Single Woman Traveling - South of France/Coast of Spain/Barcelona

A lot has to do with the length of your trip. Doing an arc along the Med from Barcelona to Nice is a good idea. Hopping up to the Basque area would be going out of your way. The train system from Barcelona to Nice is good, efficient and affordable. I would definitely visit the Dali museum in Figueres and try to spend a night in Cadeques with a short cab ride to Port Lligat to see Dali’s house and studio. You could stop in the beautiful city of Montpellier on your way to one of my favorite, and interesting, French cities - Marseille. Great museums, mixed cultures of all the countries that border the Med, wonderful boat trips around Chateau d’If to visit and view the Calanques from the sea. Then take a day trip to Aix before going to Nice.

Just like home, every place had its “sketchy” areas. Stay out of them and use the same common sense precautions that you always use and you should be safe and have an enjoyable time. Portugal is a wonderful visit but I think it, like throwing in the Basque Country, would be a bit much. Savor the cities you’re in instead of spending time on trains and buses.

Have a great trip! The Basque coast (on the Atlantic Ocean) is not on your route, however.

Have a drink and admire the art at the bar in Collioure! The artists, mostly impressionists, bartered their work for drink back in the day.

Other notes: Marseille can be seen from Aix and vice versa; Nice, not Marseille, is the logical end of your trip.

Duration, duration, duration. Without knowing that, it's hard for us to offer advice. If you have 3 months, definitely include the Basque country, and end or begin in Nice. If you have 7 days, eliminate some destinations.

Yes, do tell us how long you have for the trip. I've been to all the places you mentioned (including Portugal), but over multiple trips, because I only get 10 days at a time.

Is Portugal a "better idea" than France or Spain? Only if you want to see Portugal more. You should go where you want to go at this time, rather than to a place that other people think is "better" but that doesn't interest you now. As for "cheaper," remember that any place can be seen more or less expensively (grocery stores are less expensive than restaurants; hostels are cheaper than hotels). Also, don't forget airfare in the total expense calculation; for no clear reason, it can much cheaper to fly into one destination than another, and which is cheaper at any time constantly changes. I'm a strong believer that one should never go someplace just because it's "cheap," but it can be a great tie-breaker.

As for safety, if you know how to be safe in New York City, you will not have any problems in the places you mentioned.

If you want to talk live about the trip, you can look for our next NYC travel meeting. It will be posted on the Travel Group Meetings section of this board: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/travel-meetings

Thank you all so much! You really are the best. I'm in complete agreement that Basque country was a stupid idea. I'm looking at possibly 10 days and have now "narrowed down" my thoughts to 2-3 days in Barcelona, 2 days going east along the Costa Brava (maybe overnighting in Blanes/Pals/Girona/Cadaques/Roses - no idea yet), then 2 days in Marseille, one "day trip" to Aix en Provence, 2 days in Nice.

I realize this is a last-minute trip (hoping to go mid-July). I just finished my first year teaching elementary school, and literally have had no time to do any planning (pretty much eat, sleep, teach, repeat). This is also why I unfortunately can't go some other time of year, like September or October (which I'm sure would be much more temperature-pleasant). Really just wanting some adventure, color, art/music, a little beach time and a mental break from the busy past year! I'm pretty good at research and booking rooms and train tickets. Just need some help on deciding an itinerary or even if you have suggestions of places to stay that are reasonably-priced, walkable and safe from town center and have AC! If this itinerary seems ridiculous, and you think I should just focus on a few core things, I'm open to hearing your thoughts on this, too.

Thank you so much!