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SW France/Dordogne/Catalonia logistics help

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Need help with logistics for France and Spain please!

I have booked a week art retreat (March 21-28, 2026) at Clos Mirabel in Jurancon, Pau, SW France.
The plan is to fly (solo) into Paris and either take a train or flight to Pau.

After a week at the retreat, I hope to visit Bayonne, St Jean De Luz and Bordeaux, then head back to Paris where I will meet up with a friend. We’ll spend a few days in Paris, then make our way to Meysacc where we begin our week-long self-guided MACS Adventures inn-to-inn walk, “Hilltop Villages of the Dordogne”. It ends in Loubressac, France, from where we need to get to Begur, Spain for another MACS inn-to-inn walk (“Walking the Catalan Coast). We end up in San Feliu de Guixois, from where we want to go Barcelona for a few days..

As my friend and I will be arriving a couple weeks apart, and we both want to spend time in both Paris and Barcelona, this seems as logical to me as meeting up with her in Barcelona and doing the trip the other way around, but maybe not? We do not want to drive ourselves.
Any thoughts? The art retreat is already booked. I would love input as to the easiest way to get from place to place.

Thanks so much!
LG

Posted by
3634 posts

Take a TGV train from Paris to St-Jean-de-Luz 4- 4.5 hrs)

Train from St.-Jean-de-Luz to Pau (1:45).
Return by train to St-Jean-de-Luz. Train/bus to Bayonne.

Take a TGV from Bayonne to Bordeaux (2 hrs)

Return to Paris by TGV from Bordeaux (2-3 hrs)

For Meysac, Lubersac, take a TGV or Intercity train from Paris to Brive-La- Gaillarde (4:40). Then, transfer to a 30-minute bus from Brive-la-Gaillarde to Meysac, Lubersac.

After the trek from Meysac, Lubersac to the final endpoint in Loubressac, bus to Puybrun (8 miles) and then train to Souillac (1:15) where you can catch an IC train to Perpignan (5+ hrs). Alternatively, you can take a 90-minute bus from Loubressac to Brive-La-Gaillarde and then the train to Perpignan. Once in Perpignan, train to Girona, Spain (:40) and transfer to a bus going to Begur. There are no train stations on the Costa Brava so buses are the way to reach the coast.

You can reach Barcelona from Girona on regular or high-speed trains

You have a lot of TGV journeys for your itinerary and you’ll save a lot of money buying them online well in advance at www.SNCF-Connect.com/en
The best deal is on SNCF’s “Prem’s” tickets which first go on sale online 4 months before the train’s departure date. A limited number of the Prem’s tix are put on sale and once they’re gone— they’re gone.
A TGV train ticket bought on the day of travel can cost €140. A Prem’s ticket bought 4 months ahead can cost as little as €16 for the same train.

Posted by
2164 posts

A couple of thoughts:

  1. My wife, who loved Biarritz, hated Bayonne. Said she found it ugly and boring. After the spectacular scenery of Biarritz, perhaps understandable.
  2. There's usually little reason to pay the price for a TGV ticket from Bayonne to Bordeaux. The much cheaper TER train typically gets you to Bordeaux just as quickly.
Posted by
29632 posts

I liked Bayonne a lot and didn't like Biarritz much, so YMMV.

Posted by
3634 posts

@jphbucks. The reason to buy an advance TGV train ticket from Bayonne to Bordeaux is price.
You can buy a TGV ticket from SNCF for €26 for some dates before December 14.

The regular TER train tickets are €40 and up.

(Train tickets for dates after December 14 may not be available to buy until after the new timetables are released on December 14).

Posted by
10 posts

Thanks to all for all the tips. Looks like Ill be spending a lot of time on trains and buses

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