Château d’Ortaffa, Guest House in Catalan Soil

Château d’Ortaffa ©Château d’Ortaffa

A prestigious and historic guest house, the Château d’Ortaffa is full of authentic charms, period furniture and works of art, for a pleasant stay with the art of life of Catalan soil, a region full of sun and character.

Enjoying 300 days of sunshine a year and fine sand beaches stretching to infinity, the Roussillon is a territory blessed by the gods where the mountain dives into the sea, where vineyards and fruit trees take spread in the valleys before climbing the hills on stairs. On the border with Spain, legends are woven into History under the gaze of Mount Canigou, 2800-meter high sentinel guarding the valleys with a rich cultural and artistic heritage. Close to Collioure, jewel of the Côte Vermeille, the Château d’Ortaffa, a historic guest house with refined charm, welcomes its guests all year long in a large mansion from the twelfth century decorated with sumptuous antiques. This ancestral home opens its doors for you as part of the National Week of the Host.

Monumental staircase ©Château d’Ortaffa

An old episcopal palace

In the heart of the Ortaffa village of 1600 souls, the Château d’Ortaffa is the former episcopal palace built in the twelfth century for the bishops of Elne. This pale stone palace has been completely renovated and refurbished in the image of its glorious past by Michelle and Alain, two lovers of old stones, antiques, old patinas and decoration. In a spirit of exquisite refinement, the Château d’Ortaffa is bathing in an atmosphere of gracious luxury but without ostentation. It feels good to live in all seasons in this unique and cultural place, decorated in the respect of the spirit and the historical inheritance of this exceptional place.
Upstairs, accessed via an imposing period staircase, are the four guest rooms with names deliciously evocative of art and travel: Picasso, the suite facing the tower of the castle; Collioure, the junior suite; Tuscany, the family suite, and the large Baroque suite.
A huge friendly and warm living room with a superb period stone fireplace is the ideal place to meet up in the evening around a cup of tea and a fire to pick up ideas for next-day visits in the books about tourism in Roussillon.

Suite Toscane ©Château d’Ortaffa

Old stones and authenticity

The large and comfortable rooms have each their own character and offer superb views over the surrounding countryside. Decorated in the respect of the place, they combine comfort and respect of the style. Vintage furniture, beautiful fabrics, high-end bedding and patinated walls, captivating collections of themed paintings and objets d’art, are the many amenities that make the charm of this beautiful home. The marble bathrooms are spacious and luxurious. A perfect relaxation gateway, the Château d’Ortaffa opens onto a flowered terrace offering a panoramic view over the “republican” steeple that is sounding the hours of the village, the vineyards of Roussillon, the Albères chain and the Mount Canigou. In good weather, the guests can enjoy their breakfasts and savor artisanal bread and viennoiseries by Alain, the village’s baker, jams, local honey, homemade yogurts and many other local products.

Collioure ©DR

Collioure, cradle of Fauvism

In 1905, Henri Matisse is subjugated by Collioure. The beauty of the place, the light, the colors of the sea, the mountain and the Catalan boats, become his main source of inspiration. André Derain will join Matisse, as well as Picasso, Marquet, Dufy… Cradle of Fauvism, trend of painting characterized by a use of colors with dazzling hues, Collioure sees its fame of City of Painters spreading over the whole world. Other artists like Maurice de Vlaminck, Auguste Chabaud, Georges Braque, Etienne Terrus, Aristide Maillol or Daniel de Monfreid and Foujita will be charmed by the authenticity and the picturesque of the small Catalan fishing port and will participate in the “liberation of the colour”.
The Maison du Fauvisme (House of Fauvism) in Collioure offers to admire major works of Fauvism like the famous “Fenêtre ouverte” by Matisse or Derain’s “Bateaux à Collioure“.

Street in Collioure ©Office du Tourisme de Collioure

Picturesque and history

In Collioure, the last foothills of the Pyrénées come to bathe, as well as the bell tower of the church, the only steeple in Europe to have its feet in the water. The city stretches around the harbor and the impressive Château Royal, lined with beaches and café terraces where you can enjoy some delicious tapas. The Quartier Mouré, former district of sailors and fishermen, whose name would come from the Maures, showcases its maze of picturesque and flowery alleys spreading out on stairs, where art is omnipresent. At the top of the hill, overlooking the city, the Fort Saint Elme, a military fort built between 1538 and 1552 under Charles V and improved in 1680 by Vauban, is watching as the Sentinel of the Côte Vermeille. The great artists of Fauvism also made their colors sing on the walls of the fishermen’s houses of Collioure. After having welcomed you with warmth and natural, Michelle and Alain will be happy to advise you in the choice of the most beautiful sites to discover in Collioure and the surrounding area.

