My husband, myself and 13 yr old son are going to Barcelona this summer. We plan to spend 5 days then take the train to Carcassone and stay for 2 nights. What city would be best to fly out from and maybe spen d 3 to four nights before flying back to the US? We would like to see some parts of Provence. Thanks .

Montpellier, peut-etre?

Well, first off Carcassonne is not in Provence. The closest major French airport from Carcassonne is Toulouse-Blagnac. If you go to Provence, you could fly out of Nice (there are direct flights to several US cities) or from Marseille via Paris or another major city. You could even travel north to Lyon-Satalas. Remember, Lyon is France's 2nd largest city; Marseille 3rd; Lille 4th. From Carcassonne there are very good train connections to all of Provence. You may wish to try and visit Aix-en-Provence, Saint-Tropez (no train station there); Cannes; Antibes.

Marie....I plan to also trasvel from Barcelona to Carcassone. I'm having trouble researching train connections and times. What website did you use and if you don't mind,could you tell me the time you leave Barcelona,when you arrive in Carcassone and do you change trains?<BR>Thanks so much.

Martha: log onto the French national railroads website at www.sncf.fr Then click on the English flag, then click on train schedules, then type in Barcelona and Carcassonne as the departure and arrivals station. And it'll all come up for date and time you choose. I just tried for you and it worked! I hope this helps you. Have a great trip.