Just one more clarification -- for me, it's not pretty vs. unpretty. It's prettified vs. beautiful.

PS pvouageuse, don't tell St Cirq people think there are phallic symbols in Collioure. She'll go ballistic.

Zeppole, I understand what you mean but you can't decide for other people what they should and shouldn't see. I would not say Collioure belongs to the "isolated" kind of places, it happens to be very crowded in summer and so are most of the beach resorts in the area and, by the way, Andorra which turns into a gigantic parking lot as soon as the snow begins to melt.
When people only have 1 or 2 nights to spend in an area, they might as well spend them in a picture-like place instead of roaming the countryside in search for "hidden" treasures which they might never find.

Pvoyaguese,

Would you please read my first post in this thread?

I described my own trip and my own experiences. PERIOD.

But because I said I hated Collioure, St Cirq comes in and insults me and you back her up.

In response, I've posted multiple times I've nothing against Americans looking for snapshots.

And I've never been to Andorra. I might have hated it.

What is wrong with you?

Wait. Let me guess: You own a tourist industry business.

When St Cirq pronounces Foix "a dump," nobody rushes in to call her jaded like she does other people who dare to express their opinions on Fodor's. I've only driven through Foix (rushing to get to highly-recommended Collioure, alas) and wished I'd made time to look more closely at the castle and the astonishing post office.

But here's an opinion of a writer who stayed longer than I did, and published this in the Independent UK of St Cirq' s idea of a "dump":

"Foix, the departmental capital, sits in the centre of the Ariège like a spider in its web. Sheltered in a natural valley where the rivers Ariège and Arget meet, this has long been a site of great strategic importance - from prehistoric times, through the Visigoth and Merovingian eras, to the wars of occupation of the 13th century. There is plenty of interesting modern architecture - especially an astounding 1930s art deco post office on the main street - and a well-preserved medieval centre.

"Foix is a city dominated by its castle. Where the ruined citadel of Montségur speaks of gods and giants and kingdoms in the clouds, the castle at * * Foix proclaims the might of men. In the Albigensian Crusade of the 13th century, it was the only fortress never taken by the northern French invaders. The foundations of the current castle dates from 1000. The chateau sits, dominant, splendid, powerful, on top of a rock that looks as if it might have fallen from the sky. The climb up to the chateau itself is not for the faint-hearted. A surprisingly discreet wrought-iron gate at the bottom leads to steps, then you find yourself on an open, steep, cobblestone ramp that zigzags up the side of the mountain on which the chateau sits.

"But it's worth it. The view from the top is breathtaking. The rivers, the lights, the church of St-Volusien down below, and the castle itself. There are two distinctive square towers which date from the 12th and 13th centuries, as well as the 15th-century round tower, which boasts an Errol Flynn-style winding stone staircase and allows you to climb to the very top, weather permitting.

"Since 1930, the chateau has been the home of the collection of the Musée Departémental d'Ariège. There are artefacts dating from prehistoric times, Gallo-Roman remains but if, like me, you're a sucker for swords and all things medieval, best of all is the fabulous collection of armour and weapons. For a while, I sat in silence on a metal bench, writing in my head scenes for my next novel ..."

I guess more than one kind of person goes to France and find different things to enjoy. Who'da thunk?

Zeppole :
I don't own a tourist industry business.
I am not American, I am French
I live 10 miles from Collioure and not too far from Andorra
I don't know St Cirq and what happens between you and her is none of my business.
I don't come here to back anybody up, and
I don't come here either to have complete strangers make rude and unconsiderate remarks asking "what is wrong with me".

I just love it that I, who bought a place in France 18 years ago in a TEENY commune (take that, Camogli) of 311 people that had probably never even seen an American, am being portrayed, along with Maribel (probably the board's most qualified Spain expert) as someone who steers people to "touristy" spots. In fact, we steer people to spots we are pretty sure they will find charming and interesting. That would include both places that are heavily touristed at certain times of year and places that are relatively unknown.
There's no formula. We respond to people as they ask questions, trying to fathom what kind of traveler they are.

Did you go to Collioure in high season, Zeppole? Given your exceptionally highly sophisticated knowledge about Europe and your resistance to anything that smacks of touristy, that was a dumb move. Do you know anything at all about the history in St-Jean-de-Luz, or did you, you sophisticated, quirky, only-go-to-out-of-the-way-places traveler, you, just stroll the main street and check out the tourists? Oh well, perhaps history doesn't interest you as much as being a quirky traveler who seeks totally hidden venues.

The fact that you feel the need to respond about a zillion times to your own postings and to point out how "quirky" you are speaks volumes.

Some of us here just answer questions as best we can.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. One person's dump is another person's interesting town I guess. ;^)

I had wanted to visit Foix for a long time as the Count of Foix, Gaston Phoebus, was a fascinatiing character in the Middle Ages of whom Froissart wrote.

Foix was one of his castles and it was interesting to visit. The old part of the town was picturesque and in good repair and we quite liked the large covered part of the market as it came on to rain and a couple of cafes have tables set up beneath it. Regular cafe umbrellas wouldn't have protected us.

So yes, Foix may be a dump but it's a dump
I'm glad I visited. ;^)

Rob