Planning a 3 week trip by car through the French Rivera and Provence area, and coming from Barcelona. will also be visiting San Sebastian, Spain so have an opportunity to also see France basque area.
Looking for any suggestions about recommended cities/towns/places to see to help build my itinerary.
thanks
From Barcelona drive along the coast and visit Tossa De Mar.. google for images.. very small,, very lovely.. its would just be a lunch stop as its not very far from Barcelona ( about 1.5 hours) We stayed 5 days and loved it !
JD, it would help if you could tell us what your main interests are - art? history? food? hiking? beaches?? Two years ago, daughter and I spent 3 days in Montpellier and 3 in Avignon, for a trip focusing on the Roman sites. Nimes might have been a better choice than Montpellier but we did get to see the medieval Jewish mikvah in Montpellier, which I found very interesting. So if you are looking for ancient sites, I have a lot of recommendations. Just let us know what you'd like to focus on.
RE: Our interest
Nothing specific. We typically travel from major city or region to major city or region. In the major cities, we will see the major attractions. In some ways, we enjoy the travel between cities more; an opportunity to stay in small places and meet the local people / learn about the local culture. We also plan in a few days here and there for R&R, e.g. Tossa de mar sounds like a good place for that.
We are selective on museums; they can eat up lots of time and result in our missing the opportunity to really get to know a city and its people. For us, just wandering around the city is often better.
Yes, we want to experience the food, but we are not looking for the 3-5 star restaurants. Would rather eat where the lcals eat and talk with them.
Hiking - no, beaches yes, but for R&R.
Keep those suggestions coming.
JD
About restaurants in France: you mentioned "3 to 5 star restaurants", but actually under the top rating is 3 stars and there are only a couple of dozen of those in all of France--they're the $300+ per person restaurants.
When are you traveling? San Sebastian is a pretty town but that coast is best in the real summer months of July and August. Tossa de Mar is on the Med coast and has a little larger season for visiting. Unless you're doing a loop, it will be hard to see both Costa Brava and the Basque coast on the same trip.
Driving north of Barcelona.
This is from Dale, so I don't have more information (but something I want to do next time I'm there):
terrific drive: from Girona, to Pubol, Peratallada, the ruins at Empuries, and finishing up in Cadaques.
Yes, I'm doing a loop for 3 weeks by car.
