Perpignan

Perpignan is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Mediterranean Sea and the scrublands of the Corbières massif. It is the centre of the Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole metropolitan area. In 2021, Perpignan had a population of 119,656 in the commune proper, and the agglomeration had a total population of 205,183, making it the last major French city before the Spanish border. Perpignan is sometimes seen as the "entrance" to the Iberian Peninsula. Perpignan was the capital of the former province and County of Roussillon (Rosselló in Catalan) and continental capital of the Kingdom of Majorca in the 13th and 14th centuries, as well as one of the most important cities of the Principality of Catalonia. It has preserved an extensive old centre with its bodegas in the historic centre, coloured houses in a series of picturesque streets and alleys stretching between the banks of the Têt and its tributary, the Basse. The city is also known for its International Festival of Photojournalism, the medieval Trobades festival and its centuries-old garnet industry.