We will be taking our children ages 17 and 12 to Barcelona and Madrid in June. We will have 5 full days in Barcelona and with my current itinerary, I will only need about 3. They have never been to France so I would like to take one full day and go to France from Barcelona. Looking for a city to visit. We do not prefer quiet vs. hustle and bustle. Just looking for interesting sights to see, good food etc. My son is a bit of a history buff so he will enjoy most anything since we don't have this type of history in the USA. We can drive or take train, whatever gets us there fastest.

Many years ago I took the commuter rail or some local trains from Barcelona to Banyuls sur Mer in Southwest France. It was easy to get to - three hours from Sants station. It's not terribly historical - just a seaside town. Vey scenic. You can snorkel there if you like. We loved it - very calm after Barcelona. Stayed at Hotel des Elmes. http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-...es/index.shtml

May be the fortress of Salses and Perpignan:
Barcelona dp by train 9.25 - Salses ar 11.32,
Perpignan dp 18.10 - Barcelona ar 19.31
http://www.salses-le-chateau.fr/arti...sse-de-salses/

...or the walled city of Carcassonne:
Barcelona dp by train 7.20 or 9.25 - Carcassonne ar 10.20 resp 12.53
Carcassonne dp 16.35 or 17.27 - Barcelona ar 19.31 resp 20.34

Collioures, right over the border. Artist mecca, lovely harbor, good food, beaches.

If you go by train : Perpignan, Narbonne are easily accessible.
If you go by car (will take longer) you can drive to Perpignan via the coast, cross the border at Portbou, stop in Collioure for lunch and drive back to Bartcelona via the motorway.

Fly. Barcelona is a big airport - check Ryanair or Vueling or Easyjet for low fare.
There may be a Ryanair from Barcelone to Carcassone for example. I did Paris Barcelone with one of those 3 for less than 50 €.
Pay attention to luggage policy and costs.