stephiet314

hi,

Looking for any advice on where to go in between Barcelona (leaving on 10/26) and Lyon (need to get there by 10/30). Am already going to Paris after Lyon, so looking for ideas on where to train, or fly, during the week on the way to Lyon. I was thinking possibly Carcassonne, Avignon, or Nice but open to any suggestions! (Also don't want to rent a car, as I am traveling along and a nervous driver).

Thanks!

Jeff801

If you stop in more than one place, it is likely that you will lose at least a full day of your trip on the trains.

I prefer the smaller cities to Nice, and think it possible that you would find either Avingon, Arles, or Montpelier a pleasant intermediate stop.

tonfromleiden

Base yourself in Nîmes. Interesting in itself and a good base for places around: Avignon, Arles etc.
Some 4 hours from Barcelona by high-speed train (advance reservation might still get you considerable discount) and some 1,5 hours from Lyon.

Christina

Nice would be out of your way quite a bit, there are lots of obvious suspects -- Montpellier, Avignon, Arles. I would never stay in Carcassonne a week. In a week, I might move between two places, actually, that's quite a bit of time. Say Toulouse and then Avignon. Or maybe Montpellier and then Avignon. There is a direct train between Barcelona and Toulouse (and AVE) that takes only about 3:30 hours, but not a lot of runs, I know there is one around 6 pm some days. Otherwise, it can take about 4 or more, and you might have to transfer at Narbonne, for example. But Toulouse is a nice city, definitely more to see than Carcassonne.

traveller1959

>>> Base yourself in Nîmes. <<<

Finally a Fodorite doing justice to this fine city!

Nîmes has some of the very best Roman buildings in the world - an almost completely preserved amphitheatre shich is still in use and a perfectly preserved temple (the "Maison Carrée"). And more. And it is strategically well located.

Cathinjoetown

Avignon is much more interesting than Carcassonne, imo. I live close enough to Carcassonne to do it as a day trip and that's sufficient.

There's now a fast train service from Barcelona to Toulouse but you would be throwing yourself way off the more direct route to Lyon. That would be train via Avignon but you could stop in Marseille, Aix or Avignon--of the three I think I'd choose Avignon as a base, but I like all 3. They are so close to each other you can easily see all 3 by rail or bus.

Back to Toulouse--there are direct flights to Lyon. So, you could base in Toulouse for 2-3 nights, do a day trip to Carcassonne then fly to Lyon.

bilboburgler

I like Arles more than Nimes, but both are good.

Rubicund

The OP doesn't have a week, just 3 full days excluding travel days and I'd choose Avignon as it's only about and hour and a half from Lyon via the TGV.

Nimes and Arles are no-no's for me as they're active bullfighting centres.