Doing some long range planning and had been debating ending a coastal France trip by 1) spending a night in Pamplona or San Sebastien then flying out of Bilbao or 2) still seeing those 2 towns in northern Spain, but driving back and flying out of Toulouse.

Now, I've just read another thread which sounds like if I rent the car in Paris and try to turn it in in Bilbao it may be prohibitive. So, I assume Toulouse is the closest option?

If I choose Toulouse, are there flights to London, Frankfurt, Copenhagen? That's in case I don't fly into Paris on Air France. Or would I have to hop back to Paris anyway to catch a flight to one of those cities?

You need to rent and return you auto rental in the same country.

For flights out of Toulouse to various destinations, why don't you pull up expedia or orbitz and check them out?

I am leaving for Toulouse in a few weeks for extended time in Lanquedoc -Rousillon, Dordogne and Basque country. I am picking up a lease-buy-back vehicle in Toulouse and dropping it off in Biarritz when I depart from there at end of trip.

From San Sebastian, Bordeaux and maybe Bergerac would be closer than Toulouse. For cheap flights, check http://www.whichbudget.com/.

Thanks. Hadn't thought of Biarritz or Bergerac. Am not experienced at researching flights within Europe, but have plenty of time to figure that out.

Toulouse is a bigger hub than Biarritz or Bergerac, or even Bordeaux, which would be second biggest out of those three

You can also fly from Pau, or Rodez, Carcassonne or Perpignan if you pick your low cost carrier.

A friend left a car on the Spanish side of the border (in Irun?), walked across the border and rented a car on the French side of the border to avoid the cross-border fee. It is apparently very easy to do.