www.elne-tourisme.com. An ancient settlement fortified by the Romans, Elne was the capital of Roussillon before the Kings of Majorca moved their base to Perpignan. Hannibal stopped off here on his elephant march to Italy for the Second Punic War.

Present-day visitors scale the little mound of the old town to visit the 11thC Cathédrale de Sainte-Eulalie et Sainte-Julie for its superb cloister constructed from grey and white veined marble quarried near Céret. The Romanesque south gallery has beautifully detailed capitals with long eastern faces and intricate friezes; the biblical stories and twisted foliage of the Gothic galleries date from the 14thC. A small archaeological museum houses arrowheads and pottery from Elne’s Neolithic and Roman inhabitants.