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Home > Travel France > France Destinations > Perpignan
Perpignan
France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and comprises various overseas islands and territories which are located in other regions. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. At 674,843 square kilometres, France is the world's 40th-largest country after Myanmar. France is a member of The European Union and Paris is the capital of this nation. The sole official language of France is French. Since prehistoric times, France has been a crossroads of trade, migrations, and invasions.
Perpignan is a commune and the prefecture of the Pyrenees-Orientales department in southern France. Perpignan was the capital of the former province and county of Roussillon. It is also capital of the historical Catalonian comarca of Rossello. Population in the year 1999 was 105,115 and 163,000 including the suburbs. Its land area is 68,07 square kilometres and density in 1999 was 1,544 per square kilometres. Though settlement in the area goes back to Roman times, the medieval town of Perpignan seems to have been founded around the beginning of the 10th century. Soon Perpignan became the capital of the counts of Roussillon.
Miscellaneous Perpignan has a close connection with the sculptor Aristide Maillol, who attended school there. The Catalan surrealist artist Salvador Dali declared the city's railway station the centre of the Universe, saying that he always got his best ideas sitting in the waiting room. He followed that up some years later by declaring that the Iberian Pininsula rotated precisely at Perpignan station 132 million years ago. Perpignan, justifiably so, enjoys a very positive reputation with worldwide travelers, and is one of the most visited place. It is also said the place of best geographical environment and can trace its origin back to prehistoric times.
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