Argeles-sur-Mer sits where the Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean, right at the point where long sandy beaches give way to the rocky coves of the Cote Vermeille. It is the last stretch of flat coastline before the mountains tumble into the sea toward Spain.
The town has two distinct sides. The old village, a few streets back from the coast, has the 14th-century Gothic church of Notre-Dame dels Prats, a weekly market on Place de la Republique, and the quiet rhythm of a Catalan town. Down at the beach and port, things get livelier: seafood restaurants, evening craft markets, and a long promenade backed by pine trees.
What makes Argeles-sur-Mer worth a stop is the variety packed into a small area. You can spend the morning on a wide sandy beach, hike into the Alberes foothills after lunch, and be eating Catalan seafood at the port by evening. The Mas Larrieu nature reserve protects a rare stretch of wild coastline just north of town, and the coastal path south toward Collioure is one of the best walks on this part of the coast. The 19th-century Château de Valmy sits on a hill north of town, and a stone marker on the beach commemorates the 1939 concentration camp for Spanish Republican refugees.
Summer brings crowds -- the population swells from 10,000 to close to 100,000 -- but the shoulder months of May, June, and September are ideal. The weather is warm, the markets are running, and you can actually find a spot on the beach.