It can be so much nicer than Nice A LTHOUGH the

Englishman's favourite holiday is to relax in a deckchair on a sandy beach, surprisingly one of the most attractive of France's shores is perhaps the least known to the English. The Roussillon coast stretches about 60 miles, from the broken shore of the Rhone delta up to the Spanish border.
It is the most southerly of France's long coastline, and the warmest. It has many advantages over the betterknown Riviera coast. It is still equable there when the Riviera is chilly, and the Mediterranean's blue-green waters are noticeably warmer than at the more northerly Nice or Cannes.
From early spring until late autumn you can enjoy sun and sea bathing, so the region is particularly suitable for early or late holidays.
A prelude, so to speak, to Spain's Costa Brava, the Rous. sillon coast divides itself naturally into two distinct portions. First, from Le Barcares to Le Racou, a long stretch of lovely sandy beach, then from Collioure to the Spanish frontier the "Vermilion Coast", a delightfully scenic series of bays, coves and inlets, where purplish rock and sand give the coast its popular name.
Typical of the Vermilion Coast is Banyuls, a picturesque fishing village now rapidly gaining in popularity as an upand-coming resort. It nestles around an almost semi-circular bay, with a background of gently sloping hills and a promenade of palms and tropical plants.
It is a pretty resort, offering good hotels and most tourist amenities. On the slopes facing the southerly sun grow the vineyards which produce "Le Banyuls", a wine which is steadily increasing in renown.
The Vermilion Coast has four other equally attractive resorts — Argeles, Port-Vendres, Collioure and the frontier town of Cerbere, each in its own pretty bay or cove as the foothills of the Pyrenees slope down to the sea.
Farther north, the plains broaden and the countryside flattens somewhat, the background being a harmonious mixture of farm lands and pine forests.
Here you can choose between Canet. Sainte-Marie, Le Barcares and Saint-Cyprien, spaced along a 30-mile stretch of sandy beach edged with the light foam of waves from the emerald green sea.
Whether you have your own car, or whether you make use of local services, the Rousillon offers you a variety of excur sions. To Narbonne and Toulouse, to the unique and very photogenic old city of Carcassonne, and even farther—to Tarbes and Lourdes.
A visit to Spain is simple enough, too—a drive along the Costa Brava to Barcelona and perhaps the sanctuary of Montserrat.
With the introduction of direct air services from London to Perpignan, getting to the Roussillon coast is very easy nowadays. But if you prefer "down to earth" travel, why not go by the speedy direct trains from Paris to Toulouse and Narbonne?
Inquiries regarding travel should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed envelope and sent to: "Going Away", Catholic Herald, 67 Fleet Street, London, E.C.4.