Cote Vermeille
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The Côte Vermeille (German for "bright red coast") is the most south-westerly section of the French Mediterranean coast . There is also a canton of the same name .
geography
The Côte Vermeille is a strongly indented rocky coast along the eastern Pyrenees foothills in the Massif des Albères . It extends from the Plage Racou south of Argelès-sur-Mer to the Spanish border at Cerbère ; The seaside resorts of Collioure , Port-Vendres , Banyuls-sur-Mer and Cerbère are hidden in their sheltered bays . The southern part of the Golfe du Lion marine nature park extends off the coast of the Côte Vermeille .
history
Until the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659), the entire Roussillon , which historically was identical to the County of Rosselló for a long time , belonged to the countries of the Crown of Aragón or the Kingdom of Aragón and at times also to the Kingdom of Mallorca ; it was long controversial between France and Spain.
economy
The inhabitants of the small coastal towns along the Côte Vermeille lived for centuries from the produce of their small fields and gardens, but above all from fishing , which, however, - with the exception of Port Vendres - came to an almost complete standstill in the last decades of the 20th century. The former fishing villages have become seaside resorts and the old fishing harbors have been converted into marinas ; only a few boats go out to sea today for (diving) tourists. Viticulture, which is mainly used for the production of the sweet wine Banyuls , plays a not insignificant role on the steep slopes of the hinterland .
traffic
The D914 runs not far from the coast and approaches it within a few meters in Banyuls-sur-Mer; In addition, the coastal towns are connected by a railway line that ends just behind the French-Spanish border in Port-Bou . The D86, which runs through the vineyards in the hinterland of the Côte Vermeille and connects the wine towns of Collioure and Banyuls-sur-Mer, is winding and spectacular in parts.
Artist
At the beginning of the 20th century, the painters Henri Matisse and André Derain lived and worked in Collioure for some time. The sculptor Aristide Maillol , who was born in Banyuls-sur-Mer, had a studio there.
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