Collioure in France

Collioure is located in Languedoc-Roussillon in Southern France.
Collioure is near the border between France and Spain.

 Collioure is very colourful town. 

There is the Royal Castle

  [French: Château Royal de Collioure] 

beside the sea.

 

 

↓

Lunch beside the sea

Moules-frites (English: Mussels & fries)
As we were in Southern France, 

we ate Moules-frites provençale.

↓

Walk around the Collioure city

Collioure is facing the Mediterranean sea.

But it's also a hilly place.
We could easily enjoy a panoramic view from the hill. 

 

We found a windmill and kinda castle or citadel on the far hill.

The fortress looks like a castle is called "The Fort Saint-Elme".
It is a military fort built in 15 century by Charles V.

We decided to hike until the Fort Saint-Elme and windmill.
There was a hiking pedestrian road to the windmill.

Windmill of Collioure.

 

The panoramic view from the top of the hill.
We could see the Royal Castle [Château Royal de Collioure], vineyard, the Mediterranean Sea and orange-colored houses from the hill.

We can take the Tourist Trolley [Petit Train Touristique]

to the Fort Saint-Elme.
The Tourist Trolley departs from the car park 

in front of the post office.
It's a short round trip going through the vineyard 

to the hill where the Fort Saint-Elme is.

Episode of Collioure

Tomo & Chouchou saw many colorful buildings on the photo of tourist guidebook. We felt it's like Spain! So we decided to go to Collioure ! 

More we approach to Collioure, more we see the colourful buildings.
Such colourful buildings made us feel happy and lively.  

Collioure is facing the Mediterranean Sea. When we visited Collioure, French army had a trainning at the seashore. There is the Royal Castle [Château Royal de Collioure] beside the sea. There are many shops and restaurants near the beach. We felt hungry so we decided to eat lunch first.
Tomo&Chouchou ate Moules-frites. We often eat moules cooked with cream or white wine. But as we were in Southern France, we ate Moules-frites provençale which was cooked with tomato.
After eating, we decided to walk around the town of Collioure.  

Collioure is facing the Mediterranean but it's a hilly place. We found a windmill and kinda castle or a citadel on the far hill. So we decided to hike until there.
There was a hiking pedestrian road to the windmill. We could enjoy the flowers and scenery of the vineyard on the way. But it was a bit tough to keep climbing up, anyway.
The stone-made windmill of Collioure has an antique taste and it's pretty. 
The fortress which looks like a castle is called "The Fort Saint-Elme", which is a military fort built in 15 century by Charles V. When we went there, the fort was closed so we couldn't visit inside. But we enjoyed the big fort from outside.
The panoramic view from the top of the hill was great more than anything!
We could see the Royal Castle, vineyard, the Mediterranean Sea and orange-colored houses from the hill. We felt that it was worth to climbing up the hill.
It takes 20 - 30 minutes on foot from the downtown of Collioure to the windmill and the Fort Saint-Elme. 

Collioure is located near the border between France and Spain. So We could enjoy both cultures and both taste in Collioure!

Tomo & Chouchou's advice for Collioure

1) Please go up the hill to the Fort Saint-Elme. From the hill, you can see the Mediterranean sea, the Royal Castle, vineyard and orange-roof houses. Scenery is excellent! Great photo spot! 

2) If you don't want to walk to the Fort Saint-Elme, you should take the Tourist Trolley [Petit Train Touristique]. Tourist Trolley slowly go up the hill to the FOrt Saint-Elme. This trolley go through the vineyard. You can enjoy the landscape. You can also enjoy the sightseeing atmosphere with other tourists!