italyinjuly

ok hubby and i and our (then) 7 month old son are going to spain for 2 weeks. We fly into Barcelona on 7/28/7/29 and will stay overnight and then board a cruise ship for 1 week. After the cruise we will have 7 nights to travel on our own.

Our son is very mellow and agreeable (he's already been to puerto rico) but i still don't want to push it and try to overdo it. We probably won't make it to madrid (my husband has already been)or any other major cities. Our thought was to try to stick within 3 hours drive of Barcelona. We are considering southern france (maybe banyuls-yummy wine) and maybe as south as valencia (our son loves the water).

Any thoughts? We've been to europe several times before, and have always raced around, now with our son we are forcing ourselves to slow down a bit, but at the same time we still want to feel like we've seen something!

Thanks in advance for your help!

pavfec

I suggest Morella. It's a village perched on a mountain about 2 1/2 hours from Barcelona. Here's the website:

http://www.morella.net/

Much of the village is pedestrian and it's very relaxed. Accommodations range from budget to more expensive. It's a great place to just wander the streets. We stayed there 2 nights on our honeymoon last year and really enjoyed it.

Valencia isn't very far either. Both would be very doable in a week. On the way down or back, you could also stop at Vilafranca del Penedes and tour a winery, if you're into that.

nessundorma

I'm confused. Are you thinking of using Barcelona a base for day trips, or do you want to travel around, spending the night in different places, but sticking withing 3 hours of Barcelona?

I think the most fascinating destination within 2 hours of Barcelona is Vic, with its amazing museum of Catalonia art and beautiful architeture. You might try booking the parador in Vic. But the town can also be seen as a day trip from Barcelona.

A lovely site is the Valle di Nuria.

Along coast, headed toward France, I love Calella da Palafrugell. I enjoyed the Roman ruins at Empurias. I think Banyuls is very far to go -- and mightn't Cadaques be more fun? If you are going to Banyuls, however, you might as well go all the way to Collioure.

But if you wanted to rent an apartment in Barcelona, or in the Catalan countryside (with a pool), you could do lots of enjoyable day trips or just relax according to your moods.

italyinjuly

thanks for the suggestions, i'll check them out!

nessundorma - sorry for the confusion - we'll probably do a bit of both but whati was looking for advice on a place or 2 to STAY for a few nights that would hopefully be within 3 hours from barcelona. we are looking to move around to a few cities but want to avoid terribly long car rides.

mmyk72

I really liked Mont Serret. It has a lovely church with the famous Black Virgin Mary. I'm not religious and I still enjoyed it.

The mountain scenery is awesome, as is the famous Boy's Choir. You can also do a bit of hiking on well-maintained trails along the mountains...maybe to work off all that wonderfood you'll be getting on the cruise.

It's 1 hr train from Barcelona. The tourist office sells train ticket/ meal/ cable car packages to make it easy....around 25-30 euros.