Saracen tower ©DR

Spectacular and diverse landscapes

On the border between France and Spain, the Pyrénées-Orientales department is located in the south of the Occitanie region. Disputed throughout the centuries, littered with castles, Saracen towers on the ridges, monasteries and small hilltop villages, crisscrossed by rivers and gorges, the department is also called the Catalan Pyrénées. With 300 days of sunshine a year, its terroir populated with olive groves and vineyards spreading on, sometimes soft, sometimes rugged slopes at the foot of Canigou, its rocky shores and valleys of medium and high mountain give some spectacular and diversified landscapes.

Mont Canigou ©DR

Discover the throbbing heart of the Catalan Country

Living in the Pyrenees Orientales is to live to the rhythm of the seasons: the summer, its numerous seaside resorts and its sandy beaches bordering the coast of the Côte Vermeille like Collioure, Argelès sur Mer, Port Barcarès, Saint Cyprien, extend as far as the eye can see, rocked by the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean. In winter, the ski resorts like Font-Romeu, Les Angles and La Quillane offer a wonderful family holiday. All year long, the lands rich of a historical, cultural and artistic heritage, are the opportunity to discover the throbbing heart of the Catalan Country with the Palace of the Kings of Majorca and its watchtowers, Le Castillet, the emblem of Perpignan, which today houses the Casa Pairal Museum, the Castle of Salses and its fortresses, the Priories of Sarrabonne or Marcevol, the Cathedral of Perpignan or Elne, the Chapel of St. Dominic and the convent of the Dominicans, the dolmens and menhirs of Les Apres, Fenouillèdes or Cerdagne, its Romanesque chapels…

Cadaquès ©DR

Mountains and wonders of the Côte Vermeille

The Côte Vermeille unfolds its natural wonders from Argelès-sur-Mer and extend to the Spanish border in Port-Bou through Collioure, Port-Vendres, Banyuls-sur-Mer and Cerbere. Since 2002, the Mediterranean coast has been inscribed by UNESCO on the World Heritage List. Collioure, nicknamed the Pearl of the Côte Vermeille is a marvel of beauty. Discover its rich heritage with its Chapel Saint Vincent built in the 16th century on a rock of shale, its military architecture with its forts of St Elme, Miradou, its Château Royal and the Moulin de Collioure. A hiking trail between Collioure and Cadaqués allows to reach out to the country of Salvador Dali and Gala, and discover the Spanish Catalan coast, the Costa Brava. This route is running along a path of the Douaniers, the “Cami de Ronda”, on the shores of the Mediterranean. This course paces the last Pyrenean reliefs that plunge into the Big Blue into wild coves. The coast is illuminated with beautiful colors that are changing during the day and according to the seasons.

©Office du Tourisme de Collioure

Gastronomy in Catalan country

Located between the Pyrenees and the Côte Vermeille, the Château d’Ortaffa is the ideal starting point to discover the Catalan terroir, its history, its wines and its gastronomy. Thanks to its natural resources of products, fruits and vegetables, olive oil and famous wines, and exceptional raw materials, the Roussillon delivers a Mediterranean cuisine both tasty and colorful, with sunny Catalan accents. Michelle and Alain share some of their favorite restaurants: Le 5ème Péché in Collioure (Young Japanese Chef / Mediterranean Cuisine / Fusion Cooking) – Tel: +33 (0)4 68 98 09 76; Le Jardin des Simples in Saint André (Mediterranean cuisine) – Tel: +33 (0)4 68 89 14 69; L’Atelier de Fred in Céret (Bistronomique) – Tel: +33 (0)4 68 95 47 41; L’Ancienne Ecole in Palau del Vidre – Tel: +33 (0) 4 68 22 34 09.

Michelle & Alain ©YesICannes.com

National Week of the Host

From March 18 to 24, 2019, the second Week of the Host invites the travelers to discover the soul of establishments from the independent tourism by offering original concepts. At the origin of this operation, eviivo, leader in the management of online reservations for independent hoteliers, pursued its goal of valuing wealth and developing independent tourism through the implementation of exclusive offers and activities. According to Guillaume Sniady, General Manager of eviivo France: “France has nearly 120,000 independent establishments – including 60,000 guest rooms – which account for 15% of total overnight stays booked in France. This niche sector contributes to the influence of the Hexagon, which keeps its title as the first tourist destination in the world. The Week of the Host wants to make a happy homage to all these hosts!”