The Sentier de la Liberté at Banyuls: hiking, history and good addresses

Above Banyuls-sur-Mer, the valleys climb between terraced vineyards to the ridge of the Albères and the Spanish border. These winegrowers’ and shepherds’ paths served as clandestine crossings: in 1939, during the Retirada, then from 1940 to 1944 for refugees fleeing occupied France. The Sentier de la Liberté follows one of these routes, from the village to the col del Torn.

A story of guides

The path passes the Métairie, the farm of the sculptor Aristide Maillol (1861-1944), born in Banyuls, now the Maillol Museum, where he lies buried. During the war, his model Dina Vierny guided refugees through the mountains towards Spain; she was arrested and imprisoned for several months in 1943. Further south, Lisa and Hans Fittko led other exiles across by the path that now bears the name of the philosopher Walter Benjamin, who died in Portbou in September 1940.

The route

• Start from the tourist office, on the Banyuls seafront. Cross the centre, go under the railway line, then take the “route des Mas”, a small tarmac road between the vines.
• Museum car park at the Maillol Museum and crossing of the river, then climb through the museum’s grounds towards the Mas Xatard.
• Two fords, an earth track that crosses the Rec de la Rovira, then the climb to the col de la Martine.
• A path finally leads to the col del Torn, the “pass of freedom”, on the border. Return by the same route.

Practical information

• Round trip from the tourist office: about 23 km and 705 m of ascent; allow a full day’s walking (8 hours stated). The waymarked part of the path, from the route des Mas, is 8.2 km long.
• Green waymarking. For experienced walkers: little shade on the heights, so take at least two litres of water, a hat, good shoes and a windproof jacket out of season.
• Avoid days of strong tramontane and intense heat. In summer, access to the massifs may be restricted when there is a fire risk: find out before setting out.
• Parking in Banyuls: place Bassère, Miramar or the market car park.

The route and map are on our Sentier de la Liberté page. To continue into Spain, follow the Walter Benjamin path, from Banyuls to Portbou (12.7 km).

Nature and heritage around the path

In the Albères, the Massane forest is a beech wood left to evolve freely for more than a century; on the ridges, the Massane and Madeloc towers watched over the coast for the kings of Majorca. On the seaward side, the Cerbère-Banyuls marine nature reserve, the first in France, and the Paulilles cove complete the day. All the addresses are below, with the map.