Cerbère

Cerbère is a town of 1,400 people (2017) in Pyrénées-Orientales in France. Cerbère is an important centre for tourism, often linked with undersea diving. For rail travellers on the regional route between France and Spain, Cerbère is important because almost all trains end or start here or in the neighbouring Spanish border station Portbou.

Get in

By plane
  • 🌍 Perpignan Airport (PGF IATA). The nearest commercial airport. 
  • 🌍 Girona Airport ( GRO IATA). A little further away, but with more connections. 

By train

Cerbere train station was once of great importance in rail traffic as a border station to Spain, as the continental standard gauge ends here. Long-distance traffic is now managed differently, but regional trains still run. The line 540 regional network Lio connects the town to the station of Perpignan.

  • 🌍 Cerbère railway station (Gare de Cerbère). (updated Dec 2021)

By car

The town is crossed by the departmental 914 towards Banyuls, Port-Vendres to the north and Port-Bou in Spain to the south.

See
  • 🌍 Former Belvedere du Rayon Vert. Designed in the Art Déco style by the Perpignan architect, Léon Baille, was built between 1928 and 1932 and has the overall appearance of a ship. It has its own cinema and a tennis court on the roof. 
  • Cape Cerbere. A rocky headland giving excellent views of the Catalan coast. 
  • 🌍 Church of the Transfiguration of the Holy Saviour of Cerbère (Église de la Transfiguration du Saint-Sauveur de Cerbère). Built from 1884 to 1885. 
  • 🌍 The ruins of the castle of Querroig. On the border and straddling the territories of Banyuls-sur-Mer, Cerbère and Portbou. 

Do
  • The road over the Franco-Spanish border, while very tortuous, affords splendid views of the town as well as the coast. The actual border is on the Col des Balistres at 173 m (568 ft).
  • The Cerbère-Banyuls National Nature Reserve established in 1974, was the first marine reserve in France and covers 650 hectares (1,600 acres) of sea.
  • Communal festival: August 6.
  • Trans-Pyrenean festival of choral singing: end of June. Polyphonic songs, gospels, folk groups, meals on the beach and exhibitions.

Connect

As of Jan 2024, Cerbère and its approach highways have 4G from Orange, and 5G from Bouygues, Free and SFR.

They also have 4G / 5G from all Spanish carriers.

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