murphyO

My husband and I fly into Barcelona July 16 and out of Paris July 30 (these got booked 2 months ago with frequent flier miles while they were still available.) Now I'm getting around to figuring out itinerary.

To get an idea of what we like, our last Europe trip was 2 weeks in Italy: 4 nights with a base in Sorrento (Capri, Amalfi coast, Pompeii were our 3 days.) Then rented a car for 5 nights in Tuscany (2 in one place, 3 in another) from which we visited a variety of smaller towns and Sienna on day trips. Then drove to Rome,dropped the car at the airport and had 4 nights there. And we loved that trip. Yes, we could have stayed many places much longer and been very happy. But cities (architecture, history and great food), on both ends separated by a period of driving around outside major cities. Having some beach and some castles, medieval towns and ruins was a good mix.

So what to do in Paris in Barcelona is a whole separate question that I'll address later. For now I just want to know: if we have maybe 6 nights en route from Paris to Barcelona, what should we do?

I know better than to take a car across the border (priced it, and it is not happening.) So train to Perpignan? And then what? would love Coulliere, but went there with ex-boyfriend so can't do that. Is there another beach town like that somewhere in the area? And then if we headed up to Paris, what's the best route that would involve 2-3 stops? Old castles/chateaux, history are a preference.

Or should we drive from Barcelona, stay in Spain for those 6 nights, return car to Barcelona and then high-speed train to Paris.. Same preferences, so if we did that where would be good to go in July?

We accept it's going to be crowded everywhere. This is when we can go, so suggesting to visit at another time isn't helpful. And suggesting spending 8 nights in each city is an option we have seriously considered but rejected. We really liked the interlude between cities where we had a car and could explore, so we want to do that again.

Any and all input would be very much appreciated.

IMDonehere

There is now a high speed train between Paris and Barcelona. About 6 1/2 hours from the middle of the city to the middle of the city.

http://www.seat61.com/Paris-to-Barce...m#.UwhJk4VXde8

We have have visited both cities many times and although I would allocate more time to Paris, Barcelona is unique unto itself.

Bamaman

You should drive from Barcelona, stay in Spain for those 6 nights, return car to Barcelona and then high-speed train to Paris.

Christina

If you have an extra 6 days, you could easily stay in southern France somewhere. I did take the train from Barcelona to Perpignan last July and stayed there over the national holiday, but it is really small and I didn't find it that interesting or much to do.

I've stayed in MOntpellier in France several days and did really enjoy that. There is a lot to see in and around there, but I didn't have a car until I left. If you want to spend some time driving around in the countryside with a car, you could, but Montpellier is kind of big to have a car with you. Maybe around Uzes? I've done that also.

Pvoyageuse

"but it is really small"

Very small : just over 120,000 inhabitants.

IMDonehere

There is often a steep fee for renting in one country and dropping off in another.

PalenQ

I'd take the train to the French border and stay in a lovely seaside town like Coulieres then rent a car and drive thru Provence - staying in the Arles-Avingon-St-Remy area for 3-4 days where a car is nice - see the Pont du Gard, Les Baux, Uzews, Avignon, Arles, etc. Then turn the car in at the Avignon TGV train station (outside of town) or in town and take the shuttle bus to the Avignon TGV station and do the bullet train to Paris in less than 3 hours - via Burgundy's pastoral hilly area.

check www.voyages-sncf.com or www.capitainetrain.com for schedules and fares and discounted fares if you book far enough in advance and won't need to change or refund them but much cheaper than full fare - many TGVs are Duplex ones - double-decker and IMO the seats on the top deck offer far better views than those on the bottom level where your view is often on wind blocks and guard rails.

suec1

We did a similar tip, sans car, several years ago. After our Barcelona stay, we went to Arles for several nights. You might add in Carcassone. There would be a variety of thing to do in the area and a car would be nice. On another trip we visited Cathedral de Images - we really liked that. Not sure what the show is this year - it was Picasso when we were there and it was very neat.