Message: We have one day to drive from Barcelona to Provence. Would particularly love to get a flavor of the Spanish part of the route. Have read other posts and see that Ceret and Collioure are highlights. Do people most highly recommend the Vic, Ripoll route or is there any better option, like either Girona or the coastal area?
Also, once the better part of the day is spent up through Ceret, Collioure, how far can we expect to drive to the Provence area? We'll ultimately be heading to Mas D'Oulivie in Les Baux, but could stay the first night a little west of Nimes and start our Provence itinerary the next day from that approach. So looking for the best stops on the way to Provence and a realistic, recommended place to stay the night as close to Provence as possible. Thanks

The coastal road from Barcelona to Girona is beautiful, but you won't make any time on it. Take that road and you definitely will not get to the Provence the same day, unless you gamble on getting a speeding ticket, i.e. drive at more than 150 km per hour.

seagulls,
I would never suggest that you try to make the drive from Barcelona to Provence in just 1 day stopping to get a flavor of French Catalonia in Ceret and Collioure, which I recommended in another post not knowing your time constraints. And given your destination is Provence I certainly wouldn't suggest the Vic-Ripoll route, which would be far, far out of your way, to the WEST.
To reach Provence from Barcelona, first you'll need to take the fast A7-E15 autoroute through Girona and Figueres to Perpignan, (NOT the extremely slow coastal route) stopping at either Ceret or Collioure before Perpignan, then continue on the A9-E15 to Nimes, then Les Baux.
Spending the night well before Nimes seems the better choice to me, if you don't want to spend the night in Collioure. Once in Nimes, you're almost to Les Baux. I would break up your drive a bit more evenly.
You can do route planning and get good driving directions at www.viamichelin.com.

Maribel is absolutely right. Once you get to Nîmes you're 45 minutes or so from Arles and about an hour from St-Rémy, so stopping there doesn't make sense.

I thought from an earlier post that you had two days to make this drive. Is it down to one now? If so, I'd rethink, as it would be far more driving than I'd want to do in one day. And you certainly won't have time to stop and get "the flavor of the Spanish part of the route."

We do only have one night between Barcelona and Provence and my thought was to get close enough to the Provence area so that we could get some touring done in Nimes and Arles that next day as we only have 3 nights in Les Baux and then 4 nights in the Cotes D'Azur. I had originally thought I should only try to go as far as Sete and someone suggested Montpelier instead. Does that still seem like the more sensible choice? If so, then what should the itinerary be between Barcelona and no farther than Montpelier? thanks!

If going only to Sète or Montpelier, you probably could do the coastal road between Barcelona and Girona, but then use the autoroute for the rest of the way. Of course, if you have reservations, you can then arrive later at your destination than if you have none.

Just to clarify. Assuming we stay in Sete or Montpelier overnight (do you recommend one over the other, or do you have another suggestion) - are you recommending we drive up the coast from Barcelona to Girona (feeling that this is the most beautiful part of the coast), then get on the superhighway and that we then stop in Ceret and Collioure before getting back on the superhighway to our destination. Or are we to assume that if we did the coast until Girona we would not have any more time for stops? I guess I just want to clarify the recommendations for the highlights. Thanks a million.

Yes to Montpellier over Sète.