Barcelona and NE Spain? OR Bayonne / Bordeaux France

I don't know the Barcelona area, but after my one trip to the Basque country, I've had on my list to return and do the entirety, French and Spanish (basically Bayonne to Bilbao).

This would be Girona.

Girona has a lot of sightseeing options itself. It's also a good base for day trips to Figueres, Cadaques and Besalu. Probably lots of other places I haven't been to.

Girona is nice, but was very crowded with tourists when we visited.
In southern central France, the amazing fortress city of Carracassone is worth a day. Also, the Bordeaux region of France (in the SW corner of France is right across from the great Basque region of Spain.

Wow. Tarascon. You are the first person besides me I’ve ever heard that stayed there.

I’m unclear whether you are planning a Spain plus France trip or if this trip to Spain would be a contrast to an earlier trip to basque France. If it is the former, I can share some thoughts. I did the following trip last summer. I’m happy to share more details if interested. Note that while I stayed in the Provence Tarascon in 2015, this past summers trip included a stay in the Ariege Tarascon.

2 nights Bilbao
5 nights Llanes
5 nights Sare, France (Basque country)
4 nights Arcachon (near Bordeaux)
1 night Tarascon su Ariege (to visit the grotte de Niaux)
3 nights Barcelona

Thank you for your replies. I'll look at youtubes of the towns mentioned.
I don't have plans - my greatest drawback is that we typically only spend 10 full days in-county. I'm self employed and rarely leave my work for more than 1.5 weeks at a time, so getting to/from areas efficiently is important. We went to Sicily this last spring. I thoroughly enjoyed it However, the 3 flights to get there and the total travel time (especially coming home) was too long! I want to go back but I'll wait a while :-)

We live in Minneapolis. Getting to Bilboa, Bayonne (and Bordeaux) seems to take a lot of time or airfare. (I just used Rome2Rio to look at some options)
It seems nice to have a target like Girona, near Barcelona

Is there a fast or simple way to get to Balboa or Bayonne?

Try Google flights--I am not using dates, but I see flights from Minneapolis to Bilbao with only one stop.
(I am operating under the assumption that you are considering either BCN area OR Basque region.)

Bilbao (not Balboa or Bilboa) offers over 74 direct destinations in Europe and northern Africa, so your best option should be a direct flight to any major hub in Europe (Lisbon, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, Stockholm) and then the second leg a direct flight to Bilbao from your first landing place in Europe. Bilbao is the most important airport in northern Spain.

We’re headed to Bilbao early April, fortunate enough to be able to fly direct San Francisco to Lisbon, then a very short flight on to Bilbao. You might be able to do something similar out of NYC. Had good experiences on the Portuguese airline, TAP, which fly direct to Lisbon from some US cities and also fly to Bilbao. Also going to Bordeaux! So, been following the replies to your post with interest.

Thank you for your encouragement or admonition :-)

Starting next May 2025, United Airlines will be linking Newark airport and Bilbao on a direct flight.