Would love some general tips on our upcoming trip.
Wife and I (age 55) and son and fiance will fly into Barcelona on Monday, May 16th. We will spend a night or two in Barcelona, but then pick up a rental car and tour on our own. We are pretty experienced at "wandering" on our own with only a sketchy plan.

I would like to see some of the Pyrennes, (maybe Andorra) and then spend a few nights on the coast using San Sebastian as our base. We then leave from Barcelona on Tuesday the 24th.

I would like some ideas on routes, scenery, towns, hotels, sites.

i do know that we have already decided not to tackle Bilbao and the Art Museum.. I realize that many folks will think we are covering too much ground.....but that is the way we travel, and get "antsy" staying in once place very long.

We love the smaller towns and cities, and love to simply stroll the streets, seeing local building styles, people watching, and enjoying the local food at a sidewalk cafe.

Thank you for any ideas.
EK

With only one week, I think you might be best off concentrating on Barcelona and Catalonia rather than including the Basque areas...it seems like a lot of driving to arrive and leave from Barcelona and travel all the way to San Sebastian within one week...

Why not look into Vic, Rupit, Besalu, Figueres, Cadaques..to name just a few possibilities..???

For ideas, see, for example:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-itinerary.cfm

There is a lot of great info in the Maribel guide:


http://maribelsguides.com/mg_barcelona-03-09.pdf

This set of pictures, but going west to east, covers the area you want to see, with some meanderings south (Tudela) and west of San Sebastian. It might give you some ideas. BTW, it's been a long time since we were in Andorra. We did not find it attractive as a town which was oriented toward duty-free shoppers.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623190654780/

ekellyga, if you click on my name, you can read my trip report. We visited Barcelona, Costa Brava, Girona & the Pyrenees this past October. We spent 5 days in Barcelona, then rented a car & drove up the Costa Brava. In one day we stopped in Tossa de Mar, Sagaro, & Callela Palafrugell, & then we overnighted in Cadaques (one of the highlights of our trip). We spent 2 nights in Girona & then we spent one day driving around Catalonia & through part of the Pyrenees. We stopped in Besalu, Ripoll, Rupit & Vic, before driving back to Barcelona. We loved every part of our trip!! I envy you!!

I agree with ekscrunchy - with only 8 days (one jetlagged) I'd focus on Barcelona and some of the villages in Catalunya. There is plenty to keep even an "antsy" traveler busy in this region.

I agree with CathyM and ekscrunchy. Barcelona and the villages in Catalunya will make a great trip. U can do some nice wanderings just in that area -- lots to see and do.

I would agree with ekscrunchy and the others about this being a lot of driving. If, however, you are bound to go from Barcelona along the Pyrenees, Jaca is a pleasant mediaeval garrison town, with good plazas and restaurants. Driving west the next morning, hang a left to visit the thousand-year-old monastery at San Juan de la Pena (an expensivish but comfortable hotel has been inserted in the new --18th century-- monastery), which is a UNESCO world heritage site and remarkable. If you want to stay nearby without breaking the bank, there is a comfortable hospederia in Santa Cruz de los Seros, about 5km to the south of the historic site.

8 days is not enough time for Catalonia and the Basque country. Just enough for Barcelona and the Costa Brava, maybe a day in the Pyrenees. If it were me I would spend all 8 days in San Sebastian. That's just me though.