One week travelling from Spain to Paris

Old Jul 21st, 2016, 04:36 AM
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One week travelling from Spain to Paris

My partner and I will be travelling from a small village on the French Spanish border to Paris to get our flight home. We would like to spend a week or ten days en route. We can either go by train or hire a car. We were thinking of getting a train from Perpignan to Bordeaux and then on to Paris but now think it would be pleasant to spend a little more time en route exploring. We would be happy to settle in a pretty small village for a few days and do day trips or to follow a driving route that ends up near Paris, so we're pretty flexible. We like food and markets, landscapes and architecture, gardens and art. We'll be doing all this in July next year. Does anybody who knows this area have any suggestions please? By the way we do not need to go to Carcassonne and we have already spent quite a lot of time in Provence and the Dordogne regions so would like to visit an area that is new to us.
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Old Jul 21st, 2016, 05:04 AM
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I would go up the Atlantic coast and explore St-Jean-de-Luz, Biarritz, Bayonne, Les Landes, La Rochelle, Ile de Ré, Cognac, Biscarosse, Nantes, and on up to Paris, maybe through the Haute Vienne and then the Loire.

Don't rent a car in Spain and drop it in France. It will cost you a small fortune.
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Old Jul 21st, 2016, 05:56 AM
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Good suggestion from St Cirq, but if you go here, you should also include the spectacular Spanish Basque Country (Euskadi) right on the other side of the border:
http://tourism.euskadi.eus/en/
http://www.euskoguide.com/

The culinary heartland of Spain, only 2,2 million people and 39 Michelin star restaurants, some of which are among the absolute best in the world (Arzak, Mugaritz, Martín Berasategui, Akelarre, Asador Etxebari and Azurmendi). Fabulous food markets both in the cities and in small towns and villages. And the best thing about the food culture here is the quality of the food in any place you happen to walk into:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...y-for-foodies/
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...rink.shopping2
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Old Jul 21st, 2016, 06:55 AM
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Thanks for those links, kimhe. We are starting to plan for our week-long stay in and around Donostia in mid-September and are looking forward to some serious eating!
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Old Jul 21st, 2016, 06:19 PM
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I just love the sound of these two suggestions, thank you both. We're staying in the village of Rodes on the eastern side close to Perpignan. We could rent a car in Perpignan and drive west but that would mean crossing the border with a rental car, which may add to the cost or cause difficulties - ?? I'm also wondering whether a rental car would be a liability in places like San Sebastian and Biarritz. Alternatively we can train it to Bordeaux then down to San Sebastian and Biarritz, then back up to Bordeaux, which is quite a bit of mucking around. I'd be interested to hear your views. And thanks again for some inspiring advice!
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Old Jul 21st, 2016, 06:40 PM
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I second StCirq's suggestion.

Things to see in that area:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...845839973/show
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Old Jul 21st, 2016, 07:22 PM
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Stunning photos Michael. Thank you.
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Old Jul 22nd, 2016, 04:14 AM
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No problem with a car in very walkable Donostia/San Sebastián, 16 underground parking houses in town. The most central ones are 25€/day, but most hotels, hostals and apt rental companies have special agreements with this or that parking house, so you usually get away with about 15€ pr. day.
http://www.sansebastian.travel/en/wh...san-sebastian/
https://www.donostia.eus/info/ciudad...8#mapa_camaras

No problem to drive in and out of France and Spain, the extra cost comes if you rent in one country and deliver in the other.

Tolosa and Getaria are two small towns close to San Sebastián that are also known for fabulous food:
http://www.euskoguide.com/places-bas...olosa-tourism/
http://www.euskoguide.com/places-bas...taria-tourism/

In Tolosa, just inland from San Sebastián, you'll find the best steaks in the world, the excellent Saturday food market and the famous Tolosa beans, Alubias de Tolosa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOaLtnbKOos

Tiny Getaria, on the coast just west of Donostia/San Sebastián, is fish and seafood heaven. Expect something like this: http://www.thepauperedchef.com/2007/...-in-getar.html

A great and fun intro to the San Sebastián food culture, pintxos bars etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwmBAvqa_0U

And StCirq, I wish you a great trip here in September! See if you can find time for a night in Casa Urola, my favourite restaurant in town since i first sat foot here in 1987. Last year Urola was voted best restaurant in the region by the local newspaper El Diario Vasco, ahead of all the Michelin star restaurants. http://www.casaurolajatetxea.es/en/portada/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...e_Country.html
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Old Jul 22nd, 2016, 09:10 AM
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mbloggs, there are no issues with crossing borders in a car. You likely won't even know it's happening except perhaps for the Bienvenido en España (I think I got that right) or Bienvenue en France signs. No parking issues, either.

kimhe, Casa Urola is already on my list. As soon as I hear back from our AMerican co-travelers about their schedule, I'll make a reservation. And we for sure are visiting Getaria and Tolosa! I'm very excited about exploring a new part of Europe. It's such a treat to live here and be able to bop off to an entirely new place so easily.

