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South of France Itinerary Suggestions

My husband and I will be visiting the south of France in August 2023. We've allocated 12 days to visit south of France and then will join friends in Barcelona for 2 weeks in Spain. I've narrowed down our travel plans based on recommendations I received in an earlier post. Here is our current itinerary but would welcome suggestions!

Arrive in Nice on August 8 (1:30pm) - spend 4 nights in Nice (Aug 8-12)
Take direct train to Marseille August 12 - spend 4 nights in Marseille (Aug 12-16)
Take direct train to Nimes August 16 - spend 3 nights in Nimes (Aug 16-19)
Take direct train from Nimes to Barcelona August 19
For this itinerary, is 4 nights too long in Marseille? 3 nights too long in Nimes?

Our other thought is to spend 3 nights in Marseille, 2 nights in Nimes and 2 nights in either Narbonne or Perpignan (suggested places to visit by others in my earlier post), then train to Barcelona. Is this too much to try to cover in 1 trip, especially since we'll be traveling by train?

Also, would it be worthwhile to purchase eurail pass? From our base cities, we will be taking trains and other public transportation to visit surrounding cities and areas.

Posted by
7301 posts

A pass is almost never a good idea in France : reservations are mandatory and cost extra, and advance fares for long-distance trains are cheap. I would absolutely not consider it in your case, since distances are short and tickets are relatively cheap between all the destinations you mention.

I would spend a 5th night in Nice and just 3 in Marseille, because there are more day trips from Nice than from Marseille. 3 nights in Nîmes is perfect, and I would not consider Narbonne or Perpignan in your timeframe.