Already planning the next trip (and rewarding myself for a good morning's work)! I'm in the initial stages, have done some reading, and will do much more. But I'd love some guidance on our initial thoughts. I'll book the air portion, then after that, we'll take more time to decide how much time in each place. We'll have about 12 or so days, flexible at this stage.

After considering an all-Spain trip for 2006, we chose a Rome-focused trip instead (which was great, BTW). So this time, with then-12-year-old son in tow, we're planning to visit Barcelona to dip our toes in Spanish waters (figuratively) in combination with a trip to more-familiar and much-beloved France.

My thought is to fly into Barcelona, spend 4 or so days there, then drive to France (maybe stopping overnight at Girona). Do something in Languedoc/Roussillon (Carcassonne, most likely, and environs). Then end up in the Dordogne, which we visited (adults only) several years ago, and loved. Four or so days there, too.

As background, we all love fine food, son and I are interested in Gaudi, son noted "castles" as something he wants to see more of after we took him to London/Paris/Loire last year, we're not beach people or shoppers, and while DH and I are big hikers, son is not so much, so no Pyrenees highlands on this trip.

At the end of the vacation, due to flight availability and the most direct route to our U.S. home, and to avoid switching from Gatwick to Heathrow, we'd most likely take the TGV Toulouse-Paris, spend the day/evening/night in Paris, then fly Paris-London (Heathrow)-home. (Flying from Toulouse or anywhere in the region other than Barcelona or Nice means switching airports in London. Flying through anywhere other than London results in an extra connection in the U.S., which we don't want.)

Is there anything I'm missing in this initial plan? Anything else I should consider? Thanks!

Just want to let you know that I am planning a March 2007 trip to Barcelona, with kids who will be 16, 14 and 11. If you click on my screen name, you will find answers to lots of Barcelona-related questions that I have asked.

I did a similar itinerary a couple years ago. But I took the 3-hour train ride from Barcelona to Perpignan to avoid the auto drop fee as well as some of the driving. I then drove to Carcassonne to spend the night. From there I drove to Albi and then on to the Dordogne. Not sure, but you might find that you can fly back from Toulouse via CDG for your return for little more than flying out of Paris.

missypie - yes, I've seen your posts. I'll be checking them often! (And your trip to Rome, etc. preceeded ours, as well, though our trip to Italy this year was adults only)

Jeff - Toulouse-CDG is an option, but if we do that, we'll have an extra connection in the U.S., and we want to avoid that.

If the 12 year old still wants castles, I thought the French castle in Foix, with its flags flying, at the top of a giant rock, was just about the most classic castel-y castle I've ever set eyes on in my life. Google up some pictures and you'll see what I mean. I've heard the inside of the castle is a snooze, but the outside is great.

Your son might also appreciate a stop in Collioure right on the coast. I thought it was touristy, but it's unique (with its fort) and a rather easy to grasp and colorful place and a draw for famous artists, even if you don't go for a swim.

I'll also point out that there are many caves of some note in that southwest region. I didn't do it when I was there last Spring (I opted for the high Pyrenees, with their springtime waterfalls), but had I been going in hotter weather, a few hours in a cool cave might have been just the ticket.

Another site I missed is the viaduct of Millau. Either it's a crashing bore or really something to see. Just pointing that out.

Foix castle:

http://france-for-visitors.com/photo...ix-castle.html

Just curious, isn't an extra connection in the US better than making one at Heathrow? Having just come through LHR, it's hard to imagine a more difficult airport in the US. Of course, some are worse than others and CDG isn't all that much fun either.

Foix looks great! And I already have the Lastours castles/ruins on the list, as well.

Yes, Heathrow could be bad, though we didn't have too bad of a time through there last year (in 2005, before the new restrictions). But in total, it's a question of two connections vs. one. We might, in the end, choose an extra night in southwest France with an extra plane connection over a night in Paris with only one connection.

You might also investigate stopping over in Cadaques, either as a substitute for or in addition to Girona. My husband and I enjoyed a 3-day visit there as part of our honeymoon. It's a seaside village that is rather isolated (very long, windy road) and therefore has escaped some of the nasty touristy built-up ugliness that plagues some other places on the Spanish coast. Dali, among other artists, spent a fair bit of time here. We stayed at the Rocamar hotel, and really enjoyed its atmosphere. I think you'll be able to find my more detailed comments if you search for a post under my name from around June 2005.

I think Cadaques is a fine place, and Dali is lots of fun for kids I would imagine (if not too sexy?), but I have to say that I would not like to be a back seat passenger for the 35-minute constantly winding road in and out. If everybody is immune to car-sickness, don't give it a second thought. But if anybody is, there are other pretty seaside villages if that's what you are looking for.

I also popped back into say that although it's not a castle, you might consider a day trip, which includes a cable car ride, to Montserrat. There is not much to do there when you arrive, but if it is a sunny day, you get a great view. Not for those with vertigo, however.

Lastly, you might want to check out if you can actually stay in a castle on your trip, either in France or in Spain. It wouldn't surprise me if you could -- although the castle might be a bit more modest than the one at Foix.

Now here's a nice castle to stay at in Spain. Right on your way:

http://en.escapio.com/hotel/hotel-castell-demporda

There usually is a heavy cross-border fee on car rentals. You might want to train to Narbonne and pick up a car there.

Right. Although one way to get around this is to drive back into Spain on the Atlantic coast. It's really not that long a drive from Toulouse. I would stop overnight in San Sebastian, then drop off the car at the airport in Bilbao. You can fly Air France from there to Paris.

Going back to Spain and flying to Paris with Air France might be more expensive than getting a PREM ticket to train from Limoges to Paris, assuming that the vacation is ending in the Dordogne.

I'd check out the cost comparisons.

By that I mean:

3 train tix to Narbonne plus cost of car rental plus 3 train tix to Paris

vs.

cost of car rental plus 3 air tix to Paris.

Don't forget also that there are several ruined 'cathar' castles inland from Perpignan which are well worth a visit. Querybus, Peyreperteuse, & Puilaurens are all great, with spectacular hiltop locations. If your eventual route takes you near to Mirepoix, it is worth a stop to see the arcaded centre. I'm not sure that you need to stop at Girona unless the town particularly interests you. We have a house near Perpignan and find that the drive to Barcelona takes about 3 hours, and to Girona about an hour, so you wouldn't need to stop there drive-wise. I'd recommend that you continue to Perpignan which would make a good base for the chateaux above, Collioure, etc

Except that Girona is a marvelously beautiful place. I liked the castle in Perpignan, and Collioure is a pretty sight, but Girona is multiply fascinating.

http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Eur...alonia/Girona/

Thanks for all the additional comments (was busy with Halloween, etc. for the several days).

Girona sounded beautiful, and a chance to visit a smaller Spanish town, but we don't need to decide on that yet; I just noticed it while reading Fodorite posts. I like the other town suggestions, too.

And all the castle choices are so enticing - I'll give my son the job of narrowing down the selections.

Re staying in castles, we did stay at a castle in the Loire Valley on our last trip. Our son liked that (especially the suits of armor), but he (along with us grownups) agreed that we would have preferred staying in the middle of the nearby town, where we enjoyed walking around. So we might skip another castle stay.

I didn't even consider the possible drop charge from picking up a rental car in one country, and dropping in another (though we've experienced that on an Italy-France trip). So thank you all for reminding me! Yet another factor to factor into the calculations...sometimes there are just too many choices!