Spain and Paris
 

I will be traveling to Barcelona at the end of October to visit my daughter who is going to the University.
We will be there for a total of 2 weeks. One of the weekend we are planning on going to Paris. We want to end and start in Barcelona what day trips are recommened in Spain for the 4 days we have each week while my daughter is in class? i would like to go to Madrid as well. Thanks

day trips from Barcelona could easily include:

Sitges - primo seaside resort

Montserrat - famous pilgrimage church high in the hills near Barcelona

Figueras and the Dali Museum;

Valencia by high-speed train - one of Spain's coolest old cities

and even into France - just beyond the border to say Couliers or other picture-post car seaside villages

Zaragoza - nice larger town just over an hour or so by train

From Madrid, if you go there for four days - you have tremendous day trips such as:

Toledo - one of Europe's loveliest old towns

Segovia and Avila also neat

Salamanca a bit farther afield - a primo university town

Trains are great - for lots of info on Spanish trains check www.renfe.com or www.renfe.es - Spanish Railways and these informative sites: www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Paris is too far by train so fly there IMO or take all day by train.

"Toledo - one of Europe's loveliest old towns."

I second PQ...our favorite spot we visited in Spain this past spring.

((H))

Thank you. We are planning to fly to Paris. The weekend we have planned is in the middle of our two week trip and fly in and out of Barcelona.

These are very helpful.

Are you committed to flying into and out of Barcelona? It might make more sense for at least one of you to fly out of Paris....

Here's a recent thread on day trips from Barcelona. Note that you could have found this thread by using the board's "search" function."
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...p-170271-2.cfm

Yes, since our daughter is there we wanted to see her on both ends of our trip, travel around Spain while she is in class and then take her to Paris for the weekend (which is my birthday) and then back to Barcelona with her and travel the last 3 days and be with her again before we leave. Now that we are getting into actual itineraries we are discovering that we cannot cover as much as we thought. We thought one week we would go to San Sebastian and Bilbao and areas up there and the other week Madrid, Toledo etc. But now I’m not sure we can get all in.

Yes, with 2 weeks you will need to be extremely selective, IMO. But you should be able to see some wonderful things!

I have another question. Has anyone stayed at the Cotton House in Barcelona? My heart was set on The Majestic, however for the dates we want plus an extra place to sleep for my daughter (Junior Suite) the price for part of our stay in Barcelona is very high. We are Marriott Platinum Elite members and usually stay at Marriot properties while traveling and the Cotton House is a Marriott Property. Does anyone have any recommendations for any other Marriott property in Barcelona? Thank you.

You can post your Marriott questions on the Marriott Rewards Insiders forum. You should receive quite a few responses there. Marriottrewardsinsiders.com

Free to join, must be a MR member which you are.

Valencia is 3 hours by train from Barcelona...hardly a day trip
Better connection to Valencia from Madrid, 1:40 min.

Madrid is the best!
Check out my recommended 2 day itinerary: http://bonatravels.com/2015/02/07/madrid-as-a-tourist/
And definitely consider adding dome day-trips to historical towns around: Toledo, Segovia, Aranjuez,...

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I have made note of your notes and will take them with me.

Here are some restaurant recommendations in different categories in Barcelona itself. 23 Michelin star restaurants in town, but plenty of other fabulous places as well.

Tapas from heaven in Tickets. You normally have to book 60 days in advance at midnight Barcelona time to get a table here. Ten min after midnight normally all tables are gone, but every now and then there are some last minute openings. Very affordable for what you get, and now ranked among the 50 best restaurants in the world. Just tell what kind of food you like and how much you intend to spend, and for some 70-80€ you'll get some fifteen tastings and plenty of cava: http://www.theworlds50best.com/list/...inners/Tickets
http://www.barcelonabook.com/tickets...estaurant.html

And top notch Bodega 1900 is just across the street from Tickets, and easier to reserve a table: http://www.yelp.no/biz/bodega-1900-barcelona

Bargain gourmet lunch at Somodo for 18€ (tasting menu 35€): http://www.somodo.es/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Catalonia.html

Cal Pep in El Born serves excellent and expensive tapas, get in line 15-20 min before opening to get a seat at the bar (but insist on making your own choices from the menu, I can highly recommend all the fish and seafood tapas, the wonderful tortilla and the fabulous butifarra sausage, but some of the fried stuff is not that interesting).

Close by Tapeo was our great food find on the last trip to Barcelona in March. The Coca de Sardina tapa was exceptional, but everything here was great. And, as opposed to Cal Pep, possible to make a reservation. http://www.tapeoborn.cat/
The Coca de Sardina: http://www.tapeoborn.cat/tapas-menu/...ardina-en.html

Old School, rock'n roll Xemei, I could go to Barcelona for their Bigoli en salsa Veneciana alone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lvcjtoh0tU

I never leave Barcelona without a meal in 7 Portes from 1836, an institution in town with tons of history in the walls. Great food (especially the rice dishes) and the best atmosphere. Go here late in the evening or for a Sunday lunch. http://www.7portes.com/catala/index2.php
The 175th anniversary in 2011 was a big Barcelona event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujDIsGzDO38

AND, some of the finest flamenco dancers in the world perform in Tablao Cordobes right on Las Ramblas in the end of October. Karime Amaya, the grand-niese of the greatest of all times, the Barcelonesa Carmen Amaya (1917-1963), and living legend Farruquito are among the performers.
http://www.tablaocordobes.es/en

Karime Amaya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CklXLAvSIyc
Farruquito: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOoIqwfHSdQ

In other words, I wouldn't do that much traveling around...
http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en/