Itinerary help for 17 night trip to Spain and France October
Aug 2nd, 2015, 07:03 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Itinerary help for 17 night trip to Spain and France October
I'm looking for some guidance for a trip we are planning to the south of Spain and France this October. The itinerary we have so far is:
Arrive in Seville from Los Angeles -
*Seville 4 nights (giving us time to recover and enjoy the city and surrounds)
*Granada 1 night (will leave early morning from Seville to Granada bus or train, spend one night in old town. See Alhambra and leave 9pm the following evening)
*Overnight Train to Barcelona - one night
*Barcelona 1 night (will arrive early morning and have a full two days as will take the overnight train to Avignon following evening)
*Overnight train to Avignon- arrive 6am
*Provence - 3 nights (would like to see surroundings. Possibly staying in St.Remy the 3nights and renting a car to see surrounding area). Any other base suggestions? Arles?
Morning train from Avignon to Lyon
*Lyon 2 nights
Train to Paris
*Paris 4 nights
Fly home
I know the middle part off the trip looks busy but we do really want to see Granada and touch on Barcelona on our way to France. We thought the two overnight trains would provide good value and give us full days in both Granada and Barcelona since we will only be in both one night but two full days. I am taking my son and he is a foodie and I am an art junkie so we want to see the best of both worlds. Was on the fence if we should give Lyon one or two days. Any recommendations? Outside of Seville on arrival and Paris on departure we are open to suggestions. Thanks so much.
Arrive in Seville from Los Angeles -
*Seville 4 nights (giving us time to recover and enjoy the city and surrounds)
*Granada 1 night (will leave early morning from Seville to Granada bus or train, spend one night in old town. See Alhambra and leave 9pm the following evening)
*Overnight Train to Barcelona - one night
*Barcelona 1 night (will arrive early morning and have a full two days as will take the overnight train to Avignon following evening)
*Overnight train to Avignon- arrive 6am
*Provence - 3 nights (would like to see surroundings. Possibly staying in St.Remy the 3nights and renting a car to see surrounding area). Any other base suggestions? Arles?
Morning train from Avignon to Lyon
*Lyon 2 nights
Train to Paris
*Paris 4 nights
Fly home
I know the middle part off the trip looks busy but we do really want to see Granada and touch on Barcelona on our way to France. We thought the two overnight trains would provide good value and give us full days in both Granada and Barcelona since we will only be in both one night but two full days. I am taking my son and he is a foodie and I am an art junkie so we want to see the best of both worlds. Was on the fence if we should give Lyon one or two days. Any recommendations? Outside of Seville on arrival and Paris on departure we are open to suggestions. Thanks so much.
Aug 2nd, 2015, 03:33 PM
#2
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,117
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
"Seville 4 nights (giving us time to recover and enjoy the city and surrounds)"
Do consider making time for at least a day trip to see the magnificent Mezquita in Cordoba.
"Granada 1 night"
To see the Alhambra, you might want to consider TWO nights. You can visit during the day, when you can see the rest of the Alhambra along with lots of other tourists and also listen to an audioguide or work with a guide if you want; plan on AT LEAST half-day for that. You can also visit at night, when you might be able to see either the Nasrid Palace or the Generalife with just a few others. I thought the night visit to the Nasrid Palace among the highlights of ALL of my travels, and was very glad to have seen it first during the day, when I could better see some of the details and see it within the context of the broader gardens and buildings. JMO. Whatever you decide, book WELL in advance!
"Barcelona ... a full two days"
That's not much time for Barcelona, IME, so I recommend that you think through your priorities in advance and book in advance when / if possible.
"Paris 4 nights"
Same advice as for Barcelona -- plan ahead!
"I know the middle part off the trip looks busy"
To me, yes it does look really busy! Enough so that I, personally, would be frustrated by the experience, but YMMV. One thing you might consider is that it is substantially more difficult for many of us to get to Andalusia than to Barcelona, so it really might make sense to take fuller advantage of the time you have in Andalusia on this trip, deferring Barcelona until you can give it (and other worthy destinations that are accessible from it) until a later trip. Just a thought!
"We thought the two overnight trains would provide good value"
They can! I am happy to take overnight trains, even though I don't always feel sufficiently rested afterwards: Although I sleep well on trains, the train schedule rarely matches my sleep schedule well enough to give me a full night's sleep. So two overnight trains in 3 nights would be a bit much for me. YMMV.
"my son ... is a foodie and I am an art junkie"
Plenty of opportunities for great food and art on this trip! You will face a challenge in selecting the museums to visit in Paris. In addition, the art museum in Seville is rarely mentioned on this board, but is well worth visiting IMO, and there are some incredible gems at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Hope that helps!
Do consider making time for at least a day trip to see the magnificent Mezquita in Cordoba.
"Granada 1 night"
To see the Alhambra, you might want to consider TWO nights. You can visit during the day, when you can see the rest of the Alhambra along with lots of other tourists and also listen to an audioguide or work with a guide if you want; plan on AT LEAST half-day for that. You can also visit at night, when you might be able to see either the Nasrid Palace or the Generalife with just a few others. I thought the night visit to the Nasrid Palace among the highlights of ALL of my travels, and was very glad to have seen it first during the day, when I could better see some of the details and see it within the context of the broader gardens and buildings. JMO. Whatever you decide, book WELL in advance!
