carlycat

Most of our 17 day trip is roughly planned for the end of May, room rented in a b&b for 7 nights in Castelnaud near Beynac, for the Dordogne portion,and our b&b for the last 4 days in Barcelona is also rented-we'll be flying back home from here.We will have a car in France but plan to drop it off, perhaps in Perpignan and from there take a train into Barcelona. I need help with the middle 5 days. I'd like to drive down to Albi and perhaps sleep here and take the time to visit here and Cordes sur Ciel.... I'd like to see Carcassonne of course and the ruins of Peyrepertuse. I had thought of staying in Albi one night then Pezenas or Collioure or close to the spanish border so as to facilitate the car drop off and train to Bcn.Mirepoix would be another option although in a different area. In fact there is much I'd like to see but I know I can't and don't want to be spending all our time driving from one area to the next. So to all you knowledgeable Fodorites, how would you do this portion of the trip?

StCirq

I'd leave the Dordogne and pass through and visit Rocamadour and the Gouffre de Padirac and spend the first night in Figeac. Visit Figeac in the morning and then head to Villefranche-le-Rouerge and La Salvétat to Albi. Spend the night there. Visit half a day next day and head to Castres; divert to Revel (i.e., don't take the mountain route through Mazamet), and on to Carcassonne. Spend the night there. Next day, through Limoux and Quillan and east to Perpignan, then down the coast to Collioure. That's four nights. If you have five, spend two nights in Collioure and explore the area before dropping your car off to head to Spain.

carlycat

Thanks for the advice St Cirq-I was hoping you'd reply. Wouldn't this be a lot of different hotels & packing/unpacking? Or is it the more logical way, with what we want to see? I'm definitely getting my map out. And do you advise staying IN Carcassone or in a village nearby?

Pvoyageuse

You won't be able to drop off your car in Collioure and take a train to Barcelona unless you want to spend hours waiting for a connection (and a very slow train) at the border. The daily Talgo does not stop in Collioure. You'll have to go to Perpignan.
I would chose a place between Narbonne and Perpignan as a base. You would be able to visit the Cathar castles and Collioure on day trips.

StCirq

I didn't mean to suggest you should drop the car in Collioure - definitely drop it in Perpignan. Yes, it's a good deal of packing and unpacking, but I like to wander through that area slowly on my way south. You could just go to Albi and Collioure and do day trips from each, but you'd be spending your days going in a lot of directions to see all the good stuff. I've never stayed IN Carcassonne and probably wouldn't want to. I'd probably stay somewhere around Revel or Castelnaudary, or to the south in Limoux.