Hi; Just a few suggestions. You could go north to the Costa Brava with it's many towns/cities. www.costabrava.org Or, you could visit huge monastaries outside of Barcelonia. Montserrat is one and Poblet is another. http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide/e...rat-spain.html We stayed in a parador south of Barcelona in a town called Tortosa. Lovely town. Going west from Barcelona is the town of Cardona. This is a start. www.mariebelsguides.com will give you great information. ENJOY iris1745/dick

Thanks so much!

Yes, thank you Iris. This will help me get started. Mikster if my trip works out it will be spring, so I will report back.

Just over the French border a few miles is Couliere (sp?) a picture postcard seaside town. You can take a train there from the border.

Collioure is a wonderful town. It's lively with a great market and also relaxing, being on the sea. It's a great place to consider. Parking is a bit of a problem, but the public lot is large and the spots turnover quickly.

The area around Carcassonne would be great also. I'd find a B&B though, don't really suggest you stay in Carcassonne, but you could. Lots of restaurants there. It's on the canal du Midi which would be fun to bike along, and there are many side trips you could do from here.

I don't recommend you stay in Belcastel since it's to far into France for your time, and day trips involve a good bit of driving. Beautiful, peaceful village for a longer trip though.

As for Provence, it's probably further than you'd want to go, but yes, there are so many places to see around Avignon.

You do need your car rental to be in one country though.

It's such a beautiful area, you can't go wrong with whatever you decide on!