Carnet de Voyage: A Visit to Perpignan

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My husband and I decided to go to Perpignan for the Fête de la Saint Jean on June 23, 2022, which is the mid-summer celebration. I wanted to go where they lit the torches in the Castillet, and several people would march down the mountain into the town for a celebration followed by fireworks.  

I had no idea what to expect. I had been to many celebrations in Spain on this night, but this was in the French Pyrenees with French Catalonians.

Travelling to new places that aren’t particularly on the main tourist routes, is our specialty. We love seeing new places, and visiting the southwest portion of France on the Mediterranean side was new to us.  

We arrived in Perpignan just as everywhere was closing for lunch. We were starving and thirsty, yet not even a little shop was open. On top of that, we had gotten lost trying to drive to the centre of town where our little hotel was located.  

After the most delicious meal, they gave us instructions on how to get to town and park.  We would have to walk our suitcases to the hotel, as there was no parking or driving in this area.  We had the address of our hotel but still could not find it. 

Our GPS kept sending us to an alleyway that was a dead end. Luckily for us, we saw a small restaurant that said hamburgers on the outside, but happened to be Moroccan, and they were willing to serve us. We were so exhausted that the staff, sensing this, brought us a pot of mint tea.  

There was no sign or any indication that there was a hotel anywhere in the vicinity. But we did see a painted red door and the number 8. I felt certain that this was the place, and after contacting the hosts, we discovered that they had expected us later. 

It was a small family-owned spot that had a few apartments, with owners living upstairs. Our apartment was fantastic and huge. We had a full bedroom separate from the living room and small dining area, all decked out in incredible antiques the owner had restored. I felt like I was at an artist’s apartment from the late 1800’s and immediately lounged on the green velvet couch.  

Right outside our hotel was a little outdoor restaurant. It was quite hot that day, so we settled on a cold green pea gazpacho called Gazpacho vert de Avignon and grilled prawns au pastis. Luckily, they had a signboard as they spoke a French we weren’t familiar with.   

The next day was the celebration. We had planned on going to the beach to watch it, but the bus drivers were striking, so they could celebrate the day. Walking downtown, we went to find the Castillet.  

All around town, there were people selling things for the event, like special herb packs of dried flowers, which I bought, and people singing in Catalan. There is incredible art throughout this downtown area. 

We had a great lunch by the River Basse, which is a tributary of the River Tet. It has beautiful green banks, and it was decorated for the holiday. We decided to have lunch near the river.  

The food here in Perpignan is fantastic, a mixture of French and Spanish with some Moroccan also. After lunch, we toured the area looking to see where the festivities would be. They didn’t start until 10pm, so we went back to our hotel to rest.   

Around 8:30 we left to find dinner near the castillet. Fish here predominates, and we had a fantastic fish dinner with lots of vegetables. At 10 pm, it was still a little light out.  We walked to the castillet to find a spot to watch the festivities. 

It was packed with people playing music from the little castle. Finally, we could see the people coming into town with torches lit and the mayor leading the procession. There was dancing and some small ground fireworks. 

Right around 10:45, they started shooting off fireworks from the top of the castle (castillet).  It was fabulous. Perhaps the best fireworks I have ever seen. They went on for about an hour. We were stunned. I love being with people who celebrate mid-summer.   

My husband and I like visiting places that are not on top of everyone’s list. The people we met in this town said they rarely encountered Americans here. I am glad we came.