Banyuls-sur-Mer, Pyrénées-Orientales Département, Occitanie, France

🇫🇷 Banyuls-sur-Mer (Banyuls de la Marenda) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It was first settled by Greeks starting in 400 BCE.

Geography: Location Banyuls-sur-Mer is located in the canton of La Côte Vermeille and in the arrondissement of Céret.

Banyuls-sur-Mer is neighbored by Cerbère, Port-Vendres, Argelès-sur-Mer and Collioure on its French borders, and by Espolla, Rabós, Colera and Portbou on its Spanish borders. The foothills of Pyrenees, the Monts Albères, run into the Mediterranean Sea in Banyuls-sur-Mer, creating a steep cliff line.

Toponymy Banyuls-sur-Mer was first mentioned in 981 as Balneum or Balneola. In 1074, the town started being called Bannils de Maritimo in order to distinguish it from Banyuls-dels-Aspres, which lies 20 km (12 mi) away. In 1197, the town was mentioned as Banullis de Maredine and in 1674. In Catalan, it has been called Banyuls de la Marenda since the 19th century.

The name Banyuls indicates the presence of a pond. In fact, a pond did exist in Banyuls-sur-Mer until the creek Vallauria was drained in 1872. The term Marenda in Catalan or sur Mer in French merely indicates the proximity to the coast.

History In the 20th century Banyuls-sur-Mer was the site of a camp housing Republican escapees from Spain at the end of the Spanish Civil War.

Sport • Banyuls-sur-Mer is at the eastern end of the GR 10 long-distance footpath. • Banyuls is a centre for scuba diving. The main dive site of the area is the marine reserve at Cap Rederis. Local dive schools offer excellent facilities. • Sea kayaking is also available here.

Economy For nearly two centuries, the smuggling of goods to and from Spain was a major activity in Banyuls-sur-Mer. Depending on the needs of the time, salt, tobacco, silver, sugar, rice, textiles, and leather were smuggled through this city, almost always with impunity. Otherwise the inhabitants lived mainly from fishing and viticulture. Nowadays, tourism stemming from the wine industry plays a significant economic role in the town, notably for delicious and rare red dessert wines. Under the Collioure appellation, the town is also a centre of quality dry reds, rosés and whites, with a number of producers of naturally sweet wines.

George Orwell and his wife Eileen had a holiday in Banyuls-sur-Mer directly after leaving Spain, then in the throes of its civil war, in July 1937. Their holiday was not a success. As he noted, Orwell found the place 'a bore and a disappointment'. It was chilly weather, a persistent wind blew off the sea, the water was dull and choppy…

Sites of interest • Musée Maillol Banyuls-sur-Mer, a private museum at the farm of the sculptor Aristide Maillol where he is buried.