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Late March - Spain and Montpellier, Nimes FR

Posted by on

Hello! My wife, 14 yo son and I are making our first trip to Europe. Could you please provide any feedback or recommendations on our plan?

Arrive Barcelona 3/20

3/20:

• Check into Hotel Regina ($1200)
• Explore Gothic Quarter, Plaza de Catalunya,
• Dinner at Boqueria Market

3/21
• Breakfast at Boqueria Market
• Gaudi Sites with Private Guide:
o Sagrada Familia
o Parc Guell
• Mid-Day Siesta
• Opera at Palau de la Música Catalana – 7PM ($70 pp = $210)

• Light Dinner

3/22
• Montserrat
o Purchase All Montserrat in Aeri tickets 
Round trip ticket by train from Barcelona and cable car
 Visit Monastery and Black Virgin
 Museum of Motserrat (art museum, incl. works by Picasso and Dali)
 Sant Joan Funicular Hikes
 Buffet lunch
• Late, light dinner upon return to Barcelona, likely at or near hotel

3/23
• Chill morning, stroll la rambla before heading to Montpellier, FR
 Outbound: 4:24 PM, arrives Montpellier 7:41 PM
 Inbound: (Thursday 26th) 6:17 PM, arrives Barcelona 9:32 PM
o Check into Grand Hotel du Midi
 Suite (1 queen and sleeper sofa)

3/24
• Find local breakfast and stroll Place de la Comedie
• Walk to Old City
o Visit La cathédrale Saint-Pierre
o Visit Botanical Gardens
o Lunch at Les Halles Castellanes
• Dinner

3/25
• Find local breakfast
• Train to Nimes
o Walk to Montpellier – Saint Roch train station (6 minutes)
 8:50 AM, arrival at 9:15 AM
• Nimes
o Arrive in Nimes for roman sites – 11 minute walk from train station
 Walk to Musée de la Romanité + Arènes de Nîmes
 Walk to Maisson Carree
o Les Jardines de la Fontaine
• Return to Montpellier ($33)

3/26
• Check out of hotel
• Drive to Aigues-Mortes
o Walk around and discover the Towers and Ramparts (remnants of castle), view pink salt lake from tower

o Drive to Tour Carbonniere
 Tower with view of marshes, flora and fauna
• Drive to Parc Ornithologique Du Pont De Gau
o ($8 PP)
• Return to Montpellier
o 50 minute drive
• Train return to Barcelona
o Tickets already purchased
• Check into Grand Hyatt Barcelona ($285)

Posted by
11468 posts

It's ok, but you are backtracking and cutting it close going from Aigues Mortes back to Montpellier to catch a train. Driving in Montpellier is a huge pain in the neck and you are in the center of the city.

Instead, you can pack everyone up, check out of the MPL hotel and pick up the car to go to Aigues Mortes. Then, in the evening, instead of driving back to Montpellier, go to Nîmes, turn in the car, and check into a hotel in downtown. You can then spend the next day exploring Nîmes and the museum, and catch the same train, but a half-hour earlier at 17:46 at the Nîmes Centre station. If you were to keep the car the next morning, you might consider visiting the Pont du Gard and maybe even Uzès.

Don't miss the salt marshes, Salines du Midi, next to Aigues Morts.
Why the Halles Castellanes? There's no place to eat inside that market. If you are going to be at the Cathedrale and Botanical Gardens, the rue Jean Jacques Rousseau and the Place de la Canourgue have many restaurants for you to try. If you go to the Saint Roch church, there are a lot of restaurants around there and the best ice cream in Montpellier at La Banquaise ice cream stop.

Posted by
3 posts

This is super helpful. Thank you! We are trying to minimize hotel changes....what would be your thoughts on staying in Nimes vs. Montpellier? Or, should we stick with Montpellier and do our Camargue/St Mare de le Mer exploration on a day when we are not checking out and catching a train? We could do Nimes as last day and catch train to BCN in Nimes?

Posted by
616 posts

Why are you eating twice at the most tourist centric market in a great food city like Barcelona? There are much better choices. Also I think your day 2 is very busy. Do you know how you are going to do with jet lag? The three places you mention are spread out and you do not leave much time for all of them. Also you do not mention lunch? Won't the 14 year old be hungry?

Posted by
3 posts

I’d love any additional food information you may have. We are foodies, so not at all intimidated by eating in a. Foreign city. I didn’t specifically call out lunch in BCN - our plan was to find non tourisry places wherever we are. (And lunch is included with Montserrat ticket)

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