I am planning a trip starting in Paris and ending in Barcelona. We would like to spend a day or two in southern France, somewhere near the border with Spain. Any suggestions for
a) a good place to visit/stay
b) best transportation to-from this place?

Thank you.

a - Collioure

http://www.collioure.com/

b - rental car.

http://www.autoeurope.com/

Trained when there from Barcelona last cheap fun.
seat61.com/france
hoteldelacite.com Carcassonne my fav.
Truly majestic old Cathar/Templar France
Part of my heritage. sunfrance.com other options
Collioure is nice on the coast beach is not much
there is a Templar Castle there that is pretty neat.

Happy Trails!

One of the prettiest towns in the area is Ceret. Best way to get there is probably by car or bus.

Thank you. Looking for something that is more quaint with a lot of charm (yet still easily accessible )

>>>>>>Thank you. Looking for something that is more quaint with a lot of charm (yet still easily accessible )

In that case, I would consider the recommendations offered by Sarastro, qwovadis, and uhoh_busted.

Except that Carcassonne isn't quaint or near the border with Spain.