Need help planning trip- Barcelona to France and back in 7 days

Barcelona is fantastic and there are quaint walkable towns within an hour or two of Barcelona--Girona, Cadaques and Besalu and more. Girona is one of my very favorite cities in Europe. It takes a long time to get to Paris from Barcelona, I think like 7 hours and the train tickets are pricey. So that's like 2 days spent on a train. I think your family would have a marvelous time in Barcelona, with more to do than you have time for. If you really feel the need to get into France, there are some great cities on the south coast that could get you your French "fix".

Time's getting short. Better set your plans pretty quick as some popular stops in France sell out.
We're leaving in 2 weeks for Madrid and going to Barcelona. We have tickets on the fast train Barcelona to Paris that takes 6 1/2 hours. (It's a long way.) The train tops out at 199 mph.
If your time on the ground is only 7 days, you might be limited to visiting only Barcelona & Paris. Each is a minimum of a 4 day city.

One to two nights in Barcelona where you will be jet lagged means you will not really see nor experience it.
If you want to go to France, rental a car and visit charming waterfront Collioure not far north of the Spanish/French border, though you may trouble finding any rooms at this late date.
If this trip is actually to Paris (!) then land in BCN and immediately transfer to a flight to Paris, or maybe a long train ride.. You hardly have any time to waste.
You will learn that your inexpensive flights may not be a good value with the loss of valuable time.

France is the size of the state of Texas and Europe is not as small as some people think it is. You will lose a day traveling between Paris and Barcelona. I have flown between the two cities and taken the train and you are looking at about 4 hours all-in for traveling by plane and 6 hours and 45 minutes all-in all in going by train. Looking at the number of days that you have on the ground and the amount of time that you will lose taking the train to a "few cities" in France, I think you should just divide the 7 days between Barcelona and Paris.

I assume from your initial post that you have round trip tickets to Barcelona already bought and open jaw is not an option. If that is the case, I suggest that you push on to Paris immediately upon arriving in Barcelona. My philosophy is that one loses the first day in a jet-lagged haze anyway and spending the second to last day of a trip traveling back IMO is more stressful than returning to the departure city a few days before. I would just fly from Barcelona to Paris on the arrival day. Seven days is just not enough time for you to enjoy "quaint walkable towns, coastal views, history" while making your way from Barcelona to Paris and then back to Barcelona. As mentioned before, there are all the things you see in Spain. Suki is absolutely correct that your low priced tickets may turn out to not as good a deal as you think they are because you actually want to go to France not Barcelona. Train tickets in Europe are probably not as cheap as you might think and low priced tickets sell out so you may be too late to buy the lowest priced tickets.

How many days do you actually have on the ground? Does the 7 days include your departure and arrival dates? If it does, you have even less time and should really head to Paris on day 1. Spend

If 7 days means 5 nights (the first night being transatlantic) and the last night is spent near BCN for an early return flight the following morning, you have about 4 full days. The only conceivable way to see Paris is to fly there to/from BCN, consuming even more of your very limited vacation time.

Barcelona itself takes about 3 days to skim the surface. I don´t see how including Paris is remotely possible on this trip. Spend a couple of days in Barcelona, rent a car and drive up the coast to Banyuls, Collioure and maybe one city farther north in France and return to Barcelona.

A week goes by in a flash, particularly when you are changing locations.

How fun for you and your family!

Sometimes it is worth it to buy the cheap ticket to Europe, whatever the end city. I got round trip to Barcelona once for 300$ and we wanted to see Andalusia, so the first day jet lag, we pressed on.

You are going to be at the Barcelona airport anyway on arrival day. Buy cheap one way tickets Barcelona to Paris (allow at a minimum 3-4 hours layover between the separate reservations; check skyscanner.com for prices, select one way; have your eyes on a lounge you can spend time in Barcelona airport while you wait for your connection).

Day 1: leave USA
Day 2: Arrive in Barcelona; catch connection to Paris.
Day 3, 4, 5 Paris
Day 6: travel back to Barcelona
Day 7: leave Barcelona

You can switch around the number of days between Barcelona and Paris. Obviously it is not a lot of time.

If you like quaint towns, from Paris there is Giverny, and the Loire Valley as day tour but with the lack of time I would stay in just two locations.

Get your tickets to the summit of the Eiffel tower. It is already on sale for July and it will sell out. A bicycle tour is an excellent way to see Paris with two teenager. Pick a hotel close to the Seine and Notre Dame as possible; you will then be in walking distance of most of the important sights.

Please, forget about Paris (which I have visited 20 times). Your proposed itinerary will put you on trains for two of your vacation days. Nice trains, but leaving very little time for Barcelona. The only way this could work at at all is using a multi-destination air ticket, into one city and home from another, at about the same price as you are paying round trip and saving lots of time. Too late for that, now. Barcelona offers plenty of opportunities, including downtown beaches. Or you could take a side trip to the picturesque old city of Girona, less than an hour each way by train. I understand your desire to see as much as possible, but having the time to appreciate it is also important.

I like Arya's suggestions for including Paris in this trip but the idea to explore with Barcelona as your base provides an enjoyable alternative. I suggest you provide your family with these options and see if you can reach a consensus - they may be completely set on Paris or willing to wait till next time given the amount of time needed to travel between the two.

Back in November we bought cheap tickets to Barcelona. From SFO we paid 520$ each. We travel next month and are staying one night in Barcelona then travel by train to Nimes France and spending nine nights in the Provence region. Then back to Barcelona for two nights. We visited Paris last summer. With your time frame I would fly from BCN to Paris. You could return to Barcelona by TGV, and stop in the Provence region. Many options. But out someone else said your time is running out on finding a place to stay. We booked our accommodations six months ago.