Massane Tower, Medieval watchtower in Argelès-sur-Mer, France

Massane Tower is a roofless cylindrical watchtower of roughly hewn grey-brown stone, standing at 793 metres in the Albères massif above Argelès-sur-Mer. Its broken top edge and small square recesses are visible, with a single dark arched opening near the base and a low ruined wall with a metal railing around the foot.

The tower was built in the 13th century by the Kingdom of Majorca as a lookout post to protect coastal settlements using smoke signals and later cannon fire. It formed part of a larger defensive network that guarded the region's borders and trade routes.

The tower's name comes from the Massane River, whose source lies in the Albères; in Catalan it is the Torre de la Maçana, and a 1293 mention calls it Torre de Perabona. Around 1780 its facade was whitened so it could serve as a landmark from the open sea, together with Fort Saint-Elme, to locate the port of Port-Vendres. In 2024 it was one of 14 towers lit for the Olympic flame's passage.

The hike starts at the Château de Valmy car park and is partly shaded but largely exposed to the sun during the hot summer months. The tower stands on a 793 m summit of the Albères massif, on the territory of Argelès-sur-Mer above Banyuls-sur-Mer. The two megalithic dolmens Cova de l'Ararb and Collets de Cotlliure lie near the road leading up to the tower.

In 1701 Cassini II used the tower as a geodetic station for his meridian survey, measuring a height difference of 397 toises between the tower's foot and the Collioure observatory. Around 1780 its facade was whitewashed so it could serve as a sea mark, together with Fort Saint-Elme, for locating Port-Vendres.