Le Mas Trilles

Visit the local Tourist Office

by ranger49

This attractive building is easily found at the end of Boulevard Maréchal Joffre, past the Museum and the Mairie turn left and you won't miss it.
The Staff are welcoming and helpful and the building to the left behind the statue - is a small hall- that often houses local exhibitions. We saw a local Quilters show there on our first visit in 2007.

Note the statue in the forecourt - it is “The Catalane” by Manolo Valdés .
The plaque on the base says it is a tribute to the composer, Dëodat de Séverac (1892-1921)

The coat of arms of the town is above the entrance to the office.

I liked the letters cut into the wood lintel of the building SYNDICAT d'INITIATIV - the name formerly used in France for offices of tourism, usually abbreviated to S.I.
Now check out - http://www.ot-ceret.fr/

An unexpected memorial and tribute.

by ranger49

We love to wander down the small narrow streets and alleyways of towns like Céret. They often open up into squares surrounded by brightly painted houses.

In one of these we came across this memory of the French Resistance Movement - a sombre reminder of the recent past.

The Serrabonne priory.

by pfsmalo

The priory is reached by a tiny twisting track off of the road between Ille sur Tet and Amelie les Bains. It is very well marked from either direction. It is a classic example of Catalan/Roman architecture ; very sober lines and massive walls in schist. Founded in 1082, it was enlarged a century later. The priory declined from the 1300's onwards until renovations started after WWII.

Inside, the gallery in pink marble takes the breath away, caught in the chiaroscuro or half -light.

The 4th photo shows the detail of the lion of St. Mark carrying a book, and to his right also carrying a book is the eagle of St. John.

Ceret - Cherry country.

by pfsmalo

I really enjoy Ceret, generally for its quietness out of season, its windy little streets and calm atmosphere. Being invited down by my wife's sister and brother in law, I thought ok, nice weekend by the swimming pool etc etc. The chosen weekend was the "CHERRY FESTIVAL". A little earlier this year than usual with a bumper crop. Turned into a horrendous weekend with dancing, music etc until all hours. The President of France is always the recipient of the first Ceret cherries. Market prices for the cherries were 2.50 euros a kilo or 7 euros for 3 kilos. Less than half the price of 2008 !!

Ceret, a great day trip from Perpignan

by Beausoleil

"The quintessential French village"

Ceret was a charming find. We were staying at Canet Plage for a couple weeks exploring the area. There is a noted Beaux Arts in the town so we decided to drive up one day. This was the scene that greeted us. The locas were sitting out under a tree watching the world go buy. There were outdoor cafes and a nice art shop across the square from them.

We had no trouble parking to explore and it is a lovely town for walking. The museum was having a Soutine retrospective and we didn't care for it, but on the other hand, we truly loved the little town.

It is definitely worth a trip.

This was the reason we were in Ceret. We came to visit the art museum. As it turned out, not only did we not particularly care for the Soutine retrospective, the staff won the prize for the most unfriendly in France. We had to check absolutely everything including cameras, purses, passports, the works. Needless to say, we were uncomfortable the entire time we were in the museum and quickly checked through everything when we retrieved it. I had to check a backpack once in Dijon (in the afternoon; in the morning I didn't) but other than that, I've never had to check anything in France. They weren't particularly polite about it either and that is extremely unusual. We've found France to be particularly polite so the entire experience was not the best. We did love the rest of the town though.

There is a little open canal-stream running down the street. There is also this lovely arched structure than looks like a viaduct and has a courtyard inside.

Everything in the town seemed charming.