The Centre d'Art Contemporain Walter Benjamin gives Perpignan a modern cultural stop to balance the Castillet, cathedral, and Majorcan palace. Its name is not incidental: Walter Benjamin's final journey through the eastern Pyrenees ended just across the border at Portbou, and the centre's identity nods to that charged Franco-Catalan frontier history.
Exhibitions are the reason to go, so check what is on before making a special trip. Even when the show is modest, it helps broaden a Perpignan visit beyond medieval walls and Catalan street life into the city's contemporary cultural programme.