Rachel

Hello,<BR>My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon for this October. We will have about 12-13 days, and are thinking about flying to Madrid and leaving from Paris. We are not necessarily looking to do tons of sightseeing. We'd more like to make this trip a leisurely tour by car through the countrysides, stopping at little inns along the way (with day excursions to larger cities). We love food and wine, so we'd like that to be an important part of our trip! Any suggestions on itineraries? Any opinions on whether the trip might be too rushed in getting from start to finish?<BR><BR>Would appreciate any advice you could give us. We planned a trip to Italy a little over a year ago and everyone on this site was extremely helpful! <BR><BR>Thanks!<BR>Rachel

rachel

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canuck

ttt for Rachel...Provence was very romantic as is Paris. Will you have time to do both countries? Paris and Provence would easily take your 12-13 days..not having been to Spain, not sure about that but would be interested to hear from others too.

John

First, congratulations.<BR><BR>Others may disagree, but given your time and the season, I'd suggest you reconsider your route and do a round trip via Paris instead. Get a car and head south and southwest to the Dordogne, the western parts of Provence, Languedoc, etc.; and limit your Spanish touring to Catalonia (Barcelona etc.) and, depending on weather, the southern Pyrenees. <BR><BR>Starting from Madrid won't give you the time to see enough of Spain or France in your time frame to justify the distance and congestion of Madrid, while the countryside touring possibilities in SW France and Catalonia are just out of this world in the autumn. Plus, you'll probably save money on airfare and car rental, too, with which you should buy an upgraded brand of champagne the first night. Or the second night, too.

StCirq

I agree with John about re-routing to start in Paris, or Barcelona. If you start in Barcelona, drive up the Costa Brava, be sure to stop in Collioure just over the border (it will be gorgeous that time of year) and continue along the coast to Provence then up through Burgundy, or go inland to Cathar country and then up to the Dordogne. Do be aware that you may pay a hefty drop-off fee to leave the car in a different country from the one where you picked it up.

rachel

Thanks everone! Great advice. We are now planning to do round trip to Paris or Paris to Barcelona. There doesn't seem to be much of a price difference in this case, to fly out of a different city. We're continuing to look at different airlines, though. The champagne upgrade is a great idea!<BR>

Pablo

Rachel - did you finalize your plans? I'm curious b/c my wife and I are taking our belated honeymoon to Spain and France - we are flying into Barcelona (but have to attend a wedding in Santander), and we'll leave from Paris. The in-between is the problem. Let me know if you have any insights.<BR>Thanks!<BR>Pablo

John H

Hi, Rachel,<BR><BR>I agree with the others -- Madrid is just too far away. If I were you, given that you will be going in October, I would start in Paris and work my way south (following the warmer weather as it gets later into your trip). Finish in Nice or Barcelona. (2 years ago I did Paris-Barcelona in 17 days; this year I am doing Paris-Nice in the same period of time). Pick a side of the country to come down -- west, central or east -- and have fun.<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip.<BR><BR>john

Pablo

John H -<BR><BR>I have a question...as you saw in my posting above, my wife and I have a dilemma: we are flying into Barcelona on Sep 1, then have to attend a wedding in Santander on the 5-6, and end up in Paris for our flight back. We're not sure if it makes sense to:<BR>1) drive from Barcelona to Santander and from there along the norther part of Spain to Paris, OR<BR>2) fly from Barcelona to Santander, back to Barcelona, drive through Provence and then drive or the TVG to Paris, OR<BR>3) Fly all the way (Barcelona to Santander to Paris).<BR>Any insights? Based on your experience.<BR>Thanks<BR>Pablo

John H

Hi, Pablo,<BR><BR>Some key initial questions that need answers:<BR><BR>1) How much time you have between when you leave Santander and when you fly out of Paris?<BR>2) Do you plan to spend any time in Paris itself?<BR><BR>This will essentially let you figure out how much time you have to do other pieces of your trip (which is critical to answering the questions you raise).<BR><BR>Another key question is whether you are set on being in Provence for your honeymoon versus being open to exploring other areas of France that are logistically easier from Santander. <BR><BR>Since you are going to be in Santander, one option would seem to be to cross the French border at the nearest point and head north to Bordeaux or east towards Toulouse (and on to Provence from Toulouse, if you desire -- that's about 8-9 hours total by car from Santander to Aix-en-Provence). Another option from either Toulouse or Bordeaux is to go into the Dordogne region, which is gorgeous. Alternatively, from Bordeaux, you could go into the Loire Valley or explore Brittany.<BR><BR>Anyway, what you should do is address the questions raised above (so you know the time parameters), and decide whether Provence is a "must do" or whether other destinations in western or central France might have equal appeal. I'd also suggest getting a Europe or France planning map from AAA or a book store and seeing where the superhighways go and what areas might be of interest. Look into the Bordeaux area, Brittany, the Loire Valley and/or the Dordogne and see if they appeal to you.<BR><BR>You can also go to www.via-michelin.com and plug in city pairs to find approximate driving times and tolls. I, and others on this Board, can certainly provide more help knowing the parameters a bit better.<BR><BR>Also, you should probably pose your next set of questions as a separate post so that it will generate feedback from as moany others as possible.<BR><BR>Hope this is helpful.<BR><BR>John H.

Pablo

John - <BR>Thanks for taking the time. Here are the answers to your questions. I'll start a new thread also.<BR><BR>1a) We fly into Barcelona Sept 1. Need to be in Santander Sept 5 (so 4 days in Barcelona) and plan on leaving Santander Sept. 8<BR>1b) We fly out of Paris Sept 16 (so about 8 days between Santander and Paris).<BR>2) I would like to spend a few days in Paris (never been)<BR>3) Being in Provence is not a requirement (neither is staying in Paris, we can re-arrange the flights to go into Barcelona and out of Madrid for example, skipping France altogether)<BR>

Ron

To Rachel. Seems to me that Madrid to Paris in 10-12 days is an awfully long way for a leisurly driving trip.

Michael

Pablo,<BR><BR>We just did a reverse of your trip. Paris-Loire valley-Dordogne-San Sebastian-Bilbao-Santillana del Mar-Burgos-Soria-Tudela-Barcelona. Obviously no long stays anywhere. Two or three days at the most. But I recommend it. It was our friends' first trip to France and Spain, and they loved it. In the Loire, we saw Langeais and Chenonceaux. Saw St. Savin on the way to the Dordogne. From the Dordogne we stayed inland, going across the border by Ainhoa in Basque country. We dipped down to Burgos to escape the coastal rains, others might decide to go along the foothills of the Pyrenees.