My friend is working in Pau for a month (from US) so I'm going over for a visit once work is finished. Anyway, I'm flying into Toulouse, France and we're trying to determine where we should go considering that we've only got 10 days. We'll have a rental car and are trying to determine whether or not we should focus on France/Spain (San Sebastian, Barcelona...maybe Valencia?) or France/Italy (French Rivera and Northern Italy...maybe down to Levanto/Cinque Terre). In France, either way we go - we'll probably stick to Southern France (Pau, Lourdes is all I know for now) and we're considering the French Rivera...but wondering if it's too commercial. I would love to go to Rome, Vatican City, etc...but I think we might be pushing it timewise considering that we've got to get back to Toulouse to fly out. Anyway, I'm totally foreign to this area and would love some thoughts/suggestions on the best itineraries and locations to visit. Thank you!

Personally, I would find no difficulty spending the whole time in Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrenees. It's far to far to drive across to the Cote d'Azur in 10 days.

You have teh beach at Biarritz and St Jean de Luz, and the French Basque country, heaps of vineyards, majestic mountains, dozens of bastides, fantastic food, Auch Cathedral, St Bertrand de Comminges, a plethora of spas, the mounatin railway, monasteries, music, Tarbes horses (and beans).

And a million other things. Have a look at Nikki's recent trip report.

Hi jcherock! It really depends on what you want. Do you want highlights or an intense submersion into where you are? Driving is very easy with the autoroutes. You are not that far from Barcelona and it is a beautiful city! You are also pretty close to the Dordogne river Valley which is steeped in History..prehistoric cave drawings are just right up from Toulouse near Rocamadour (goat cheese). If you like that region read Micheal Critchen(?) Time Travellers. None of these are too far and the country side is breathtaking! It just all depends on what you want. The first few times we went we did whirlwind tours to see the biggie sites and now we take our time. If you decide to head to Barcelona or Dordogne let me know. I'll tell you our favorites.

You might not need to have a rental car for the whole time. A side trip to Barcelona or a city on the French Mediterranean coast could be done by train.

St. Jean de Luz is a delightful town. Hotel La Marissa is very nice and close to the beach. They have parking available in the public garage at The Casino. I would highly recommend it as a base at the sea side.

I spent two weeks in the area an hour away from Pau in August, and as Sheila says, I wrote a trip report, which you might find interesting:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35065908

Photos:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-57syru