Port Vendres

Port-Vendres is one of the few deep-water ports in this part of the French Mediterranean coast. It carries cargo ships and cruises, as well as large and small fishing boats that can be seen arriving with their daily catches. The geomorphology of Port-Vendres means that it has developed differently from the neighboring port of Collioure. While Collioure has two beaches that slope slowly down to a relatively shallow sandy bottom, Port-Vendres is deeper and rockier. Collioure and Port-Vendres, therefore, were used for different purposes: Collioure for small commercial ships and Port-Vendres for larger ships and military transport. During the 20th century, this made it an important embarkation point for French troops to serve in Algeria.