Céret
is in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of Catalonian France, four
miles north of the Spanish border (8½ miles by road).
This small, walled
mountain town has two gateways - the northern La Porte de France
towards France, and La Porte d'Espagne, to the south towards Spain.
The leading attraction is the Musée d'Art Moderne
which includes work by Picasso, Dali, Matisse, Miró and Dufy.
The museum is open every day except Christmas Day. The Musée
d'Art Moderne was created by Frank Burty Haviland and Pierre in
Brune 1950 with the support of their friends Pablo Picasso, who
lived in the town, and Henri Matisse. The town was already
established as an artists' location before more took refuge in the
war, fleeing from the Germans.
Céret also has a lovely 14th century stone bridge, Le
Pont du Diable, which crosses the river Tech. It is a single
arch of 45m - quite remarkable for a medieval construction.
Le Pont du Diable |
Being a solid 10½
hour drive from Calais, driving from the UK or northern European
countries should involve a mid-way overnight stop around Bourges.
For accommodation, try
Accor
Hotels, who operate various chains of hotels,
including Etap, Formula 1, Ibis, Novotel & All Seasons, close to
the Autoroute, at excellent prices
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Festivals
Whilst Céret celebrates the many Festivals that take place
throughout Catalonia, two are unique to the town.
The Cherry Festival (May)
The Céret Cherrry Festival starts on the Saturday with The
Opening Ceremony with a parade of Bands, followed by Catalan Sadana
dancing in the streets. After a cherry stoning competition, the
Cherry Stone Spitting Contest begins. This is followed by a band
concert and a cheery-biased open air dinner concludes the first day.
On the Sunday, the Cherry market opens while bands play around the
town. The finals of the cherry stoning and pip-spitting take place,
followed by Castells and more Sadana dancing. The winner of the
Cheery Stone Sitting achieves a distance in excess of 10 metres (33
feet).
The Cherry Festival closes in late afternoon with prize-giving and
more music & dance. Throughout the festival, shops have
cherry-related displays, the restaurants serve cherry-based dishes
and cafes offer the year's cherry beer.
Céret Feria - Bull-running festival (July)
This is one festival you may decide to miss. Whilst Spanish
Catalonia is substantially anti-bullfighting - the last Spanish
Catalonia bull ring (in Barcelona) closed in 2011) - the culmination
of the Céret Feria is a bullfight to the death.
The Citizens of Céret are usually polite and sober, but over
this weekend one of the main aims seems to be drinking as much as
possible, regardless of age.
 A
major attraction over the weekend is the Running of the Bulls.
Guided by Camargue horsemen, bull calves (with their horns blunted)
are run through the streets and participants try to catch the bulls'
tails and hold on for as long as possible, or grad them arfound the
next to bring them to a halt. This results in many grazes &
bruises and dented egos.
All the restaurants and cafes close for the weekend to be replaced
by street stalls. If you don't mind all the drunken locals, you will
enjoy the atmosphere of music, dancing and street entertainment,
even the running of the bulls.
But the highlight of the Céret Feriall is the bull fight
which takes place in the bullring just out of town. The
fights-to-the-death will appeal to some but disgust many others. |
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