Barcelona to San Sebastian

Old Nov 29th, 2015, 11:43 PM
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Barcelona to San Sebastian

Hello all. My wife and I (and possibly another couple) are planning a trip from March 30th to April 10th flying into Barcelona and out of the San Sebastian area and driving between on the French side of the Pyrenees. I am having a hard time at finding consistent information on what to do and what to avoid while driving between. i suppose that is normal considering how most things are subjective. our tentative itinerary is as follows:

03/30 - Arrival (Barcelona)
03/31 - Barcelona
04/01 - Barcelona
04/02 - Barcelona
04/03 - Retrieve car...Possible stop in Cadaques (Dali museum)...continue to ??? (Collioure) ???
04/04 - ??? Collioure ??? then continue to ..... unknown, looking for "Pyrenees mountain town"
04/05 - Pyrenees mountain town then continue to ....
04/06 - ???
04/07 - San Sebastian
04/08 - San Sebastian
04/09 - San Sebastian
04/10 - Departure

So, as you can see, we have no idea what to do during the drive between. we want to drive between Barcelona and San Sebastian to maximize our exposure to things other than the larger hubs. In addition, we're from California and are quite accustomed to driving 5 hours to get between places (Bay Area to Tahoe, LA, Yosemite etc.). We are not big into museums (we dont mind doing big hitters and Dalis seems different than your typical museum). We are all in our mid to late 20s and are very active, but arent necessarily looking to go peak bagging while we're there (thinking more lazy canoe trips down rivers). we can all drink wine like its going out of style (dont worry, we are VERY sober driving conscious) and we certainly plan on eating really good food.

If anyone can offer any suggestions on those four days in the middle, or on the entire trip for that matter, we'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 12:04 AM
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Depending on your interests, 3 or 4 days might not be enough for Barcelona -- it depends on what you want to do and experience there.

I'm sure you realize there are several Dali sites in Catalunya, and each is, of course, a bit unusual (to say the least!).

Depending on your interests, 3 full days in San Sebastian might be a bit much.

May I ask why you are committed to the French side of the Pyrenees, rather than the Spanish side?

Either way, I strongly encourage you to get the Michelin Green Guides for these areas -- great coverage of sites and options, and lots of information you won't even know to ask until you actually read about it.

BTW, I think you will find a big difference between driving 5 hours in California and other parts of the US and driving 5 hours in these parts of Spain -- while there are major multi-lane expressways in some parts of Spain, there are also many stretches when you face frequent blind switchbacks up and down narrow roadways with no guardrails. It all depends on where, exactly, you choose to travel.

Hope that helps!
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 12:26 AM
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kja, thanks for the reply. i picked the french side of the mountains becuase the roadways seem to actually hug the mountains a bit closer without actually traversing them. i may be trusting google maps too much, but there are not many east-west oriented routes on the spanish side until you get down to Zaragoza, which appears quite a distance from the mountain range. on the french side, i am looking at D117, which from my research cuts through the foothills in an east-west orientation and seems to pass by many Cathar castles.

as far as driving US interstates vs European country roads, for a vacation i would much prefer the country roads. I drive for a living and understand the perils of mountain roads. Ive traversed California's Sierra Nevada, in the snow much less, many times. i just hope 5 hours here is the same as 5 hours there, otherwise we'll really be in for big surprises. plus, we'll be breaking it up with at least two stops.

thanks for the recommendation on the Michelin Green Guides, i will look into that.
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 12:45 AM
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"i just hope 5 hours here is the same as 5 hours there"

Well, if you are using google maps for your driving time estimates, I wouldn't count on it -- google map times for Europe are, IME, notorious for their underestimates. Use viamichelin, mappy, or tomtom for more accurate estimates, and as a rule, assume the longer estimates are closer to truth.
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 01:14 AM
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thanks again! i checked out ViaMichelin and over 204 km of the French D117 route, it is 45 minutes longer than Google Maps.
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 01:52 AM
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These are some good "Pyrenees mountain town" options along the Spanish side of the border.
Bielsa: http://www.escapadarural.com/que-hacer/bielsa
Torla: http://hitchhikershandbook.com/2012/08/03/torla-spain/
Isaba: http://www.turismo.navarra.es/eng/or...so.aspx?o=2260
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 02:20 AM
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kimhe, thanks for the input. am i missing something? i feel i am being encouraged to travel on the spanish side rather than the french side, but havent really been told why. why i think the spanish side is unreasonable, for example, is the route from Barca to SS, with two stops on the Spanish side (Torla and Isaba) is 11.5 hours if driven straight through (obviously longer with stops). the French side, however, with two stops (Collioure and Foix) is 8 hours 20 minutes when driven straight through via Carassonne (more direct) and only ten minutes longer via the countryside.

This is my logic in thinking the French side is more reasonable without putting too much time stress on our trip. can you tell me why you think i should avoid the french side and travel via the spanish countryside instead?
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 05:31 AM
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Let's start with Dali. There is a museum of Salvador Dali in Figueres. It was designed by himself and is just spectacular. You may visit it on a stop on your drive to Cadaques.

In Cadaques (which is a most picturesque town), exactly in the nearby village of Port Lligat, you find the villa where Dali lived. His home is even more unusual than the museum.

I highly recommend to see both sides if you are interested in Dali.

