Looking for help planning a 3 week itinerary for France and Spain in 2019. We've traveled extensively in Italy over the past few years and are looking to expand our travel now to these two countries. Looking to see some of the main sites including Paris, Normandy and Barcelona. Working in a wine tour for a full day would also be a preference. Any ideas as far as where to visit would be a great help. A tired and true itinerary would be even better. We'll be doing an in-depth search while planning the itinerary but need some advice from seasoned travelers. This probably will not be our one and only trip to the area and know there is no way to see everything. We are pretty adept at traveling by train and prefer apartments/flats over hotels. Thanks for any and all advice!
Posted by
Washington DC
27136 posts
Paris and Barcelona can both suck up a huge amount of time. We don't know your level of interest in the various types of sights, so it's hard to guess how much time you'll have left over for Normandy, much less other locations. I urge you to do some reading about those two large cities so you have an idea of whether they will be 4- or 5-day stops for you, or 10-day stops. I spent nine days in Barcelona and it really wasn't quite enough, and I think nearly everyone would suggest that Paris needs at last as much time as Barcelona (probably more).
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Paris - 5 nights
Normandy - 3 nights
Lyon - 1 night
Provence - 4 nights
Costa Brava - 3 nights
Barcelona - 5 nights
Posted by
Canada
73 posts
For France and a wine tour, don't miss Alsace! Strasbourg, Colmar and the Route du Vin in between. Spend 2 full days in Strasbourg (I spent 4 and it wasn't too much). One day for the Route du Vin. One day for Colmar.
Posted by
OP
38 posts
Thanks for the reply's. Re-thinking our itinerary based on your comments. Any recommendations for a private or semi private tour company for a day wine tour? We were over the top happy with the tour guide we used in Tuscany (semi private tour for 8) and hope to replicate that experience if possible.
Posted by
Spain
162 posts
I think 5 nights in Barcelona is overkill, personally, 3 nights was enough for me to see the highlights.
I loved Valencia! beautiful city with amazing sites. That is a great train ride from Barcelona. I loved Seville and Madrid, as well as Toledo, Cordoba, and the Costa Del Sols. Most of those destinations can all be reached by Renfe which is a great train company!
Happy planning!
Posted by
3247 posts
In October 2017, we enjoyed a small-group to the Priorat Wine Country with Spanish Trails. We chose the Priorat over Penedes because of our preference for reds over whites and sparkling wine. "Enjoyed" is putting it mildly - this was a highlight of our trip.
http://spanish-trails.com/?vh_accommodation=wine-food-tours/wines-of-catalunya-doq-priorat
This tour was every bit as good, if not better, than our 2014 Chianti wine tour with Tuscan Trails from Florence.