My family and I will be spending 5 days in Barcelona. I have received advice to take a side trip to the French town of Collioure which is near Barcelona. Anybody been there? And, should I drive or take a train?
Collioure is charming, but I doubt it is worth a detour (more than 3 hours each way) from Barcelona. It might work well as a stop enroute to someplace else in France, though. If you do go, how is up to you. Do you prefer to spend the travel time in a train or behind the wheel? You'd be on foot in Collioure either way.
I quite enjoyed Collioure. I don't know the logistics for getting there from Barcelona, as I drove there from where I was staying in France. The train would be easy and you don't need a car while there. Will you have a car otherwise, or would you rent one just for that day? Only you can decide if the effort and time it takes is worth going there. If you are looking for a French town to enjoy the beach, you're better off staying in Spain and finding one there. The beach in Collioure is rocky. The better beaches are a little north of there, but besides the beach there's nothing else to recommend there.
You might want to visit Sitges, on the (sandy) beach just 25 minutes by commuter train south of Barcelona. We spent two weeks there and loved it. I hope we'll love Collioure as well, as we plan to visit there this fall!