Now, the Pyrenees. I am afraid that the 8:20 route that you found has nothing to do with the Pyrenees, even the slightly longer route via the countryside. The Pyrenees are a steep mountain chain and if you want to see the mountains you have to drive small, windy roads right into the mountains. And this will take time, of course.

Collioure is a charming seaside town but has nothing to do with the Pyrenees. For an easily accessible valley town, nearby Ceret would be the better choice. Ceret is a charming, picturesque city and you can drive up Mont Canigou which is the highest mountain in the region. There are two narrow, windy roads which go up pretty high and then you can hike up to the summit if you like.

As an alternativ, you can drop the French side altogether and take the southern route through Spain. www.viamichelin.com has on a certain scale scenic roads marked with a green stripe. For scenic drives, just choose these roads. Also, you can visit the above mentioned mountain villages. But be aware that it will take some time.

My suggestion would be driving to the middle of the Pyrenees and stay overnight in one of the villages. Then continue the next day to Donostia (better use this name rather than San Sebastian). I agree that Donostia has not too many sights for full three days. But you may drive into France - the Corniche Basque is very scenic and Biarritz is a grand old seaside resort.
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 08:07 AM
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The route you've choosen is fine, but you might find the following route a little more interesting. It takes you through the Pyrenees in the Val d'Arn, up to Tarbes and Pau.

Barcelona
Figueres
Besalú
Ripoll
La Seu d'Urgell
Vielha

At Pau you can cut down to Oloron-Sainte-Marie and drive through the Pays Basque on the way to Donostia-San Sebastián.
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 10:19 AM
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< feel i am being encouraged to travel on the spanish side rather than the french side, but havent really been told why.>
There are of course great landscapes and fine mountain towns also on the French side, but I know the Spanish side much better and wouldn't be able to suggest the best route on the French side. And I'm seriously biased towards Spain ;-)

But, I've done the Pau - Oloron-Sainte-Marie - Saint-Jean-Pied de Port on the way to Donostia-San Sebastián, and that is a very nice drive.
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 11:15 AM
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San Sebastian is not a major airline destination, barely a minor one in fact, serving feeder routes to Madrid and Barcelona. The nearest airport with significant flight connections is Bilbao. Since that city is well worth at least a day or two anyhow(there is certainly more than the Guggenheim museum to see) perhaps your schedule could be altered for an easy daytime departure from the Bilbao airport http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite/Aeropuerto-Bilbao/en/
http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite/Ae...n/en/Home.html
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 11:31 AM
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thanks Southam. flying out of Bilbao cut out an extra layover!
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 12:27 PM
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it seems crossing the mountains rather than skirting them is much encouraged. what are the typical road conditions at the beginning of april? has the spring melt started, or will there still be feet of snow on the roads through the mountain passes?
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 12:46 PM
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Taüll in Catalonia is worth a stop. It's a ski resort area, so hotels should not be a problem.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7623190654780/ and subsequent pictures.
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 02:01 PM
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There will be snow on the road to Val d'Arn, since it leads to the ski resorts in the valley. The road from Vielha into France is in the river valley and should be clear of any snow in April. The scenery in the valley is breathtaking year around.

There is another route over the Pyrenees just to the west. It takes you up over the pass near Formigal, leading you up to Oloron-Sainte-Marie. It's an easy drive and they do maintain the highway.
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 04:28 PM
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Re: Dali -- I believe there is a third Dali site in the Costa Brava: the Gala Dalí Castle House-Museum in Púbol. I didn't visit it, and so can't comment on it.

"i feel i am being encouraged to travel on the spanish side rather than the french side"

That wasn't my intent in asking -- I was just curious. But it sounds like you've gotten some great information about your options.

I second Michael's recommendation for Taüll and the other villages of the Vall de Boi -- the Romanesque churches there are amazing!
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 07:49 PM
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We drove on the French side as the roads were close to the mountains but not in them. It was a wonderful few days with snowcapped mountains accompanying us. We left Hondaribbia, Spain and drove to Olaron Ste-Marie,France and another night we stayed in Sauveterre des Comminges. We chose the two towns as they had inns with excellent rated dining rooms. Next we went to lovely waterfront Collioure which we loved and would like to return there.. Then four days on the Costa Brava in Begur and a week in Barcelona. This was part of a six week trip that began in Lisbon. The majority of the trip was in Spain but we liked our little detour to the French side of the Pyrenees very much.
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 07:49 PM
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On the French side: St. Bertrand de Comminges, Col du Tourmalet, Gavarnie, Saint Savin, Lourdes (for its medieval castle).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...5043/show?rb=1
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Old Dec 1st, 2015, 01:34 AM
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>>what are the typical road conditions at the beginning of april? has the spring melt started, or will there still be feet of snow on the roads through the mountain passes?
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Old Dec 1st, 2015, 04:33 AM
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On the French side I would highly recommend a visit to at least one of the Cathar castles such as Peyrepertuse, http://www.chateau-peyrepertuse.com/

I recently spent 4 days in San Sebastian and found plenty of things to do. I loved my day trip to Getaria and boat ride along the coast as well as a lunch at Elkano and a visit to the Balenciaga Museum. In San Sebastian, I'd happily return to spend a a couple of hours at La Perla Spa.
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