CANET-PLAGE is the best place near Perpignan to test the waters of the Mediterranean, although there is nothing to recommend the place, except that its beach is wide and sandy and the sea is wet; take a 25-minute bus ride east from place Catalogne in Perpignan (CTP bus #1; hourly). The same goes for the other resorts around here: Port Leucate, Port Bacarès (complete with weathered Greek ferry beached to make a casino and nightclub) and St-Cyprien.Perhaps more interesting, 15km north and served by several trains a day, is the Château de Salses (April, May & Oct daily 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–6pm; June & Sept 9.30am–6.30pm; July & Aug 9.30am–7pm; Nov–March 10am–noon & 2–5pm; €5.50). Built by the Catalans in the early fifteenth century, it was one of the first forts to be designed with a ground-hugging profile to protect it from artillery fire, and its superior design apparently put Vauban's nose so out of joint that he wanted it demolished, a task that proved impossible. Another place, with not so much to see but very interesting from an anthropological point of view, is the vine-girt village of Tautavel, 25km northwest off the St-Paul-de-Fenouillet road. In 1971 the remains of the oldest known European human being – dated to around 450,000 BC – were discovered near the village, and a reconstruction of the skull is on display in the village's Musée de la Préhistoire (Jan & Dec Sun, Mon & hols 1.30–5.30pm; Feb, Mar, Oct & Nov daily 1.30–5.30pm; April–June & Sept daily 10am–12.30pm & 1.30–7pm; July & Aug daily 10am–8pm; €7), along with various finds from the cave where he was unearthed, the Caune d'Arago, a few kilometres north, which can itself be visited in July and August (daily 10am–noon & 12.30–5.30pm) or by arrangement with the museum. The local wines are good, too, along with those of Estagel and Rivesaltes, and can be sampled at the numerous domaines in the area. Thirteen kilometres to the south of Perpignan, on the way to the resorts of the Côte Vermeille and served by the same buses and trains, lies the town of ELNE. This small place once had the honour of seeing Hannibal camp at its walls en route to Rome, and used to be the capital of Roussillon. It was only overtaken by Perpignan when the latter became the seat of the kings of Majorca. Today, it's worth a stop for its fortified, partially Romanesque cathedral and extremely beautiful cloister (April & May daily 9.30am–6pm; June–Sept daily 9.30am–7pm; Oct daily 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–6pm; Nov–March daily except Tues 9.30am–noon & 2–5pm; €4). Though only one side of the cloister is strictly Romanesque, immaculately carved with motifs such as foliage, lions, goats and biblical figures, the three fourteenth-century Gothic ones have been made to harmonize perfectly. It's the best introduction to Roussillon Romanesque you could want, especially if you're planning to visit places like Serrabonne and St-Michel-de-Cuxa further west. Below the cathedral there are still a few streets of the old town left, twisting back down to the drab and unremarkable modern development.
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