Single Woman Planning Potential Southern Coast of France/ Spain / maybe Portugal trip?

Question #1. You do realize that the Basque coast is on the Atlantic, right? So is Portugal. All your other destinations are on the Mediterranean.

Question #2. Do you realize how late it is to be planning for July? Flights will be expensive if you have to pay for them. So will accomodations if they are even available. This year will be my 3rd annual solo trip. Don't expect single rooms or apartments to be much cheaper just because there's only one of you.

Question #3. Are you prepared for the heat pretty much everywhere except the Basque area?

Question #4. How long do you plan for this trip to be?

Question #5. Is this your first trip to Europe?

Having asked all those questions, I've been to all the places you listed except Marseille.

IMHO, you can't beat Sevilla (not on your list) for music (Flamenco) and architecture (Cathedral, Mezquita in Cordoba, Alcazar). Sorry, no beach.

Lisbon provides Fado, amazing mosaic paving and astonishing tiled subway stations. On the river, not right on the Atlantic.

Barcelona has Gaudi, of course, as well as Miró and Picasso, and the beach.

Nice has the beach and Chagall and Matisse.

Aix-en-Provence isn't right on the beach either, but you can visit Cezanne's studio and walk to the spot where he painted so many images of Sainte-Victoire.

If you're thinking of Bilbao, it's on the Basque coast, but not quite on the Atlantic. It's about a 6.5 hour train trip from Barcelona with no train changes. The Guggenheim is incredible. San Sebastián is on the Atlantic. This area is very different from other parts of Spain, very hilly and green.

As I said, I don't know about Marseille, but keeping the normal precautions in mind, traveling alone should be fine.

Thank you for your thoughts! I'm in complete agreement that Basque country was a stupid idea. I'm looking at possibly 10 days and have now "narrowed down" my thoughts to 2-3 days in Barcelona, 2 days going east along the Costa Brava (maybe overnighting in Blanes/Pals/Girona/Cadaques/Roses - no idea yet), then 2 days in Marseille, one "day trip" to Aix en Provence, 2 days in Nice. I appreciate your thoughts on other cities I didn't think of and will be researching those today, in case that's a better direction.

I realize this is a last-minute trip (hoping to go mid-July). I just finished my first year teaching elementary school, and literally have had no time to do any planning (pretty much eat, sleep, teach, repeat). This is also why I unfortunately can't go some other time of year, like September or October (which I'm sure would be much more temperature-pleasant). Really just wanting some adventure, color, art/music, a little beach time and a mental break from the busy past year! I'm pretty good at research and booking rooms and train tickets. I don't mind heat and this will be my 5th or 6th time to Europe. Just need some help on deciding an itinerary or even if you have suggestions of places to stay that are reasonably-priced, walkable and safe from town center and have AC! If this itinerary seems ridiculous, and you think I should just focus on a few core things, I'm open to hearing your thoughts on this, too.

Thank you so much!

Are you talking 10 days or nights? Keep in mind that you need 2 nights somewhere to have a full day in-between. Your first night can be the one on the plane or the one in-country.

Are you planning on flying into one city and home from a different one, aka open-jaw or multi-city? That could definitely affect your itinerary and vice-versa.

It will be a challenge, but I think it's great to be doing this so spontaneously. You definitely need a break.

Three nights in Barcelona sound good. On our first trip to Spain, we stayed right on the Ramblas. I would not recommend the hotel where we stayed, the name of which I've successfully repressed.

I'm not sure about a day trip to Aix. On our second trip to France, we rented an apartment there. We had a car and ventured both east and west of the town. My favorite day trip was to the Pont du Gard (loved the 12th century graffiti) and down through the Camargue to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Both of those would be far more accessible by public transportation from Nîmes or Arles, although some taxi time could be involved.

On that first trip, we stayed in Antibes to save money. It's a short train ride to Nice. I think we should've stayed in Nice.

Not knowing the attraction of the Costa Brava (except maybe Cadaques) or Marseille for you, I'd consider Barcelona-->Nimes or Arles-->Nice or the reverse. If you haven't already, use Rome2rio for possible logistics and costs. The train rides are pretty long and there may be some slow downs going between France and Spain.

In any case, I think 3 locations is the maximum for a 10(?)-night trip.

Hi J.

I can understand your circumstances but indeed it's very late in the year for a "decent" planning.... you'll now have to content with "what's available".

I believe your main decision comes to whether you want a hectic trip or not. This is always a big argument in the forum. At the end of the day, there are people happy with packing and unpacking all the time and investing many hours traveling and in waiting lounges if they can, in return, see a lot of stuff. Me, I'm in the other group: I do prefer to have a fairly relaxed trip and I prefer to be able to go beyond the surface in the places I visit, less is more.

If you were to choose the second path, then your itinerary should indeed be cut short. For example, say you choose to visit Barcelona... that would warrant at least 4 or 5 days (minimum), and I can guarantee you won't repeat anything nor find time to get bored.; then taking Barcelona as a base camp -so you don't need to be packing and unpacking all the time- there are plenty of day escapades worth considering, such as Besalú-Girona, Tarragona, Figueres-Cadaqués, Tossa de Mar, etc. In this way, you can maximize your time "on the ground" without being day in day out in a plane or in a train. This would easily cover the whole 10 days without having to do major traveling up and down. Just saying.

When you have a clearer picture on your final decision, should you choose to visit my homeland Catalonia and its capital Barcelona, I will be pleased to point some ideas and some links that might be useful for you to work out the details of your planning.

Enjoy!

I think your latest proposal, stretching from Barcelona to Nice, is way too much ground and too many hotels for a short trip, But I'm in Enric's camp.