Please sign in to post.

France & Spain planning and help please!!

Hello,

We are a couple in our early 50's. We have booked a flight to Paris May 4th returning May 20th. My partner hasn't been to Europe; I have been several times including Paris, South of France, south Spain, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Turkey, Portugal-and driven in most of these places, We both love nature, cities, some museums but not overkill nice dining but not really foodies, wine, walking, villages and towns, beach towns though not really laying on beach, scenery, photography-you know the usual! My goal is to give my partner a varied experience (city, villages, markets, beach town, nature) with 2 countries (France & Spain) without rushing too much-though we are OK with a decent pace. I know it would be better to fly in to one place and out another, but this flight was an excellent deal, so we jumped on it. We also have a friend with a place in Paris we can stay at. Here are some very early ideas (haven't detail researched train stations, car rental yet-at the macro level) happy for some suggestions based on the above

May 5th -arrive 12:30-spend day hanging out and recover from jet lag-early night

May 6th, 7th, 8th & 9th -Paris (day trip to Champange region)

May 10th -head to Loire Valley via train, pick up a car, see Chambord or other on way to Dordogne region -select base for 3 nights (May 10th, 11th & 12th)

May 13th -head to Girona Spain (he really wants to see this place) -overnight

May 14th, 15th -Costa Brava town of choice (or three nights here and day trip Girona?)

May 16, 17th, 18th, 19th -Barcelona

May 20th -flight to Barcelona (or 19th) for international flight home

Other suggestions? Or is there a round trip circle one could do Paris to Paris? I also haven't though of where to return car in the above scenario.....

Just at the macro level now!

Thank you.

Posted by
2771 posts

I also haven't though of where to return car in the above
scenario.....

Renting a car in France and returning it to Spain will cost you an arm and a leg, probably at least 1000 Euros extra. Drop off the rental car in France.

If you drop off the car in Perpignan you can take a direct train to Girona (40 minutes journey)

From Dorgogne to Perpignan it is around 5 hours drive depending on the location in Dordogne (which is very far from being only Sarlat-la-Canéda and its surroundings)

Posted by
301 posts

I'd recommend spending two nights (or even three) in Girona and taking day trips from there. Girona is lovely and manageable, which is good because you're going to be tired from being on the go so much for the previous week. There's a lot to see in Girona, but primarily in a "stroll around and soak up the atmosphere" kind of way. From Girona there are lots of possible trips to the coast or to other nice places (Besalu was my favorite, but a lot of people also recommend Figueres).

If three days in Girona and its environs seems like overkill, you might add a day in the Loire Valley. I don't know where you're planning to base yourself, but the cities and towns are worth exploring in their own right. I stayed in Angers for three days in 2022 and really enjoyed it (and it's a direct train from CDG). I also thought the town of Amboise was every bit as charming as the Chateau and wished I had more time there.

Caroline

Posted by
308 posts

We have a rental car from Sixt and love the company so far. Very customer service oriented. We paid for the best insurance because we have the car for 3 weeks (it really wasn't that much more) and will take the car into Spain. After returning to France and visiting the Dordogne, we'll return the car in Bordeaux and head back to Paris via train through Nantes. You're itinerary sounds doable.