street maps. For details click here to visit their website.