Lovely photos, Michael. So many familiar scenes...
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Old Jul 22nd, 2016, 06:05 PM
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Thank you both once again. We've decided to spend a few days in San Sebastian and then another four nights in St Jean de Luz. We're going to get the train to San Sebastian straight from Madrid and then go across to Perpignan via Bordeaux before going home. All the food links look terrific. We'll make a point of getting out to Getaria in particular.
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Old Jul 22nd, 2016, 10:29 PM
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We've decided to spend a few days in San Sebastian and then another four nights in St Jean de Luz. We're going to get the train to San Sebastian straight from Madrid and then go across to Perpignan via Bordeaux before going home.

What's with Perpignan which is way off the direct route from Saint-Jean-de-Luz to Paris?
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Old Jul 22nd, 2016, 10:34 PM
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And here's a fine video intro to Getaria and the seafood, after some 7-8 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqdjeGqnVKc

And all about going for the famous pintxos in Donostia/San Sebastián. Go from bar to bar, have a glass and a pintxo or two in each place. Normal to do every day before lunch or dinner. Or you can make a fun, extremely tasty, varied and affordable meal out of it at lunchtime or in the evening any day. Sunday lunchtime is perhaps the best time of the week to go for a txitikteo (from the small glasses), then the Parte vieja/Old town and the local atmosphere Gros district across the city river Urumea are boiling: http://www.todopintxos.com/home/home.php?lang=en

And the pintxos bar in Urola, at the ground floor under the restaurant, is perhaps the best in town now. Their season pintxos (de temporada) were exceptional when we went here three days in a row last October:
http://allaboutfoodmag.com/de_pintxos-en-casa-urola/
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Old Jul 23rd, 2016, 03:02 AM
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Michael, Perpignan is the closest large town to where our friends live in the tiny village of Rodes. Discovering the wonders of San Sebastian and St Jean de Luz and deciding we absolutely had to go there only complicated things further - now that's a real first world problem if ever I heard one Going to Perpignan is totally inconvenient for every thing else we want to do on this trip - it simply doesn't fit anywhere sensible into our itinerary. But we do need to visit old friends for a few days, so what can you do? I'll take solace in fast trains and a good book and the fact that we're in Europe and not back home working hard!

Kimhe, I cannot wait to try all this food. Thanks yet again for some great links.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2016, 03:40 AM
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>

Oh boy, I have some language and pronunciation to learn in the coming weeks!
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Old Jul 23rd, 2016, 06:57 AM
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To rationalize your trip, I would drop the western part and go from Madrid to Perpignan. From there go north either up the Rhone valley or through the Massif Central to Paris, going as fast or slow as you have time.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2016, 07:19 AM
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That makes more sense, given that you've got to go to Perpignan.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2016, 12:19 PM
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Will think on it, thanks!
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Old Jul 23rd, 2016, 12:37 PM
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To whet your appetite:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...755059630/show

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...313123155/show
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Old Jul 23rd, 2016, 02:04 PM
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We're used to long distances - we sometimes drive 900km in a day to visit friends - so the prospect of five hours on a train and making a great big loop to see friends is only a minor inconvenience. I'm not sure if and when we'll get back to Spain so it's now or never for San Sebastian and I don't want to miss it. We also have the luxury of time - we can just add a day or two onto the trip for extra travel. I think we'd like to take a couple of weeks to properly see the areas of France you're suggesting so we might make that part of a longer road trip in the future. Fabulous photos again.
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Old Jul 24th, 2016, 12:18 AM
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>

<Oh boy, I have some language and pronunciation to learn in the coming weeks!>

So have I, it's txikiteo: http://tourism.euskadi.eus/aa30-1779...g=en&general=1

"Txikiteo - eat, drink, repeat": https://awhimsygirllife.wordpress.co...-drink-repeat/
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