Collioure
Imagine summer by the sea in an ancient fishing village surrounded by the sparkling Mediterranean. Our house is just a 2 minute walk to the beach down bougainvillea filled pathways. There are restaurants with seafood galore, tasty shopping streets, galleries, outdoor markets and romantic ambiance to die for.
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Our home is a 3-story stone fisherman's house on the most colorful walking street in town. We rent out the top two floors, Chez Matisse apartment on the 2nd floor and Chez Magic apartment on the 3rd floor. They are both fully furnished and easily accommodate a couple or a couple and one child. There is a double and single bed in each apartment and complete kitchens.
They are available year round and can be rented individually or together as a unit. They are heated in the winter making it ideal for winter-time ski trips, writing your novel or just a quiet vacation.
The ground floor is Carol's L'Art Vivant Gallery right in the middle of the most celebrated art street in Collioure.
Please click here to check availability and rent this house.
CHEZ MATISSE & CHEZ MAGIC #17 Rue de la Fraternite,
Collioure 66190 France
House Details from owners, Carol and Don Watanabe
Collioure is a small seaport village and favorite place for paintersand people who enjoy the relaxed beach life. Our apartment is two minutes easy walk to the beach where clear water andsafe calm seas make it perfect for swimming. Our street is the most charming in town – with lots of plants and great ambiance created by the resident artists who own their own galleries.
The street level of our house is my personal gallery, L’Art Vivant, which I share with our other manager, Danielle Canellas who paints and shows her work there in trade for running the gallery. The second floor is my atelier and apartment which is sometimes available for rent.
Check Availability Here for Chez Matisse
The third floor is the year round rental Chez Magic. It is one big room with a combined living room/kitchen where you enter, an
d a loft bedroom built over the bathroom (which is standard with a shower) and storage areas. The double bed in the loft has to be on the floor due to limited ceiling height. It feels spacious and open but due to no walls between the bedroom and living room, it works best for a couple or two easy going friends. Access to the loft is by standard wooden stairway. The day-bed/couch in the living room is a standard single bed size and there is bedding for it in the linen closet if needed.
Check Availability for Chez Magic Here
The kitchen is equipped with cook top, microwave, refrigerator and sink plus dishes, pots and pans, utensils, etc.
There is no TV and internet connection is at the nearby café. The apartment is beautifully appointed with original art and ample ambiance, everything you need for a great vacation. The interior stairs are rather steep so we do not allow children under 5 years old. 
Local contact in Collioure for emergencies: Tineke Blend 04 68825782 #9Rue Fraternite Access: Perpignan Airport (30 km) Train Line: SNCF Paris/Port-Bou #114 The train stationis five blocks away and is an easy coast down the street to our house with a suitcase on wheels (see map).
If you have a rental car, the easiest place to park is on the hill three blocks from our house on Ave Miradou. There is no time limit there. For exploring the nearby Pyrenees and villages, rental cars are the best way to go. Collioure is mainly a walking town as it is built on the slopes of the Pyrenees which dip into the Mediterranean. A car is useful if you want to take day trips into Spain or visit the Cathar ruins of Queribus and Peyrepeteuse or go to see the art museum in Ceret, a sweet town where Picasso lived.
If you are comingon an art adventure to paint in Collioure and stand in Matisseí’s footsteps, there is plenty to paint in town without having a car. There are two outdoor weekly markets in the town square where you can buy great roasted chickens, produce, flowers, clothing, ceramics, cheese and fresh and local fare galore. Also a grocery store in town for basics, the Tarte Marie, is one of my favorite live staples of life. You will find her at the market selling her savory or sweet quiches and tarts and can order and pickup at her home any time.
Tarte Marie and some local wine is all it takes for the good life in Collioure. There are many excellent restaurant and free live music goes on in the square near the tourist office all summer
P.S.: If you break anything in our house please replace it and please take your laundry to the local Laundromat as we need to save our machine for the house keeper and our own use. If you would like more information about Collioure: www.collioure.com
