We had a visitor for a few days and wanted to play tourist. We escaped the heavy rains that are flooding the north of France, but we still got some showers. It’s one thing to brave a few drops to visit something new, but another to see the same sites for the hundredth time, no matter how fabulous, when the weather is meh.
Our visitor hadn’t been to Banyuls, near the Spanish border, and it had been years since our last trip. One weather report suggested scattered showers, while another promised peeks of sun. We ended up under mostly gray skies but dry. A perfect afternoon jaunt that felt like we’d gone on away on vacation.
The weather held out for us to stroll around and have a leisurely lunch en terrace with a view of the beach.
As beautiful as Banyuls is I cannot imagine going there in July or August, when it’s absolutely overflowing with people. But on June 1, there were enough people for it to feel alive and yet for us to find ourselves alone on its charming, vertical streets.
If I went nuts over a tiny village like Malves, imagine what I did with Banyuls. So today you get to see its charming streets, appreciate its beauty, and thank your lucky stars that you don’t have to carry your groceries home like the folks here. Though I bet all the residents are in great shape.
Taste of France 
Heading there right now, if there are no disasters awaiting us at Argeles
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You could have dropped in for a cup of tea as you drove thru Campagne
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I think my husband and our guest would have preferred a glass of Banyuls to a cup of tea….
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Can do both sometime
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We were there last October. Truly charming…the best was the Banyuls wine though. Maybe a return visit this year. We had a great lunch and met some people who invited us to visit them in Toulouse.
Ali
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Yes, I didn’t even get to the wine. They leave the barrels out in the sun!!!!!
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beautiful.. i love the narrow lanes and the cobble stone roads..
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Your pictures are so lovely 🙂
Anni & Toby
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Lovely pix, must visit Banyuls. Agree the challenge as tourists is to feel that the place is lively without being overcrowded – nothing worse than feeling ‘hors saison’…Also familiar with the endless revisiting of same places with new visitors. Although sometimes visitors can be a good excuse/motivation to actually see new things in our own backyard!
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The thing when traveling is to know thyself. You can go to a touristy place for a few hours, because most touristy places are pretty awesome–that’s why they attract people. If you’re really into whatever it is that makes the destination a draw–beach, museums, theme park, history, party circuit–then that’s great. Otherwise it’s better as a daytrip. Personally, I most enjoy pretending to be a local.
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Wise words…. Feel much the same!
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Feeling like a tourist or a local? Our goal was always to fit in like a local. If ever we were feeling displaced, we excused ourselves by agreeing that it was “because we were from a different part of France”. Not, because we were originally from the other side of the world…
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