linjudy

Hi all,

We currently have 5 "open" days during our Spain/France vacation in Sept. We'll be leaving Barcelona on Sat with a rental car, and need to be in Bordeaux by following Thur at the latest to meet up with some friends for a wine course. After that we end our trip with 3 days in San Sebastian and fly home from Bilbao.

So the question is what to do and where to base ourselves for 4-5 days. Originally, I was thinking of going to Sarlat and spend the time in Dordogne. However, my husband feels that's too much driving. So now I'm looking for some place that's more along the way in Languedoc-Rousillon. I've been pouring through previous posts, and have a few candidates: 1) Pezenas/Bezier (though that's a bit out of the way), 2) Carcassone area for the Corbieres wine region (though can't find a town that's not Carcassone), 3) Cahors area, 4) Albi area.

We would like a mid-sized town where we can stay in the center, walk to good restaurants/cafes/shops, and take easy day trips to the surrounding area. This would be our first trip in this area, but here are some of the other towns we really enjoyed in the past:

France:
- Arles
- Honfleur
- Beaune
- Annecy/Talloire

Italy:
- Bellagio (I know, it's touristy but so lovely)
- Assisi
- Orvieto
- Lecce
- Positano

Elsewhere:
- Luang Prabang in Laos (this was sandwiched in the middle of an action-packed holiday in Thailand and Cambodia. It was wonderful to to stay a few days in LP doing not much but wonder the streets and eat/drink great food. I know this is far-fetched, but would love to find the French version of LP

Our primary interests are to eat/drink, wonder around in cute villages (tho my husband's appetite for this is limited), see a few historical sites (castles, cathedrals), and mix in a bit of outdoor activity. Not much into museums.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Ricardo_215

We stayed on a camp site in Argelès in 2002, I think there are 50 camp sites there; I'm sure there must be hotels in the town centre there. It's on the sea, near pretty Collioure. You can drive on day trips to Perpignan and also the Pyrénées, with beautiful walks, a touristy train (the little yellow train) and it's only an hour or two from the border.

StCirq

<<However, my husband feels that's too much driving.>>

I'm not sure I understand. If you start in Barcelona and end up in Bordeaux, it's LESS driving to go through the Dordogne then to swing out to Languedoc-Rousillon and backtrack. What am I missing?

linjudy

StCirq, the thinking is to stick to the western side of Languedoc (no further east than Bezier/Pezenas).

mr_go

We actually enjoyed our brief stay in Pezenas quite a bit. It's a lovely town. But to StCirq's point... we enjoyed the Dordogne immensely, and it is pretty convenient to Bordeaux.

historytraveler

I am no expert on the area mentioned. I'll leave the best advice to StCirq, Stu and others. I have recently finished an itinerary for our trip to Languedoc/Roussillon and we'll be spending two nights in Pezenas, coming from St. Raphael and heading to Prades, Rennes-les-Bains and Carcassonne. I selected Pezenas because there did seem to be a variety of things to see/do in the general area.

mr-go, if you have any suggestions/comments on Pezenas, I'd enjoy hearing them.

It's been years since I've been to the Dordogne region but remember it as being a wonderful place to spend some time.

mr_go

ht: Here's the Pezenas page from our trip report:
http://www.onelittleworld.com/france_2.html

We were only there for a couple of days, and spent the better part of that time visiting sites in the general vicinity. So our experience there is somewhat limited. But we liked it!

(Anyone interested in reading on about our time in the Dordogne on that same trip, just click thru the 'Next' link at the bottom of the page.)

linjudy

According to Google maps, it's 181 miles from Carcassonne to Sarlat, and takes about 3 hrs. Does that seem accurate?

I'm thinking about going to Carcassonne on Sat and stay overnite. I've been there before, but Alan hasn't, and it might be fun to stay over. Then drive to Sarlat on Sunday, where most things are closed, and traffic is light. We can stay there for 3 days.

Thoughts?

StCirq

I don't like Google maps for accuracy - I use mappy.com - but yes, that's fairly accurate. Since it's a Sunday and there will be no trucks on the road and things will be quiet, I'd poke around on the way north and go through Castelnaudary and Castelnau-de-Montmiral and Labastide de Murat and so on, rather than making a beeline for Sarlat.

Christina

Narbonne seems the obvious answer to what you said you wanted, so I'm surprised you aren't considering it. It is right in the middle of the Corbieres wine region, and is a nice medium sized town with good rail connections, etc. It's exactly what you want. Except I also don't understand how that is less driving if you are on the way from Barcelona to Bordeaux.

linjudy

Thanks for the suggestion on Narbonne, I'll look into it. Anyone been to both Narbonne and Pezenas?

StCirq

Yes, I've been to both, and both are interesting, but I still don't get why you're going east.

linjudy

well, because google maps tells me to go on the E16 from Barcelona to Narbonne, and then the A61 through Toulouse onto Bordeaux.

linjudy

After some extensive reading of trip reports and Stu's itinerary, I've come up with the following choices:

1) Barcelona->Carcassonne->Lot Valley:
- Drive to Carcassonne on Saturday, spent the night
- Drive to the Lot Valley, probably based in or around Figeac. Spend 3 nights there with day trips in the Lot Valley before heading to Bordeaux.

2) Barcelona->Pezenas->Lot Valley:
- Drive to Pezenas on Sat, go to the market, enjoy the town
- On Sunday, drive north through St. Guilhem le Desert, Millau, the parc area, and end up in Belcastel. Have dinner at the Le Vieux Pont restaurant (assuming it's open on Sunday)
- Spend another 2 nights in the Lot Valley.

3) Barcelona->Pezenas->Bordeaux:
- Drive to Pezenas on Sat, enjoy the market
- Stay in Pezenas for 3-4 nights, using it as a base for day trips. Seems like within one hour, we can get to Millau, Nimes, Montpelier, Carcassonne, or to the sea (Agde, Sete).
- Drive to Bordeaux (4.5 hours).

Opinions, please!!