France: Cerbère comes up trumps We also spent a day in equally crowded Carcassonne, and visited lovely Narbonne, a dignified but lively city whose Roman past seemed almost tangible. En route to the station for these trips we kept passing a huge Art Deco building, sporting the word "Hotel" in fading letters but looking as if it had been closed for years. It turned out to be Le Belvédère du Rayon-Vert, a luxury hotel built in 1928, which closed during the Spanish Civil War and never regained its former glory. But it has retained its grand staircase and high ceilings, and, I discovered, some of the rooms have been converted into holiday flats, with original tiled floors, iron-shuttered windows and balconies overlooking the Med. Last summer, I returned to Cerbère, this time booking a flat in Le Belvédère. Nothing much had changed, but my perception of the little town, now an easy seven-minute walk away, was transformed. Life centres around the grandly named Place de la République, in reality a small village square, where we watched an impressive display of the local Catalan dance, la Sardane. It is a circle dance which anyone can join at any moment, accompanied by an 11-piece orchestra, la Cobla. It looks easy, with grandparents and children joining in, but isn't, as I discovered when I joined the free dance class held every Monday on the seafront. After that we were part of the local life. On our last day of this second trip we walked across the hills from Collioure and decided to carry on down to Port Vendres, founded by the Phoenicians in 600BC, its name a corruption of Portus Veneris (Port of Venus). It is still a major port for fruit from Africa. It was a contrasting pleasure to return, via an 11-minute train ride, from this astonishing discovery to the quiet, faded splendour of the Belvedère, drink a Banyuls blanc (the local aperitif) on the balcony, watching the sun going down over our deserted little beach across the bay, then stroll down to La Plage for freshly grilled sardines, before joining what seemed like the entire population of Cerbère, men, women, teenagers and children, already seated by the seafront and singing along to traditional songs played by the 11-piece orchestra. People here are relatively poor, but they are rich in other ways. When we ran out of 50-centime pieces for the table-football machine at La Coba, the patron gave us another. "Pour vous faire plaisir," he said, smiling. Ryanair (0871 246 0000; ryanair.com) flies from Stansted to Perpignan; a shuttle bus runs to the station (languedoc-holiday guide.com/perpignan/) for the 35-minute train ride to Cerbère. Download train timetable no. 5, Narbonne-Perpignan-Cerbère at ter-sncf.com/regions/languedoc_roussillon. Alternatively, travel by Eurostar (08448 484064; raileurope.co.uk) from London-Paris, from £69 return; then onwards on the overnight train from Gare d'Austerlitz, £32.50 one-way in a six-berth couchette. It leaves around 10.30pm and gets to Cerbère at 8am. The tourist office (Mairie de Cerbère, avenue du Général de Gaulle; 0033 4 6888 4185; cerbere-village.com) has a list of holiday apartments in Cerbère and the surrounding area, as well as a good local map and further information on the area. There are no sophisticated shopping opportunities in Cerbère but the small Casino supermarket has a butcher's counter which sells local specialities, including aioli. L'Hôtel La Vigie ££ Spectacularly situated on a cliff overlooking the smaller beach, to which it has a private footpath, close to La Coba café; on the main road to Spain and 10 minutes" walk from the town centre. In a small street across the main road, the same people run L'Hôtel Arago, a cheaper, modest annexe without en-suite facilities (6888 4184; hotel-lavigie.fr; doubles without a balcony from £60 per night). La Dorade ££ Seafront hotel with a terrace in the town centre (6888 4193; hotel-ladorade.com; doubles from £59 per night). Le Belvédère du Rayon Vert ££ Fairly spartan self-catering apartments with fine views in a listed building, close to station and town centre, but secluded and quiet as balconies face the sea (6888 4154 or 6 3727 9299; no website and non-French speakers should book through the tourist office; one-bedroom apartment sleeping four from around £371 per week in July). La Coba £ A quiet, friendly café offering snacks and light meals; conveniently close to the smaller beach. The rear terrace is perched over the sea (route Départementale 914; 6888 4711). Restaurant de la Plage ££ On the seafront in the town centre, set back from the road, with a spacious terrace. Serves many excellent regional fish and seafood dishes, perfect grilled lamb chops; friendly, efficient service (avenue Général de Gaulle 33; 6888 4003). La Dorade Restaurant ££ Offers regional cooking by François Coquelin at modest prices (see The Best Hotels, above). Book accommodation early as there isn't much of it and the same people tend to return every year. Cerbère is extremely hilly, so avoid self-catering accommodation which is not very close to Place de la République, unless you don't mind a long climb every day. Specify in advance that you want to hire sheets and towels, which are not usually provided. Be prepared for high winds at any time of year. Take espadrilles for the descent down to the smaller beach to avoid slipping on little stones.