joangk

My husband and I are in the very early stages of planning a trip in southern France (and a bit of Spain), and am looking for guidance. We want to fly in and out of Barcelona (we prefer direct flights, which we can get from SFO). Spend night in either Girona or Figueres to get over jet lag (any preferences? We're not huge Dali fans, but if the museum is great, I'd visit). Then do a one week self-guided coastal walk from Cadaques to Collioure. After the walk, pick up car in Perpignan (I'm guessing that's the closest town with good car rental choices). Since we have to return to Barcelona, I thought we should drive to Marseille on the first day, and then slowly work our way back. Spend 2 days Marseille. I'd love to see the Calanques, so either spend a day/night in Cassis, or is it possible to do that as a day trip from Marseille?
Drive to St. Remy and use that as a base for about 5 days to see surrounding towns.
I'd love to spend 2 days at Gorges du Tarn before returning to Barcelona for return flight.
Our trip would be almost 3 weeks. Our interests are eating good local food, walking, swimming in nice beaches (but not hanging out all day there), visiting historical sights and natural wonders, driving through lavender fields.
Do you think we're covering too much territory? I've tried to limit the number of hotel changes/bases.
I would appreciate any suggestions, tweaks to our itinerary, etc.
Thank you in advance!

TDudette

joangk, before I joined Fodors, my DH and I did a trip with bases in Barcelona, Montpellier, Nice and Paris and we traveled via train. Your longer time frame would allow for side trips. We flew out of Paris so that might not work for a non-stop flight for you? Would Nice? On a separate trip in Aix, we bussed to Marseilles and took a van tour to Cassis that included a boat trip to Calanques near there.

ps...Our Aix hotel has a warm spring-fed swimming pool.
https://www.aquabella.fr/en

Traveler_Nick

If you're flying into BCN spend the first night there. Especially since it sounds like you'd be taking transit to FIgures. The museum is a Dali museum. If you don't like Dali not sure how you could judge the museum positively. It's like going to a car museum and not liking cars.

Is backtracking to Barcelona a must? Flying home from Nice would avoid that but you'd want to pick up the car on the French side of the border to avoid drop fees.

What sort of beaches are you looking for? Nice meaning? Towards Nice I think they're mostly small and rocky/pebbles. Closer to the Spanish border some more sandy wide open ones. Also remember not just the beaches but all the coastal roads start looking like one long traffic jam from late June onward.

StuDudley

You are in luck!! I just read in the Chron today that United has introduced non-stops to Barcelona from SFO. A good plan would be to land in Barcelona, spend 2-3 nights there (we are Gaudi fans, but not Dali), then take the train to Perpignan, rent a car, then work your way east. End in Provence, then take the TGV to Paris. Spend 3-4 days there & then take the direct flight back to SFO.

In my opinion, Carmel and Pacific Grove are much more interesting than Cassis. Pt Lobos and the Big Sur coast are more interesting than the Calenques. Why spend 1-2 days out of your 20 days visiting places that are similar, or not as good as what you have at home?

We've vacationed for about 60 weeks in the Languedoc & Provence/Cote d'Azur regions. Attached are 2 itineraries that describe our favorite destinations, scenic drives, restaurants, and other stuff in the South of France.

Stu Dudley

AJPeabody

A round trip flight plan with a circular touring route is conceptually attractive. We used to do that, until we realized that open jaw flights, even with one plane change on the way home, made itinerary planning much simpler. Spending time backtracking essentially wastes a day somewhere, and the expense of the wasted day covers any extra flight costs. We no longer do circular itineraries. Think seriously about making this change in your plan. And listen to Stu Dudley, the foremost France authority on this site.

kerouac

Your plan sounds perfectly fine to me even though it is kind of shame to have to return to Barcelona -- but a circle trip by car erases a lot of the problem.

shelemm

From Perpignan, it would be easy to drive to Chateau de Peyrpertuse, the ruins of a Cather caste that is one of the most dramatic sites in France. Along the way you could stop in Maury for their magnificent vin doux naturel. The white is served room temperature and the red chilled. Also you could drive through the Gorge de Galamus, completely stunning. Their are some gorgeous villages into the mountains from Perpignan including Vernet les Bains, Villefranche le Conflent, Prades (same pink stone as Toulouse) Molitg les Bains and the stepped village of les Prats de Mollo. Collioure is a gorgeous beach town with impressive Catalan architecture and a really lovely sea walk. Though be prepared for traffic in order to access it during the summer.

StuDudley

I'm not sure a circle trip to & from Barcelona is the best idea. You could follow the coastal A9 from Perpignan to St Remy - visiting the Gorges du Tarn along the way. Then what "circle" route would you take back to Barcelona? You could take winding roads to the Gorges du Tarn from St Remy, then south on the A9 to Montpellier (we were on that route in Oct this year), and then completely retrace your A9 route to Perpignan, return the car, then train to Barcelona.

The OP did not mention visiting Barcelona. So the only "destination" between Barcelona & France is Girona (a B city, IMO), and Figueres (a C city), and the walk from Cadaques (B+) to Collioure (B+). How would you get from the Barcelona airport to Girona or Figueres and then to Cadaques?? IMO, Barcelona itself is by far the highlight of this region. However, the OP did not include any time there. I seems inefficient to be to "fixed" on a RT flight to/from Barcelona - just so one can visit Girona or Figueres, & do the walk. Perpignan is nice - but we much prefer Montpellier, Avignon, and Ales - all along the A9. Aix in Provence is our favorite. We have not walked from Cadaques to Collioure.

