erintb

My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe next September for 9-10 days sometime between Sept. 19 - Oct. 3. We are considering either Paris and then traveling to the Montpellier area or Barcelona for a few days and then traveling to the southern coast (maybe Malaga, Cadiz?). We want to do 4 days in the city and then experience more of the coastal regions... beach, food, relaxation, wine, low-key. We are torn between the two (I took French in school and have always wanted to go to France, but for some reason Spain is really appealing to me). We can get a direct flight from Chicago or Detroit to Paris, but Barcelona would have a layover. Any thoughts/pros/cons on either trip?

DebitNM

9 days - 2 cities/areas. Especially if those days count travel days. Trust me, you won't be happy with less. I spent 4 days in Montpellier and while it was nice, you won't be swimming at that time of year [its when we went]. We did 5 days in Nice, 14 in The Luberon region of Provence, then Montpellier and then 2 weeks in Paris. So you can see, us spending the 4 days there wasn't using too much of our time.

I would do Paris and Nice for the coastal. Fly into one, train to other and then fly out of other.

Christina

I think this is too much for places too far apart, in that time, but do-able. But the fact is that of course Montpellier doesn't have as much to see/do in it as Barcelona, not remotely close. Montpellier is a pleasant city but 4 days would be too much for the city itself. I spent that time there but visited other places at least a couple days (like Nimes and Narbonne). It's not on the beach, although it's not far. So if you want to be in a city for 4 days, I'd pick Barcelona over Montpellier.

I thought you had 2 weeks by the time frame, but if only 9-10 days total, that could give you Paris for 4, spend a day getting to Spain by train (at least there is now a high speed one but it still takes about 6 hours, I think), or fly on a budget airline, which is what I'd recommend. Then you can get to Barcelona in a couple hours, so maybe waste only half a day. Then 3 days in Barcelona, and a couple days in Malaga, I guess.

I don't understand how you were planning to do this in only 9 days, maybe explain. It would work better if you did only two places.

erintb

Sorry for the confusion... we are only doing two cities. Either Paris and Montpellier or Barcelona and a southern Spain coastal area (we've considered Malaga or Cadiz).

DebitNM

We'll,that's better but I would still opt for Nice over Montpelleir. You will need a car to go to beach in Montpelleir and as I said, at that ime of year it will be pretty much past beach season. There is great public transit in Nice (bus and trains), lovely little towns to venture to for a few hours and you may be able to get direct flight home. Montpellier is primarily a university town and limited sites a visitor would want to do. We went because we had 4 free Marriott nights and also used it as a base to drive to Milliau Bridge.

kimhe

Late September is very much beach season in Malaga and Cádiz, and I would also think in Nice (in fact beach season through October in Malaga).

Fabulous beaches in the Cádiz region: http://www.spain.info/en/reportajes/...do_el_ano.html

But Malaga has got it all, and also some fine beaches just east of the city center in El Palo/Pedregalejo. Very popular with locals, and so are the many excellent, no fuss and affordable seafront restaurants here: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...-breaks-travel

erintb

What about Paris to Nice via train with a stop in Lyon overnight? Worth it? I'm still leaning towards Spain for what we want to do for this trip, but I could probably be convinced to change my mind.

Christina

The beach in Nice is rocks, you know, not sand. So it depends what you want from a beach. If you just like looking at the water, it would be a good idea.

I'm flying from Malaga to Paris in a few weeks on Easyjet and they have the same flight in reverse (from CDG). I think Vueling did also, only not the day I wanted. You can easily get from Paris to Spain by plane if you want, in just a couple hours for not that much money, around 50 euro (Malaga or Barcelona). Easyjet also flies Paris to Barcelona. It's really up to you, Nice isn't intrinsically any more convenient then Malaga from Paris, except by train. And it does take a long time by train to get to Nice (5.5-6.5 hours). If you want beaches, I'd go to Malaga. They do have beaches in Barcelona, also, although I imagine it might be more like southern France up there in terms of temps.

sure, Lyon is worth an overnight if you decide to stay in France. But if you want warm weather and beaches, I think you should go to Spain.