Extra 1-2 days to add to my itinerary - what to do with them?
 

My friend and I have revised our itinerary (our original itinerary can be found here) and have now formulated the following itinerary:

Spain

• Barcelona (3 days)
• San Sebastian (3 days)
  • Day trip to Pamplona
• Madrid (3 days)
  • Possible day trip to Toledo depending on how we feel/go with time
• Granada (2 days)
• Seville (3 days)
  • Day trip to Cordoba

Portugal

• Lisbon (3 days)
  • Day trip to Sintra
• Porto (3 days)
  • Day trip to Douro Valley

France

• Toulouse (2.5 days)
  • Day trip to Carcassonne
• Avignon (3 days)
  • Day trip to Aix-en-Provence
  • Day trip to Luberon and lavender fields
• Lyon (2.5 days)
• Mont St Michel (1 day) (fly Lyon -> Rennes, drive to MSM late afternoon, stay overnight and leave following afternoon to return to Rennes)
• Paris (4 days)
  • Day trip to Versailles

We may be able to extend our trip by 1-2 days so what I would love some input on is if we can add an extra 1-2 days to any of the above places where should we stay for longer?



It is not that long of an extension but I am hoping to use it wisely to put it towards a destination that really needs the extra time more than others.


PS: It is a very fast paced itinerary and I am aware of that – we are not planning for this trip to be a leisurely one for us to relax on but to see and do what we can in the time we have. The itinerary is correct in that it is intended to capture each whole day we have in a location as we will be taking morning or evening trains/buses/flights from one location to the next. I have asked a very specific question and would appreciate that people refrain from the “this is too busy” “I would skip X location because you don’t have time” comments as though as not helpful – I fully understand that this is not everyone’s ideal way of travelling. What I am hoping to do is to tap in to the wealth of knowledge on this site and use my time as wisely as I can.

Thanks in advance!

Bilbao deserves a day. I liked it even more than San Sebastián

Another vote for Bilbao. I too loved it more than SS and would return in a heartbeat

A third for Bilbao and also liked it more than SS.

For all of those voting in favour of Bilbao, should we replace SS with Bilbao? I understand Bilbao is more accessible from other cities.

What is it about Bilbao that stood out above SS?

A key matter for us is that it has to be easy to get to from Pamplona so as to take a day trip (on my friend's 'must do' list).

Don’t replace, just add to it

We won't quite have that much time. We already have a jam packed itinerary so I think it would be too much (even by our standards) to add on a new destination rather than add the extra day or two to one of the locations already on our list.

don’t you need to go to Bilbao to catch a plane for Madrid?

We'd be flying from Barcelona -> San Sebastian and then San Sebastian > Madrid so Bilbao isn't presently on our list

You sound as though you are hiring a car to drive from Rennes to MSM. If that is the case, why not keep it for another day and drive down to see the walled coastal town of St Malo and on to the beautiful town of Dinan. It would be an easy loop then back to Rennes. This would also give you a chance to see some country France rather than all large places.

Love the suggestion from rhon. I wouldn’t give up SS as it is a fabulous place.
We absolutely loved Bilbao for the Guggenheim

Personally, I'd add one day to either Barcelona or Madrid or Paris. It's hard to say without knowing what your interests are and where you've been before, though.

I'd probably pick Barcelona just because it is your first stop and thus I'm presuming that one of those days is the day of arrival which means maybe only a half day. Plus you may have jet lag unless you live in Europe, not sure. So I'd add one more there for both those reasons. I really liked Barcelona, easy to find stuff to do there that long, but that's true of Madrid or Seville or Paris, of course, especially since you are using a day of each for a day trip, I guess.

Other option might be Paris at the end just because after such a long and busy trip, you might want to take it more easy there.

I agree. My heart with SS.

I would add an extra day to wherever you only have a 1 or 2 day stay. 1 night is not impossible but there is a lot of rushing and packing associated with those shorter stays and I am sure you can find something more to do in those areas. Not advice based on your specific locations, more to do with logistics :)

Lavandula