If this was my trip, I would fly to CDG (3 flights daily), take a taxi to the Mercure hotel next to the Gare de Lyon, & next morning take the TGV train to Montpellier. Visit Montpellier if you like. Pick up a car & visit the Gorges du Tarn, then on to Provence & St Remy. To get home, take the TGV from the Avignon TGV station back to the Gare de Lyon & stay at the Mercure again. Have dinner at Train Bleu at the Gare, and take a taxi to CDG and catch one of the 3 flights back to SFO (2 on AF & 1 United). We flew to CDG from SFO once in 2022 & two times in 2023. Two more RT flights in 2024. There are TGVs that depart from CDG to Montpellier & Avignon, but there have not been any schedules that match with our flight times. Thus staying overnight in Paris (never a bad deal).

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

If you decide to do round trip to/from Barcelona, best to take one of the many TGVs to the Barcelona Sants station from Nimes in the Provence region. Nimes is close to St Remy.

You could also take the TGV from the Avignon TGV station directly back to CDG and stay at an airport hotel the night before your flight home. We are doing this in Sept this year and staying at the Sheraton inside the airport.

Lots of "getting there & back" options. We stopped flying United many years ago. AF has a better terminal at CDG and more comfortable seats on the airplane. We have had a few United flights to & from CDG cancelled due to United incompetence. But AF goes on strike more often than United.

Stu Dudley

aliced

I agree that returning to Barcelona from France is not a great option, see if you can switch and TGV back thru Paris per suggestions above.

While we have explored the wonders of Big Sur and Carmel over several CA trips, they are seen from land only onto the Pacific Ocean obviously, and not limestone cliffs. No comparison came to mind when we sailed into Cassis, spent a day there, and took a lovely boat ride up thru the Calanques whose waters were crystal clear, calm, and full of colorful fish, where swimming was allowed. It did not allow us the time to get to Marseilles, however. This was a "favorites" Med cruise so we ended up in Barcelona again. On another France-only land trip, we spent our last week at lovely St. Remy which was very convenient for local explorations and quick car-drop off in Avignon to TGV back to CDG. Check the lovely hotel right outside old city gates, across way from boules courts at TI: Le Soleil -- quiet and private.

StuDudley

Alice.

We’ve visited Cassis on 3 different occasions, and stayed overnight once. We also took the “long” Calanques boat trip. My wife & I thought that Cassis was OK, and the Calanques were quite scenic. But not nearly as interesting as the hundreds of venues we’ve visited in our 76 years of living on/near the California coast. For the past 48 years, we’ve lived in the San Francisco Bay Area (before that – Laguna Beach). I believe the OP is from the Bay Area also – at least she/he is flying out of SFO. People who live here have the SF Bay and the Pacific Ocean in their back yards. Naturally they visit them quite often.

We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge twice on Wednesday - with the fabulous view of both the Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Tomorrow we will take visiting-friends down the San Mateo coast where we’ll see “limestone cliffs” and miles & miles of unspoiled scenic coastline.

We also have scenic boat trips available in the SF Bay, Monterey Bay, and Carmel Beach where you can obtain views from the water. In addition to views from the water, we also have venues from the water’s edge at places like Point Lobos, Pfeiffer Beach, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Bixby Bridge Crissy Field, Fort Point, along Conzelman Ave in the GGNRA at the north end of the GG Bridge, Sausalito (where we had lunch today). Tiburon, SF Coastal trail from Seacliff area in SF to the Cliff House, Baker Beach in SF, Carmel Beach, Spanish Bay near Carmel, Pacific Grove shoreline, Nepenthe for lunch or dinner, etc, etc, etc, etc.

If the OP has visited many of the above spots I’ve mentioned – they might not get such a “big bang” out of Cassis & the Calanques. If their vacation was going to be 5-6 weeks long, or not covering such a large area as Barcelona to Provence – then Cassis/Calanques would be a good area to spend some time. But there are many, many other “A” sites between Barcelona & Provence that you can’t find in the US – like medieval villages, Roman ruins, caves with stalactites & mites, gorges like the Gorges du Tarn, Gaudi buildings, and old castles. IMO, they should focus on stuff they don’t have at home.

Stu Dudley

tomboy

not to mention 20,000 yr old cave paintings,
and, if one chose to do a tad of reading/research, one would gain far deeper understanding of the history of each place

FTOttawa

When is this trip? May and early June would be the latest I’d consider a hiking trip in Catalonia, but late June to July would be better for blooming lavender, no?

I, too, would rest up a couple of nights in Barcelona. But if you find it too expensive or busy, then Girona fits the bill for historic sights and good food.

The suggestion of an open jaw ticket to Barcelona and home from Paris is sound.

If you’re married to the idea of a Barcelona round trip and the Cadaques to Collioure walk, I’d seriously consider just staying west. So much to see in Occitanie, including all the limestone cliffs and crags you could possibly desire, not to mention history, good food and decent beaches. Driving to and around the Gorges du Tarn is well worth it, but will be slow.

Or, if you absolutely must include Provence, save time with a one way car rental. The train from Collioure to Marseille (one change at Narbonne) would take perhaps four hours. Enjoy Marseille and the Calanques by public transport including boats, then pick up the car and work your way west. You’ll have to stay much farther north than the A9 to hit the Gorges du Tarn, but considering that this puts Nîmes, the stunning Cévennes, Conques, Cahors and Albi into play, this is not a hardship. End your car ride at Toulouse and take the train back to Barcelona.

tomboy

FWIW, my memory of our drive thru the Gorge du Tarn was at about 25 mph. No stop signs, of course, but winding. And, at one point, a falling boulder within hours before (hence no warning signs or road cones) had made a 12 foot wide hole in the outside lane of a two lane road, forcing me to get out of the car to check the stabiity of the inside lane before proceeding.