Villefranche-de-Conflent is a whole town inside a wall. Squeezed into the narrow valley of the Têt where it meets a side stream, it was founded in the eleventh century as a stronghold of the Counts of Cerdanya, and after the Treaty of the Pyrenees turned this area French in 1659 it was refortified by Vauban to hold the valley against Spain. The ramparts that give the place its label, l'enceinte, are part of the UNESCO listing of Vauban's fortifications, and you can walk along the covered galleries inside the walls. High above the town on the mountainside sits Fort Liberia, linked to the village by a long underground stairway.
The main road up the Têt valley runs right past the walls, and it is the route from Perpignan towards the high Cerdanya plateau and Andorra. It is a busy road by local standards, carrying trucks and holiday traffic, but once you leave it the riding changes completely. The lanes climbing towards Vernet-les-Bains and beyond into the foothills of the Canigou, the sacred mountain of the Catalans, are narrow and twisting, with steep gradients and views opening up towards the summit. Off to the side, the road to the abbey of Saint-Martin-du-Canigou ends at a car park, with the monastery perched high above on its rock.
Villefranche is also the starting point of the Train Jaune, the little yellow electric train that climbs through tunnels and over viaducts up to the Cerdanya. Watching it leave the station is a small pleasure in itself. Near the town are the Grottes des Canalettes and the Grandes Canalettes, show caves with impressive formations that stay cool in summer.
The village itself is very much geared to visitors, with crafts shops, cafes and creperies along the two main streets, and parking can be tricky in high season. For fuel and a wider choice of shops, go to Prades, a town of almost seven thousand people a few kilometres down the valley, which is also known for the music festival founded there by the cellist Pablo Casals after he settled in the town in exile. The climate is a pleasant mix of Mediterranean warmth and mountain air, though the tramontana can blow hard down the valley.