Côte Vermeille

Paulilles (Catalan: Polilles) is a protected area on the Mediterranean Sea, located between the towns of Port-Vendres, and Banyuls-sur-Mer in Pyrénées-Orientales, North Catalonia, France.

Banyuls-sur-Mer (French pronunciation: [baɲuls syʁ mɛʁ] ; Catalan: Banyuls de la Marenda) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It was first settled by Greeks starting in 400 BCE.

Banyuls is a French appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for a fortified apéritif or dessert wine made from old vines cultivated in terraces on the slopes of the Catalan Pyrenees in the Roussillon county of France, bordering, to the south, the Empordà wine region in Catalonia in Spain. The AOC production area is limited to four communes of the Côte Vermeille: Banyuls (from which the AOC takes its name), Cerbère, Collioure and Port-Vendres. The boundaries of the AOC are identical to those of the Collioure AOC. Banyuls Grand Cru is an AOC for superior wines that would otherwise be classified as simply Banyuls. They must be matured for 30 months. The grapes permitted are the same.

The Observatoire océanologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer, also known as the Laboratoire Arago, is a marine station located in Banyuls-sur-Mer (Pyrénées-Orientales) on the Mediterranean coast of France. The marine station is made up of several joint research laboratories operated by UPMC-Paris 6 (Université Pierre et Marie Curie) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and one administrative unit. The buildings and land are part of the UPMC-Paris 6 campus. The marine station also houses a small public aquarium and a public garden.

The canton of La Côte Vermeille is a canton of France, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. Its chief town is Argelès-sur-Mer (before 2015: Port-Vendres).

Port-Vendres (French pronunciation: [pɔʁ vɑ̃dʁ] ; Catalan: Portvendres) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, southeastern France.A typical Mediterranean fishing port, situated near the Spanish border on the Côte Vermeille in southeastern France, Port-Vendres is renowned for its numerous fish and sea food restaurants.

Fort Saint-Elme is a military fort built between 1538 and 1552 by Charles V. It is located in the district of Collioure, 30 km southeast of Perpignan, in the department of Pyrénées-Orientales. It is designated as a monument historique of Côte Vermeille. Since 2008, the fort has been a museum with medieval and Renaissance arms collections, exhibitions and a panorama over the area from the terrace.

The Musée Maillol de Banyuls-sur-Mer is a private museum at the farm of the sculptor Aristide Maillol where he spent the last years of his life. The farm, "La Métairie", is situated in the Roume valley 4 km from the city center of Banyuls-sur-Mer in the Pyrénées-Orientales. The museum is operated by the Fondation Dina Vierny, which also operates the Musée Maillol in Paris.

The Château Royal de Collioure (Catalan: Castell Reial de Cotlliure) is a massive French royal castle in the town of Collioure, a few kilometers north of the Spanish border in the French département of Pyrénées-Orientales.

The Battle of Collioure (20–23 December 1793) saw troops from Spain attack a French division during the War of the Pyrenees. The Spanish troops led by Gregorio García de la Cuesta were completely successful in ousting the French under Louis Pierre François Delattre from Collioure, Fort Saint-Elme and Port-Vendres. The contending sides were the Spanish Army of Catalonia commanded by Antonio Ricardos and the French Army of the Eastern Pyrenees led by François Amédée Doppet and Eustache Charles d'Aoust. In September 1793, the French successfully defended Perpignan from Spanish attack but December saw a series of French defeats. One of the French representatives on mission, Claude Dominique Côme Fabre was killed during the fighting at Collioure. Aoust and Delattre were arrested, condemned and executed by guillotine for the disaster.

The siege of Collioure (6 – 29 May 1794) saw a Republican French army led by Jacques François Dugommier invest the French port of Collioure held by a Spanish garrison commanded by Eugenio Navarro. The actual siege work was carried out by Pierre François Sauret's reinforced division. After the three-and-a-half-week War of the Pyrenees siege, the Spanish fleet sent to evacuate the garrison was blown off station by a storm. Navarro surrendered the town on the promise to exchange the paroled garrison for an equal number of French prisoners. After the defenders were released, the Spanish army commander Luis Fermín de Carvajal, Conde de la Unión refused to authorize the agreement or return any French captives. The infuriated French government afterward passed a decree ordering death to all Spanish prisoners and some units carried out the brutal order.

Collioure is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) for French wines situated around the town of Collioure in the Roussillon wine region of France. Red, rosé and a few white wines are produced-the reds from Grenache noir, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Carignan and Cinsaut grapes; the white are made from a blend of Grenache blanc and Grenache gris. The boundaries of the AOC are identical with the Banyuls AOC as many of the grapes grown in Collioure are destined for use in the fortified Vins doux naturels of the region. The grapes that do not get used for Banyuls are then produced as non-fortified still wines under the Collioure AOC.