mkk

I have two weeks off at the beginning of July, and would like to take my teenage boys to Europe for the first time. One is studying Spanish, and the other French, so I was thinking about a trip combining Northern Spain and Southern France. We are an active family, and while they would typically prefer to spend time climbing things to hanging out in a museum, I would like them to experience different cultural experiences from what is available in the states. The areas that interest me are Barcelona or maybe the Bilbao area, Dordogne, and Carcassone. Is there a reasonable itinerary for this, or would it be too much driving? As an alternative, we could do a Mediterranean cruise, but that would hit the highlights and be less of an experience of the country.

Thanks for the input!

bilboburgler

I recently did a bike ride from Girona to Toulouse (I put some notes on this site from the trip so follow my name back to June-ish) and I often travel in Basque country. I'd recommend some bike riding, there are loads of bike paths and quiet roads in the area if you want to do a real tour and meet real people.

You could go to either coast, I now prefer the Med side for a tour but the Atlantic side does have some great art in Bilbao (and what teenage kid does not like touring art collections?). Girona is especially nice small town just north of Barcelona while Narbonne on the French side is fantastic. What you will see is the prices for food and rooms goes up as you cross the french border, but other than that both worth visiting. While the local tongue on either side is not Spanish (Catalan and Basque) locals will hear your accent and switch to Spanish straight away.

Driving, well I've done a fair bit, and I've also taken a canal trip on the various canals in the area for a week or 10 days (one forgets) certainly a great way to get to know a culture. Honestly, driving in a car is a way to meet other cars. I'd get out in the countryside, sidle into bars (where kids are allowed of course) go to a market and play petanque in the dust like the rest of us.

If you want advice on boating or bikes come back.

mkk

Thank you!

kerouac

You might have trouble finding Barcelona in northern Spain.

Keeping in mind that you are planning your trip in the most crowded period of the year, there is still plenty to enjoy. It would help if you said how you planned to travel around these places. With teen boys, I would absolutely suggest renting a car, actually two cars since you would not want to face the international drop-off charge. Get a car in Barcelona and get a car in Marseille. Then you can range far and wide and improvise as the trip unfolds.

StCirq

Well, I will be the first to promote the Dordogne, as I live here and there is a wealth of wonderful things to do here for people of all ages. Carcassonne doesn't really tick my boxes, though -I certainly wouldn't plan a trip around it.

I can't begin to imagine what "too much driving" would mean for you.

It's also beyond my imagination to compare a trip like this with a Mediterranean cruise.I mean, seriously, apples and oranges.

And I wouldn't place a lot of hope in the language stuff. Your time is way too short for anything realistic to happen. For one thing, in the Dordogne you will encounter the almost impenetrable Périgourdin accent if you actually deal with the locals. In the Bilbao/Donostia area, you will encounter Basque.

I doubt your kids will garner any benefit liguistically. That doesn't mean you can't have a fine vacation, though.

PalenQ

Well Bilbao and Basque country speaks Basque as lingua franca and Barcelona Catalan - though Spanish is used especially in latter. For purer Spanish go to Madrid area or smaller town nearby.

kja

While Spanish is widely spoken throughout Spain, as PalenQ noted, it is not the native tongue in either Barcelona (which is part of Catalan-speaking Catalunya) or Bilbao (which is in the Basque-speaking section of Northern Spain, and BTW, Spanish isn't the native tongue is most other parts of Northern Spain). If going to a part of Spain where Spanish is the primary native language, you have many options. You could, for example, spend a week in central Spain (maybe some combination of Madrid, Toledo, and Salamanca) before heading to your week in France, and you could easily visit those parts of central Spain by bus or train, then take a train or plane from Madrid to Toulouse, and then rent a car for your time in the Dordogne.

If the native language isn't important, your ideas could make for a great trip.

Christina

People are making too much of this Catalan thing, they DO speak Spanish in Barcelona, I've been there a couple times and no one had the slightest problem speaking Spanish with me as I sure don't know Catalan but do know Spanish somewhat. They are bilingual, except maybe some old people out in the country or something. Don't even think of that as a reason you shouldn't go there if the idea is that you want your kids to be able to use their language skills just a bit, say in stores, to order, etc. It can be fun to do that. The OP never said they expected this to be a major language improvement trip, just a way for them to use it a bit. I agree with that goal, it's not too fun to study a language for years and never try to put it to use in an environment where it is spoken. Worrying about "pure Spanish" and where it is spoken is also going off rails as far as I'm concerned for kids studying language in high school and going on a short vacation trip.

PalenQ

Yes Catalans speak Spanish too but daily language is Catalan - if kids want to speak to folks they will of course understand Spanish but evesdropping on locals will be in Catalan though of course there are Spanish folk living there too.

billandcindy

PalenQ

If the kids speak Spanish to locals they will respond. French Basque region seems French is widely spoken everywhere - due to being convenient yes do northern Spain and southern France. Try maybe to arrange city tours in Spanish? Museums usually have audio tours in several languages.

plambers

hi. we spent 3 weeks in france a few summers ago with our teens. paris, then dordogne (near sarlat) and then the luberon valley in provence. the dordogne was an absolute highlight. we rented an amazing petit chateau with a turret (maison gris) which you will all love. we toured prehistoric caves, village visits, markets in the mornings, canoe trips, hikes-and loved coming back to the house to swim int eh pool in the late afternoon. it is a lovely part of france and one which we can't wait to return. we had been to paris and the luberon before but the dordogne was a first.

StCirq

We live in the Dordogne. It is indeed a paradise. The older generation here speaks Occitan. It's not a big stretch to understand it if you speak French. Catalan isn't terribly hard, either, if you've got a grip on romance languages.

PalenQ

Umh I thought English was the de facto language of Dordogneshire? Just kidding, kind of!

Lexma90

I think your ideas of combining Barcelona and environs and southern France (specifically the Dordogne) are excellent. We've done variations of that trip twice; first with our son, then later, with our daughter. They both enjoyed the trip and the areas very much, and so did we.

On each trip, we handled the car situation in the way that worked best for us, because we wanted to visit the Dali museum in Figueres. We started our vacation, car-less, in Barcelona. From there, we took the high-speed train from Barcelona to Perpignan, France, close to the border. We rented a car, then drove back into Spain, spending the night in Figueres (one trip) and Girona (the other trip). Girona's much prettier. Then we continued our trip by driving into France. We spent time in the Languedoc region, visiting various ruined castles like Peyrepertuse and Queribus. We visited Carcassonne, not my favorite because it's so reconstructed, but many other people like it. We then drove to the Dordogne, basing in Sarlat - but we were traveling in late May each time, so the summer tourist was not yet in full swing; I don't think I would stay IN Sarlat in July. We ended each trip with a couple of days in Paris, but you could also fly home from Bordeaux or Toulouse.

StCirq

You're right, Pal. Sadly in many ways.