Richarda

A soon-to-be-realized 2 week trip is rather quickly approaching. Planning on flying into Barcelona; spending a few days there and in its nearby environs such as Girona then traveling up through Andorra to Pampalona; north to San Sebastian. Will then travel eastward staying fairly close to the coast to Santander; possibly east as far as Oviedo then down to Burgos and to the airport at Madrid. Was wondering if anyone has any recommendations as to special things to see and to do. We are inclined toward the small villages of Europe but certainly receptive to other things of interest. Any thoughts, suggestions would be most appreciated.

Many thanks,

Richard

Robert2533

I'd skip Andorra altogether during the summer months. It's much nicer in the fall and winter. If you do go, expect to encounter a lot of traffic (shoppers) and slowdowns at the border (it's not a member of the EU).

If driving through Andorra from Spain, the highway takes you into France towards Toulouse, and away from Pamplona. If you enter from the France side, you'll have to follow the road to Puigcerdà and pick up the N-20. The road into Andorra from the France side has a few hairpin turns, but is interesting.

sandralist

I found Vic to be a wonderfully rewarding place to visit. You could either see Vic on your way to Girona, or see it as a day trip from Girona as part of a loop that included Besalu, a much smaller but rather interesting antique town.

If you end up keeping Andorra in the mix, you can visit Vic on the way to Andorra from Girona.

sandralist

http://www.cataloniatravelguide.com/2013/03/04/vic/

Robert2533

Santander and Oviedo are to the west of Bilbao and the Basque country.

One route you can take to the Basque county from Girona would be to head up to Besalú, then down to Vic before driving up to La Seu d'Urgell through Ripoll. From La Seu d'Urgell you can then head to Vielha and on to Torla. After Torla, you can head to Sangüesa and Aoiz in Navarra before ending up in Donostia-San Sebastian. I would look at spending at least 5 nights following this route, staying in La Seu d'Urgell, Vieha (or somewhere else in the valley), Torla and Pamplona for at least one night (the pintxos are excellent!).