A small frontier town located 20km south of Perpignan, Le Boulou is the largest producer of cork in France.
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At the beginning of the 20th century 140km surrounding Le Boulou were planted with cork oak trees to replace the vines which had been devastated by phylloxera. Cork oaks are resistant to forest fires and as a consequence certain areas are now being replanted.
This plantation produced the cork for the champagne industry, however the cork production has now decreased because of the cheaper imported Portuguese cork.
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There is a good bus service from Le Boulou, which covers the Tech valley and the route to Spain.
A few minutes to the south of the town near the spas of Le Boulou is the remarkable vault of Saint-Martin-of-Fenollar, which contains splendid frescos of the 12th century and murals of Roussillon.
These paintings with their clear lines and simplicity were an influence on the Fauvres painter such as Picasso and others.
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Four kilometres to the south of Saint-Martin are the ruins of two Roman fortifications. The fort located on the western side, known as 'Château des Maures' (the Castle of the Moors) is only accessible by crossing the river via a dry river bed which is only accessible by foot.
If you want visit the eastern fort , you must start from the village of
L' Ecluse, a village who's name has been taken from the Latin 'clausura (which means: not control at the edge of the road).
This ruin holds no interest for the layman but close by is the church of Saint-Nazaire which contains beautiful Frescos which are very similar to those of Saint-Martin they were created by the same artist.
Keys to this church can be obtained from Lock town hall.
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