Does anyone have any suggestions of towns or villages to explore on our way back to Barcelona? We have not explored this area previously and would like to know where we should base for 2 nights/day trips--then one final night before heading back to Barcelona for our final night. We will have been to Barcelona Madrid Toledo and many other towns on the way to San Sebastian. The French Basque region looks interesting. Any lodging suggestions/ Farmhouse/ Guest house/ hotel perhaps with a pool? Thank You
Posted by
Washington DC
28100 posts
I don't know that this would be logistically practical for you, because I approached the area from Girona in Catalunya rather than from the west, but...
I spent several July 2016 nights in Puigcerda (more or less "Poo cher DAH"), a Spanish hill town practically on the French border just east of Andorra. It's attractive and was a good base for bus trips to Seu de Urgell (a very handsome town of religious importance), Llivia (an historic Spanish town surrounded by France) and some smaller towns along the way.
A short cab ride or 45-minute walk from the Puigcerda train station is the French town of Bourg Madam, where you can pick up the Yellow Train that runs in both directions through the French Pyrenees between the difficult-to-access La Tour de Carol and Villefranche de Conflent, a fortified town that's quite striking though also very touristy. One of the towns near which the train passes (maybe a 15-minute walk?) is Mont-Louis, also fortified. It looked like it would be interesting to explore, but I didn't have time to do so.
The web link I've provided mentions advance reservations, but the Bourg Madam station agent told me buying a ticket in advance was not necessary unless I planned to board farther up the line. Apparently most riders only make part of the trip, and only boarding mid-trip is risky. And in any case, there didn't seem to be any assigned seats.
I've been unable to find the schedule online, but I believe there is some service, though less frequent, outside of high season. My round-trip cost (not quite to the end of the line since I couldn't manage transportation to and from La Tour de Carol) was less than 33 euros, which I thought was very reasonable for a tourist-oriented excursion.
Posted by
shingle springs, CA, USA
782 posts
In the French Basque region you can visit St Jean de Luz and use it as a base to go into the hill towns like Espelette and St Jean Pied de Port and Bayonne on the ocean.We stayed in a very nice Botique hotel in St Jean de Luz and I dont have the info available,I would look at Trip Advisor for Hotels.
Mike
Posted by
OP
San Francisco, ca
4 posts
Thank you for the information it is helpful. Since we are driving we may head to Toulouse for a night or 2, check out Carcassonne on the way east. I will look at your suggestions and appreciate it.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Bayonne >> Lourdes >> Carcassone >> Girona
Posted by
15 posts
My wife and I stayed in St. Antonin Noble Val at the Maison Belmont this past June. It's about 35-45 minutes from Toulouse. It was really wonderful. It was beautiful, inexpensive, had a lot of great restaurants, and was a great base to explore many other Medieval villages in the area. We also went on to Barcelona after our stay. If you haven't made arrangements yet, I would suggest looking into it.
Posted by
milwaukee, WI, USA
174 posts
We drove through the midi-pyrenees region on our way to provence in July. Toulouse was a hidden gem - the historic old town was great ! If you have time Carcassonne is a must see. It is absolutely breath taking and especially beautiful in late afternoon into evening as the lights go on and illuminate the city.
Enjoy