Perpignan

Campo Santo

The "field of saints" is a cemetery built from 1300 and used until the French Revolution. It's a brick cloister, with wealthy people buried in its arcades and the less well-off in the middle - now a grass field, formerly an ossuary. The oldest visible grave dates from 1317. It's occasionally an event space.

Tue-Sun 11:00-17:30

Casa Xanxo

Bernat Xanxo was a wealthy draper and had this mansion built in Catalan Gothic style in 1506. It's now a small art museum, but the building itself is the main attraction, with the ceremonial living room, and the frieze with symbols of the cardinal sins and the flames of hell awaiting.

Tue-Sun 11:00-17:30·Free

Castillet

Casa Pairal Museum

This fortified 14th-century city gate is the symbol of the city. The 31 m high dungeon is the Grand Castillet, and next to it the Petit Castillet was added in 1478; the bastion was demolished in the 19th century. It now houses a museum of folk art and traditions and there are nice views of the city from the terrace at the top.

Tue-Sun 11:00-17:30·Adult €4

Centre d'Art Contemporain Walter Benjamin

Rotating exhibitions of contemporary art. Benjamin (1892-1940) was a German Jewish philosopher and art critic. He escaped occupied France to Port Bou, but the Spanish intended to deport him back to France, and he took an overdose rather than be handed over to the Nazis.

Tue-Sun 11:00-17:30·Free

Couvent des Dominicains

This Dominican monastery was created in 1245, housing some 60 monks, and remained active until the Revolution. It has a large 18th century chapel, a chapter house, cloister, refectory and dormitories. The only part you can see is the chapel, used as an art exhibition space. The rest of the complex is military, organising French national service.

Couvent des Minimes

Founded in 1573 and taken over by the army in 1791, this now houses art exhibitions.

Hôtel Pams

Charming mansion built 1896-1902 with money from a cigarette paper business. It's now a small art museum.

Tue-Sun 11:00-17:30·Free

Hôtel de Ville

Mairie

The city hall was built in the 14th century and much modified since. It remains the seat of local government and there are no tours: you can look in on the courtyard, but can't routinely see the ornate wedding salon or council meeting room.

Mon-Fri 08:30-18:00

Loge de Mer

This was the medieval stock exchange and commercial chambers. It's now the Tourist Office.

Monument aux Morts de Perpignan

Monument aux Morts aux Enfants du 66 de Perpignan

A war memorial, erected in 1924. It marks the southern tip of Miranda Gardens, a ribbon of green along the line of the former city walls, arcing west towards the cathedral.

Musée d'art Hyacinthe Rigaud

This displays French and Spanish painters from the 15th to the 20th centuries, including those of Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743). He was born in Perpignan and became a royal portraitist at the courts of Louis XIV and Louis XV. His detailed images capture the fashions of those days.

Tue-Sat 11:00-17:30, Sun 14:30-17:30·Adult €10

Natural History Museum

Extensive collections of the mineralogy, flora and fauna of the Pyrenees. There are also sections with archaeological objects from ancient Egypt, and an ethnological collection from Oceania.

Jun-Sep: daily 09:30-17:30; Oct-Apr: Tue-Sun 11:00-17:30·Free

Palais de la Députation

This 15th-century building housed the Catalan government in Aragonese and Majorcan times, and when Perpignan became French it retained a similar function as the Sovereign Council of Roussillon. After the French Revolution it was a courthouse until 1866. It's now city government offices.

Palais des Rois de Majorque

This was built from 1276 on the hill of Puig del Rei, as the powerbase for King James II of Majorca. It needed to be defensive as well as plush, so it was continually reinforced, the last by Louis XIV's military engineer Vauban. The palace is ranged around three courtyards with lush gardens and surrounded by ramparts and eight fortified towers. Enter through the tour de l'hommage, a marble and sandstone gate. The main building has elegant arcades and two side stairs, and contains the royal apartments and two chapels; Sainte-Marie-Madeleine for the queen and Sainte-Croix for the king. There's also the throne room which is monumental. An interesting detail is a frieze with the word "Allah" in Arabic: covering their backs with the Muslim Moors. You can climb the principal tower for a view of the city and the Pyrenees.

Nov-Mar: 10:00-17:00, Apr May Sep Oct: 10:00-18:00, Jul Aug: 09:30-18:30; closed Jan 1, 15 days in Jan, May 1, Nov 1, Dec 25·Adult €7

Perpignan Cathedral

Basilique-Cathédrale de Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Perpignan

Work on this large brick cathedral began in 1324 during the rule of King Sancho I of Majorca. The fall of the kingdom and the Black Death impeded works, and the building was only finished in 1509. It became a cathedral in 1602. It's been modified many times over the centuries and the oldest part is the choir with its seven-sided apse. Attractions include the white marble main altarpiece with scenes from the lives of Jesus and St John the Baptist, and altarpieces of Notre-Dame-de-la-Magrana and Saint-Pierre. There's also a small chapel with sacred art of the early 14th century, and a wooden crucifix brought here from the Rhine Valley. The western façade of the cathedral has a bell tower with a bell made in 1418.

Daily 08:00-17:00·Free

Église Notre-Dame de La Réal

The royal parish church was built on the site of a former convent and consecrated in 1323. During the Revolution it was a munitions factory, but in 1804 became a church again. It retains its Gothic structure, although the façade was renovated in the 19th century. Highlights within are the 14th century baptismal font and a 15th century painting of a tomb.

Mon-Sat 10:30-18:30, Sun 10:00-12:00·Free

Église Saint-Jacques

Founded in 1260 as part of the city extension, it's in Catalan Gothic style and has many altarpieces. The portal made of marble from Céret was originally in Notre-Dame de La Réal, but was brought here in the 17th century, and a chapel added. On Good Friday it's the start point for Procession de la Sanch, in medieval black hoods.

Daily 11:00-18:00

Église Saint-Jean le Vieux

chapelle Notre Dame dels Correchs

Formerly the main church, Saint-Jean was abandoned once the cathedral was completed, and can't be visited.