ktw

In the Past this forum has helped me with great advice. So.... My husband and I were booked on a cruise at the end of October that has now has been cancelled, we have airfare into Nice and out of Paris and three weeks in between. We had planned to visit Barcelona, San Sebastian, Pyrenees and then make our way through France to CDG, we would love to hear your suggestions. We like cities and quiet little villages, food, wine, culture, and hiking/walking. We also plan on driving. Thank you.

m_kingdom2

San Sebastian and Bilbao are fantastic, but I'm not so sure of the weather..

I'd probably to a few nights in about 5 different places (a few being anything from 3 to 5 nights in this case).

Diane

With three weeks to travel, you really have a lot of options! I can make some suggestions based on a trip my husband and I took last October.

We started with three days in Barcelona and then took the train to Perpignan where we rented a car and drove to Carcassone. After a day there, we used the small village of Cordes sur Ciel as a base for four days to explore this region around Albi. It's a beautiful area, but definitely "quiet" this time of year. That's part of the appeal, IMO, but some attractions are closed or open limited hours.

We then drove through the Gorge du Tarn (breathtakingly beautiful) to arrive in Arles where we spent another three days exploring this area of Provence. Very different from the southwest and a bit more crowded with tourists.

Finally, we dropped off our rental car and took the TGV from Avignon to Paris for a final day before heading home. We've been to Paris many times, so we weren't worried about not getting enough time there on this visit.

We really liked the variety of staying in larger cities such as Barcelona, smaller cities like Arles, and the medieval village of Cordes sur Ciel. The contrast among the different regions we visited made the trip interesting and fun as well. Every area was fabulous in its own way with great cuisine/wine, lots of culture, enjoyable walks and drives, etc.

As I mentioned, you've got lots of options with 3 weeks time, and I imagine you'll get lots of suggestions from everyone!

Enjoy your trip!
Diane

stormygirl

We just spent 2 weeks in the norther spain area, it is so beautiful. We loved driving from the east to the west although we didn't get all the way. The scenery is really nice. San Sebastian is amazing!! The Picos de Europa also were spectacular and we wish we would have had more time. We also went 'south' a bit and toured bodegas in the Rioja wine region. Can't recommend enough. On the border the French town of St. Jean de Luz was really cute. Will top my trip report for you or you can find by clicking on my name.

tedgale

Hmm you don't mention northern Italy -- would that not be an option too?

I'd stay south for as long as possible...

Pyrenees in late October? I'd check on rain and sunlight forecasts as mountains mean serious weather at that time of year.

You have four main routes north:
1. roughly, via the Route Napoleon, along the eastern border of France -- note comment about mountains

2. via the Rhone and Burgundy -- the preferred route of most travellers

3. via Toulouse/ Lot/ Dordogne (which takes in Cordes-sur-Ciel)

4. via Bordeaux and the Atlantic coast -- blustery in that season?

Note that I do not even mention the route from Montpellier area through Clermont Ferrand. Our domestic convention is "NEVER via Clermont Ferrand" but that is just our personal crochet -- too bleak and empty.

Michael

Look into a lease either with Renault or Peugeot. Since you are starting in France and ending the trip in France, there would be no pick up or drop off fees.

From Barcelona you might want to visit the Spanish Pyrenees, specifically Taüll with its Romanesque churches and frescoes--the originals are in Barcelona, but the museum can't match the setting. You might want to visit San Juan de la Peña. Obvious stops on the way to Paris would be the Dordogne and the Loire valley.

letour

If you are driving from the west, you can pick up on a number of the Cathar villages in the Minervois region around Carcassonne. I had never heard of the Cathar religion before we exchanged houses with a family from that region, and I found its history fascinating. The Cathars were apparently at one time so popular--they embraced worldly pleasures--that they were a threat to the Church, which tried to eliminate Catharism. Should you take that route, I would recommend Menerbes, which was an old Cathar installation that was built into a deep gorge; the stone foundations of the buildings in the village rest on the remarkable gorge formations. The tiny ancient streets in the hilltop village are charming and there are some interesting local wares to purchase there. Once you drive past Nimes and further into the Provencial region, there are lots of little towns to visit. I was just in Les Baux de Provence this past summer and really liked the winding narrow roads which somehow accommodated two-way traffic and scores of cyclists! One could wander about that area and stop in lots of quiet towns, or one could go up to St. Remy de Provence and take in the numerous charming boutiques that seem to cater to American tourists. If you should drive through the Luberon region there are lots of hilltop cities which offer impressive views of the valley and surrounding mountains. Les Bories is a very snazzy hotel/restaurant that I stopped in en route for lunch--I found the food very elegant, but it was very pricey and a bit precious for my taste.I would also recommend driving from there in a northwest direction to the Drome region, where the hiking would be terrific. A special small town that seems dedicated to artists and potters is Dieulefit. The Hotel Mary is a very proper, pretty hotel set right in the town and is run by some lovely people.

I found that driving further north from the Drome region on the secondary roads was banal, so I'd look into potentially dropping off my car in some town in that area and taking the train back to CDG. However, if you want to continue driving north, you could get on the main highway and after passing through Lyon, you could head about an hour in a northeast direction, where the terrain becomes much more wooded and verdant. A wonderful destination is Vonnas, where the Hotel George Blanc is located. It's a very comfortable, welcoming (and expensive) hotel that features a very high quality restaurant as well as a smaller restaurant, that offers more traditional, "grandmotherly" French cuisine. The hotelier, M. Blanc, has made an industry out of his family restaurant--much of the town seems to revolve around his restaurant and hotel. He actually wrote a book about his grandmother's, and other grandmothers' traditional French cooking, complete with old photos and recipes. His grandmother's caramelized chicken in a white sauce was succulent! He'll come introduce himself at your table and make you feel very welcome.

Someone else suggested that you head north through the Dordogne region, and we found that area to also be very charming countryside. Good luck choosing!