Ceret - bus to Perpignan

We have seen buses around that have a sign that stating "Le bus 1 Euro" and on enquiring at the tourist bureau we found this to be true. We picked up a winter schedule (Nov 24/14 - March 21/15) there too and found out where to catch it. The schedule is pretty regular, on the hour, except for a 2 hour break at lunch time, so we caught the 1pm bus at Rond Point du toreador (the round about with a statue of a matador in the centre, near the bull ring).

The statue is dedicated to the bullfighters of the world with plaques of the different
countries around the base.

He's a very intense looking bullfighter but its hard to take him seriously with a pigeon on his head.

The bus took us through a couple of small towns close by and then on to Perpignan (Gare routiere) and took about an hour. We used the same ticket (they are good for 2 hours) and took a bus down closer to the town centre.

Crossed the canal and down a pedestrian section, lined with trees to the Palais de Congress, where
the tourist office had been, but was no more.

We walked back through the old section where, although the streets were narrow, it was clean, bustling, and full of up scale shops restaurants and cafes.

Part of the city wall, built in 1300, still remains with houses built into it. The wall, encircling the
city was 3km long at one point in time.

The building of the cathedral was stopped and started over many years by a variety of different leaders
and religions. It is quite austere on the outside

but has a huge knave, magnificent paintings, carvings, stained glass and gilt and an impressive
organ at the half way point.

Le Castillet was a gate into the city and guarded a bridge over the canal. It now houses
a museum which we may go to when we come again.

Back over the canal with its flowerbeds of pretty spring flowers (pansies and
daffodils just starting)

T 5pm we caught two buses to get home again and we were pretty tired. The bus was a nice way to go into the city as I remember from last time that it was a difficult city to drive around in. It was also a good way to see the countryside as the bus is higher than the car. It is a well used mode of transportation, about 20 people got on with us in Ceret and it continued to fill at each stop. About half of the passengers were young people probably travelling to and from the schools in Ceret and Perpignan. We met a woman who had gone into Perpignan to see a film and it was obvious that others were shopping. Dad had assumed that it was subsidized, because of the price, but it is so well used perhaps it pays for itself.