Port-Vendres (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, southestern France. A typical Mediterranean fishing port, situated near the Spanish border on the Côte Vermeille in southeastern France, Port-Vendres is renowned for its numerous fish and sea food restaurants. Geography Port-Vendres is located in the canton of La Côte Vermeille and in the arrondissement of Céret. Port-Vendres is one of the few deep-water ports in this part of the French Mediterranean coast. It takes freighters and cruise ships, as well as large and small fishing boats which may be seen arriving with their daily catch. The geomorphology of Port-Vendres meant that it developed in a different way from the nearby port of Collioure. Whereas Collioure has two beaches which slowly descend into a relatively shallow sandy-bottomed harbour, Port-Vendres is deeper and rockier. Collioure and Port-Vendres have therefore been used for different purposes - Collioure for small commercial ship and Port-Vendres for larger vessels and military transports. During the 20th century, this made it a main point of embarkation for French troops going to serve in Algeria. Climate History Port-Vendres has been in existence since Iron Age times, when it was used as a harbour connected with the Iberian settlement of Illiberis (modern Elne). It was later developed by the Romans, who called it Portus Veneris after the goddess Venus; there was probably a temple of Venus nearby for the good fortune of mariners. Ancient writers wrote that there was a sanctuary of Aphrodite and called it Aphrodisium (). Strabo writes that it was dedicated to the Pyrenaean Aphrodite (). During the Middle Ages, Port-Vendres was expanded by the rulers of the Kingdom of Majorca and served as a key point of connection between the mainland and the Balearic Islands. It passed to France along with the rest of Roussillon in 1659, as a result of the Treaty of the Pyrenees. Vauban carried out work to fortify the port between 1673 and 1700, building three redoubts and fortresses. Under Louis XVI, a major expansion of the port was carried out under the supervision of Count Joseph Augustin De Mailly d'Haucourt, the lieutenant general for Roussillon and commander in chief of the province. He was the driving force behind the modernisation of Port-Vendres as a port, and followed plans originally conceived by Vauban to open up and enlarge the existing facilities. From 1776–78, land was dug out and quays were created.