"Barcelona ... a full two days"
That's not much time for Barcelona, IME, so I recommend that you think through your priorities in advance and book in advance when / if possible.
"Paris 4 nights"
Same advice as for Barcelona -- plan ahead!
"I know the middle part off the trip looks busy"
To me, yes it does look really busy! Enough so that I, personally, would be frustrated by the experience, but YMMV. One thing you might consider is that it is substantially more difficult for many of us to get to Andalusia than to Barcelona, so it really might make sense to take fuller advantage of the time you have in Andalusia on this trip, deferring Barcelona until you can give it (and other worthy destinations that are accessible from it) until a later trip. Just a thought!
"We thought the two overnight trains would provide good value"
They can! I am happy to take overnight trains, even though I don't always feel sufficiently rested afterwards: Although I sleep well on trains, the train schedule rarely matches my sleep schedule well enough to give me a full night's sleep. So two overnight trains in 3 nights would be a bit much for me. YMMV.
"my son ... is a foodie and I am an art junkie"
Plenty of opportunities for great food and art on this trip! You will face a challenge in selecting the museums to visit in Paris. In addition, the art museum in Seville is rarely mentioned on this board, but is well worth visiting IMO, and there are some incredible gems at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Hope that helps!
Aug 3rd, 2015, 04:43 AM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thank you so much for your reply! Great advice and will definitely take it under consideration. Our first thought was to give 9 nights to Spain and 8 to France and we will definitely be holding on to the ends of the trip (Seville and Paris. We could take a day trip to Cordoba from Seville correct? Also will take your advice on two nights in Granada and Barcelona (if we decide to keep Barcelona). I have been there but my son has not. The big question for us would be now should we keep Barcelona, add the days in Spain and cut out Provence (save for another trip)or save Barcelona for another time and possibly fly from Granada or Malaga to the south of France. We are also looking forward to the time in France as well and taking the straight shot TGV from Avignon to Lyon/Paris. My son had added in Lyon for the food and on researching the city looks incredible. Orignally we were going to spend 4 days Provence (staying in one town but getting a car), 4 days Paris. I'm really open on that mid section of the trip still and it's a work in progress. Thank you so much. Big help, so excited for this trip!
Aug 3rd, 2015, 04:34 PM
#4
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,117
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
"We could take a day trip to Cordoba from Seville correct?"
Yes indeed, and many people do that. FWIW, I thought Cordoba worth 2 full days on its own.
"The big question for us would be now should we keep Barcelona, add the days in Spain and cut out Provence...."
There are no right or wrong answers here -- it really just depends on what you want to see and experience. I like to maximize my time-on-the-ground to time-traveling ratio, so I'd skip Barcelona this time around and add time to Andalusia, particularly because you are going at one of the times of year when Andalusia makes sense. (Meaning that it won't be unbearably hot.) And there's plenty to see and do in Andalusia, including things that can be visited easily by public transportation.
If you haven't already done so, I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (always a good investment, IMO, or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, note their opening/closing times, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together.
But you'll see some wonderful things no matter what you decide!
Yes indeed, and many people do that. FWIW, I thought Cordoba worth 2 full days on its own.
"The big question for us would be now should we keep Barcelona, add the days in Spain and cut out Provence...."
There are no right or wrong answers here -- it really just depends on what you want to see and experience. I like to maximize my time-on-the-ground to time-traveling ratio, so I'd skip Barcelona this time around and add time to Andalusia, particularly because you are going at one of the times of year when Andalusia makes sense. (Meaning that it won't be unbearably hot.) And there's plenty to see and do in Andalusia, including things that can be visited easily by public transportation.
If you haven't already done so, I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (always a good investment, IMO, or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, note their opening/closing times, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together.
But you'll see some wonderful things no matter what you decide!
Aug 5th, 2015, 04:29 AM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thank you so much for your reply. We are giving 8 or 9 nights of the trip to Spain and are rethinking our itinerary now, cutting out Granada or Barcelona. My son really wants to experience Barcelona so it's a tough choice but grateful we have choices to make. We are either going to stay in Seville 4 nights,take a one night or day trip to Cordoba and then 2 nights in Granada or skip Granada, stay in Seville area for 4 nights, 1 night in Cordoba and 4 nights in Barcelona on the way to France. My son really wants to see/experience Barcelona but we are feeling that we don't want to be all over the place. That will give us a real feel for two great areas in Spain. Best laid plans, we may just leave it a bit open as well and wing it. We have 18 days total and will take in Seville/Andalucia, Barcelona, Provence and Paris. Plan is to travel on AVE, Seville to Barcelona (if we keep Barcelona). AVE Provence to Paris. (cutting Lyon for this trip) If we can spend 4 to 5 nights each place we will have more time to enjoy. You are right I'm sure it will be wonderful no matter what!
