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Best Sightseeing Route from Paris to Barcelona in 3-4 Days

My husband and I will be traveling to Europe in mid-June. We fly into Paris & out of Barcelona. I’m trying to figure out what route we should take to Barcelona. I have the latest France guidebook, but Rick’s “priority list” is based on proximity to Paris, so that doesn’t really apply to our situation. My inclination was to drive down the western side of France so that we could stop in San Sebastian once we get to Spain (I’ve been there twice and loved it) but from what I’m seeing online and in the guidebook is making me wonder if another route would be more enjoyable.

We have 3-4 days to get from Paris to Barcelona so some of the stops would be overnight stops. I'd be interested in which places you'd recommend staying the night, also. I don’t plan to book hotels in advance for that stretch unless you advise differently!

I’m not sure yet if we’ll be traveling by train or by rental car; I hear the fees to drop off in another country are steep, so if we do the car, we’d probably drop off at our last stop in France and then take the train in Spain, or vice versa.

About us… we are a married couple in our 30s, on a moderate budget, not looking for a party scene but still up for a little adventure and spontaneity… we’re not afraid of much of anything and we love wine, food, and hanging out with locals! We love champagne, too, so I'm wondering if we go out of our way a bit and visit Reims.

Look forward to your thoughts, wise ones! :)

Posted by
19 posts

We did something similar last May. Flew into Paris and rented our car right away, but you could go into Paris if you were planning to stay a few days there and then rent a car. Since you want to spend 3-4 days, you won't be able to stay more than one night anywhere. The first stop on our trip was Laguiole which is in the center of France. Cute town that is known for knife manufacturing. We then drove to Montpellier via the Viaduct du Millau which is a giant bridge over a beautiful gorge. We returned the car in Montpellier to avoid the expensive drop off charges if we took the car to Spain. Montpellier is a medium size college city with good restaurants and a very walkable center city. From Montpellier we took the train to Collioure, France. Collioure is on the coast just North of the Spanish border. Restaurant specialize in seafood. There are some nice local wines. We then took the slow train to Barcelona which takes about 3 1/2 hours. There is a fast train that connects the French TGV to a new Spanish fast train to Barcelona, but you have to go to to Figueres to catch it. If you do not want to rent a car, I would recommend taking the TGV from Paris to Lyon for an overnight, then going on to Montpellier and Collioure. Have a great trip whatever towns you select.

Posted by
1021 posts

Use viamichelin.com to get routes, driving distances, estimated time (always too optimistic) and costs including tolls. My choice would be the eastern route overnighting in Beaune after driving the Côte d'Or wine route which would fit right in driving from Reims. Next night Avignon after visiting Chateauneuf-du-Pape, then Collioure the third night. Turn the car in at Perpignan - several rental agencies at or near the train station. I read that Perpignan-Barcelona is now served by direct high speed trains so no need to change trains if that's the case.