Oh, there's so much art around Collioure and Ceret.
Pierre Brune founded the Modern Art Museum in Ceret; he owned the old signeur's house just above the village which was originally a castle. Just for fun, he retained one of the old castle walls with the arrow-slit window in it which you can still see. Just above the rugby ground. Picasso and other artists used to pop round for their tea apparently. Well, probably not tea, probably absinthe or similar .. and they painted the view from his house over the town.
If you walk round Ceret, I love the framed posters just in front of the buildings which appear in paintings in the Modern Art Museum. For example, in front of the Marie, there's a reproduction of the painting Picasso did and you can compare it with the real thing. And others by Soutine, Dufy and possible Chagall. So interesting.
Collioure also has a modern art museum and there are lots of lovely little galleries in both towns. And the Musée de Hyacinthe Rigaud in Perpignan is worth a visit too.
Just outside Banyuls sur Mer is Maillol's house, now a small art museum. A sculptor who grew up in the region, he's well known for his sturdy and beautiful female figures. He was commissioned to create the war memorial in the Place de la Republique in Ceret and portrayed a grieving woman rather than a soldier with a gun which had been the traditional approach before. It's very emotive.
There are two small Charles Rennie Mackintosh museums too; one in Port Vendres and one in Palalda.
For a city visit, it's easy to take the train from Perpignan or Figueres and have a day in Girona or Barcelona. We did a walking tour of Girona, which featured some Game of Thrones sites but lots of extra interesting historical stuff too.
If you do decide to come here on holiday, come back on Chat and we can tell you some good places to eat slightly off the tourist trail.
I love this area can you tell 