Collioure 
                                                    is a picturesque place north 
                                                    side the Pyrenees. As 
                                                    an old fishing village 
                                                    it is situated waterfront 
                                                    and has got two harbour bays 
                                                    separated by a royal castle. 
                                                    A weir-church juts out in 
                                                    the sea which served formerly 
                                                    as a lighthouse. 
                                                  Like 
                                                    many villages in the Pyrenees 
                                                    Collioure is demonstrable 
                                                    very old. Archeological excavations 
                                                    nearby the castle proved that 
                                                    the village already existed 
                                                    in the 6th century B.C.. It 
                                                    was mentioned for the first 
                                                    time in the year 673 B.C..
                                                  In 
                                                    former times especially the 
                                                    winegrowing 
                                                    and the fishery 
                                                    attracted people towards Collioure 
                                                    and held the economy steady.
                                                  At 
                                                    the beginning of the 20th 
                                                    century the painters 
                                                    discovered Collioure as their 
                                                    place: Henri Matisse, Pablo 
                                                    Picasso or Albert 
                                                    Marquet ,just to name 
                                                    some of them. They preserved 
                                                    Collioure on celluloid on 
                                                    its full splendour. Doubtless 
                                                    today Collioure is still as 
                                                    picturesque as in former times, 
                                                    so that a visit there is worthwile.