We will be in Madrid and Barcelona in late March, and I would love to drive along the Mediterranean and see the famed Riveria. I am worried, however, that the "good" parts are too long of a drive back to Madrid and Barcelona. Any advice? Is the Spanish coast a better alternative with a limited time frame?

Some of the most beautiful parts of France's Mediterranean coast are close to Spain. Collioure, for example, is just over the border.

So many "it depends"...

For starters, how long is your trip, in total?

And there are different definitions of "the good parts".

Starting at Monaco and working backwards (and I'm sure that there are others more knbowledgeable about this than me)...

Monaco to Nice, you have several choices, from the high cliffs (corniches) - - where the famous fatal car accident of Grace Kelly occured - - to lower routes, closer to the sea. A combination of dramatic and the commercially overbuilt (this is true west of Nice as well).

Nice to Antibes - - some awfully pretty palm-treed tropical looking paradise stretches (at least by train)... surely similar by car, at least in some places.

Antibes to the west (I really should be looking at a map, as I write this)... gets flatter, still pretty, starting to look even more like Florida, as I recall.

Cannes to Frejus - - the wonderful Corniche de l'Esterel, about 30-40 miles - - not high (except in a few places), but beautiful craggy red-rocked vistas, vaguely reminiscent of Big Sur.

Onward west toward St. Tropez - - starts to get flatter again, I think... and the main road doesn't really follow the coast.

I am less certain about the next 30-50% of the distance - - but it transforms from "beach-y" to the marshlands of the Camargue, and the Rhone delta (including Marseille). Less interesting? Seemingly, though I cannot say from experience.

The final 10% of the French coast, which include the much heralded town of Collioure, is a combo of beach and fishing villages, I think (again, I cannot say from personal experience), and liked by many.

The main road from Perpignan to Barcelona doesn't really follow the coast, but surely there is a coastal highway, and these are renowned beaches. I have no idea how they compare to the Riviera (more sand, whereas the French Riviera is more sand and pebbly intermixed, but maybe more vegetation and more lush in France, with more varied altitudes of the coastal roads also?)

I trust that others will jump in, to correct me or augment what I have said. Have you thought of flying TO Nice, then driving (part or all of the way) back? it will cheaper, of course, to retuirn a French car IN France. If you have to return to Barcelona, the train service is satisfactory or better from Perpignan, or even Sete, Montpellier or Marseille, I would think.

Best wishes,

Rex

If you are absolutely determing to see "The Riviera" or what we stereotypically think of as "The Riviera" Cannes, Nice, Cap Ferrat, etc., it's a drive from Barcelona.

If you just want to see some great Med. coast then north from Barcelona to Port Bou and just into France..Cerbere, etc., may be satisfying enough.

OK, it isn't Nice but IMO it can be just as satisfying.

12 day trip. Coming and going through Madrid - spending time in both Madrid and Barcelona. The Med is an extended side-trip of 2-3 days. Live near the best beaches in Florida - want to see something different. Will be back to Europe in a few years...

The Rivièra (Cannes, Nice, ...) is a bit far IMO. Nice is about 650 km or 403 miles from Barcelona (one-way), so you will spend most of your 3 days driving.
The coastline north of Barcelona (especially between Gerona and the French border) is beautiful. It's very rough with little creeks and small secluded beaches. It doesn't have the grandeur of the Rivièra, though.
Mind you that March is absolutely off-season and much will be closed at the Costa Brava.

I think you can make it. It takes about 6 hours driving time from Barcelona to the Cote d'Azur. I would suggest some stopovers on the way: Aigues-Mortes is a beautiful mediaval town at the edge of the Camargue, Nimes has wonderful Roman ruins, Avignon is a charming town. So start in Barcelona in the morning, make a stop at Nimes, and arrive at Frejus/St. Raphael in the evening. Take a hotel there. Next day make the beautiful scenic drive on the Esterel coast to Cannes, from there to Nice, and over the Grande Corniche (stop a La Turbie and Eze-Village) to Monaco. If you want to take your time and visit museums, you can go back over the freeway (fastest). If you have time, you may take smaller roads and visit Fondation Maeght in St. Paul de Vence and then back. On the third day you start in the morning and drive back with a stop in Avignon and maybe Aigues-Mortes.

You can't make much sense of this in the time you've got.

It's just about possible to drive from Barcelona to Nice in a bit over 6 hours: the route machines are optimistic about the bit from the end of the A9 to Salon. But to do that you've got to stay on the motorways all the way. And they're BOOORING, with mostly dismal views (though the bit through the mountains is good)

The enjoyable roads are those closer to the coast. And, even on a deserted spring day, they'll take you closer to a full day just for the drive. Hit traffic and you're going to have to find somewhere else to spend the night. And seeing things can be a nightmare: allow at least an hour to find a parking spot in Arles, for example (plus the time to get in and out, and actually find the Alyscamps).

Drive the Spanish coast (not the motorway) across the border to Collioure. Save the eastern French Med coast till next time.

Thanks for all opinions. We really don't want to drive more than 3-4 hours a day - and we want to give Barcelona its due. Am concerned about closures, as well - I know most things won't open up until around Easter. Any thoughts on driving south - Valencia, maybe?

You need to read a guide book to get some idea of places worth visiting. South of Barcelona, I'd recommend Tarragona, with a history going back to Roman times - it's only an hour or so by train from Barcelona. Valencia is, I think, less interesting than either Barcelona or Tarragona.

topping please