Possible change to my trip to include Girona before Narbonne and Toulouse

We loved Girona. The people are wonderful, the city is so pretty, there's lots to do. One of the many things we enjoyed was walking the city walls. The river thru Girona is pretty with a bridge built by Eiffel. We did a day trip from Girona via bus to Besalu which is a very picturesque medieval city on a river. Girona is one of my favorite European cities.

Yes, go to Girona; lop those two nights off of Montpellier and Narbonne. Unless you are going to Narbonne for the Grands Buffets, I think one night gives you 24 hours. I'd keep four each for Montpellier and Toulouse.

These are short distances. I don't find Girona terribly different different from Occitanie, (Montpellier, Narbonne, Toulouse) but it has its own interesting sites to see and a bit different cuisine, some architectural differences, and Catalan language. We always enjoy going there.

Also, if possible, you should get off the train for a few hours in Figueres to see the Dali Theatre Museum. These are all short distances.

How will you travel? Rental car? Train?

By train, the fastest and most direct way to get to Girona is from Narbonne with SNCF (French trains) or RENFE (Spanish trains).
There are also direct trains from Montpellier.

So, the most logical sequence would be Toulouse first, then Narbonne/Montpellier (in whichever order you prefer), and finishing in Girona.

If you're traveling by rental car, be aware that you won't be able to cross the French-Spanish border and return a car rented in France to Spain without paying a hefty surcharge.

As for the time you want to spend in each city, it depends on your interests. The main thing is to spend at least two full days, ideally three full days (four nights), otherwise it's not worth going. Narbonne, being smaller, can be visited more quickly, which is where I would reduce the number of nights if necessary.

From each of these cities, there are possible day trips, especially if you have a car, which would require a stay of at least six days.

Thank you for the responses.

jules m, I'm glad to hear you love Girona. The pictures I've seen look lovely.

Elizabeth, I'd never even heard of the grand buffets, so I had to google it. I rarely go for mass quantity when eating, so no, I won't be doing that, but thank you for the suggestion anyway. I would however like to visit Perpignan and maybe Collioure from Narbonne since they're close.

JoLui, I'll be traveling by train, coming from Annecy to Montpellier and flying out of Toulouse at the end of the French portion of my trip, so changing the order for those cities wouldn't make sense. Do you think there's enough to do and see in Girona that I should stay 3 nights? From what I've read it sounds like a beautiful place, but not such a large place.

You go through Perpignan to get to Narbonne, so it makes no sense to backtrack even more to visit there from Narbonne after Girona. You are already going out of your way to go to Girona, so you can economize and see Perpignan on your way to Narbonne from Girona. In fact, if you want to visit Collioure, you should be staying in Perpignan and do a day trip to Collioure. Afterwards, go to Narbonne for the day or overnight, and then on to Toulouse.

Thanks again for your input Elizabeth. I’ll consider what you suggested. Do you think 2 nights in Girona will be enough or do you also think it needs 3 nights to be worth it?

I think 2 is enough. It’s a nice town. You are making a lot of quick stops, but this way you can see if there are places you want to visit longer in the future.

24 hours in Narbonne is definitely enough (a few cute streets, half a cathedral, the bishop's palace); an overnight stay there would do. If you stay 2 nights, I would dedicate the 1st afternoon to Narbonne, and the full day to a Carcassonne day trip.

So, I would take a night from Narbonne.