OK we kind of like the egg McMuffins for breakfast, so maybe that might be an idea for kiddies, but the burgers are pretty bad. Sue

Huh? What rubbish is that?

PalenQ is off his meds again, I guess. There is so much junk food available in France that McDonald's or pizza don't even come to mind as a possibility for me. What could ever be better than a doner kebab? I confess that the horrible Paul fast food chain seems to have a lot of tourists addicted.

Well, the OP is making a trip to Italy, but the same rubbish response applies.

Paul is indeed horrible, but they sure seem to make a killing at the train stations they're installed in.

Oops, got threads confused. The OP is indeed going to France.

Dijon- worth a stay?
Toulouse- how about here?

Toulouse to me is one of the nicest old cities in France - Dijon is also very nice. Two of nicest cities in France each worth a stay IMO.

If Toulouse, then via Lascaux caves, Abri de Cro Magnon and Sarlat.
And if the OP no longer wants to avoid Barcelona at any price, he may go to Spain via La Tour de Carol - Yellow train and Perpignan.

neckervd-- can you explain ?? If we need to go to make our way to Granada from France-- you are saying to do what? Go to that town and take a train??

Thanks for recommendations in Toulouse and Dijon.

PalenQ- what other southern french cities would you recommend? or anyone?

Thanks.

France-Granada trains take about a day - fly.

" neckervd-- can you explain ?? If we need to go to make our way to Granada from France-- you are saying to do what? Go to that town and take a train??"

In my posts above, I made a lot of proposals that you obviously didn't like.
I really don't know your interests. The only thing I can guess is that you plan to go from Zurich via Liechtenstein - Dijon - Montpellier - Toulouse to Granada without touching Barcelona and without visiting the gems of Rhone-Alpes or Dordogne .

Liechtenstein? A stamp or passport stamp collector? Skip that IMO - also a detour from heading to France and Spain.

You can easily Google La Tour de Carol and figure out what neckervd is talking about. Le Train Jaune is pretty well regarded, and a lot more interesting than Liechtenstein.

Pretty much any city in the Langudoc-Roussillon is worth visiting. We just came home to the Dordogne from a 2-week trip all over that region and the Midi-Pyrenées and weren't disappointed in anyplace we visited.

Toulouse 2013 | Any Port in a Storm

Yup have taken Little Yellow Train twice and loved it - not a tourist train per say but regular but thru awesome Pyrenees' valley.

Now I am on the hunt for a castle/chateau in Southern France to stay in. Anyone? I will look into the little yellow train.

Talk about a needle in a haystack. If you cut France in half and presume that everything below the median line is "southern France," you're talking about 225,000 square kilometers of land.

StCirq-
Perhaps people have their favorites. We want to spend the night in the castle. I did not know this was super common. I have stayed in one near Normandy but did not know they (castles as hotels)encompass the whole of Southern France. Think of these regions-- Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrenees, Bourgogne (on as north as Dijon) and Rhone-alpes.
Thanks.
kerouac- your pictures makes Toulouse so inviting. Thank you.

It would make a lot more sense IMO to figure out your route first and then find a castle to stay in. Someone's favorite might not be anywhere near where you're going. Castle hotels are a dime a dozen in France and have been for years. There are at least a dozen within a 40-minute drive of my house. They are easy enough to research.

Thank goodness, I thought they were still building them