Provence/Riviera and either Barcelona or Switzerland

I agree that it would be hard, if not impossible to fit both in. Switzerland will eat you a new pocketbook. I'm not a fan of Barcelona.

Assuming that you'd have a car for Provence, a swing along the more western part of the French Med coast opens up a whole new world that most people miss. You could even drop down to Barcelona for a night and head back to France along a more inland route (Carcassonne, etc) to get he car back to the drop point.

I'd be comfortable giving five nights to the project, four would really be pushing it, and three is a non-starter.

Ed,
I really appreciate your suggestion. What places would you visit on this route and where would you stay on a 5 night trip? By stay, I am referring to towns/cities but if you have any hotel/restaurant advice that would be great too.
Amy

We rented a house for 2 weeks in Provence with 3 other couples and based ourselves near Maussane. It was a wonderful trip! You can easily fill 2 weeks with things to do and see. For example, we took day trips and visited Arles, Avignon, St. Remy, Aix, Cassis, the Carmargue, Roussillon, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Nimes, and Les Baux. In this region there are wonderful markets, Roman ruins, great restaurants, hiking, and more!

I think the way I'd do it with five nights (and assuming you've already seen everything Nimes and east), would be to poke the first day and spend the night in Perpignan. Along the way I'd make stops in Aigues Mortes, Sete, and Meze for sure. Driving time would be about three hours. I'd leave plenty of time for Perpignan and devote more time to Aigues Mortes among the other stops. You'll want to read up on the remnants of the Phoenician culture ( eg. the still-operating salt flats near Montpellier) and the national park for the trip down. For Perpignan you need to understand it's relationship to the rest of the catalan areas.

I'd spend the next two nights in Barcleona with a long stop in Cadaques on the way down. Road time is less than four hours. (This is a recommendation, not what I'd actually do -- I dislike Barcelona, most people think it's great.)

Heading back, I'd cut through Andorra just to see the Pyrenees. It's turned into a shopping mecca in the last batch of years, but I don't buy much, so no comment on what's a deal. From Barcelona to Carcassonne it's about a five and a half hour drive. You could get diverted to go see a Cathar Castel, but I wouldn't bother. Going in the castle at Carcassonne is not really necessary, but unless you want to see it, you don't need to arrive until late in the afternoon or early evening. The city and walls are what's impressive.

I'd go back toward Provence throught Albi, and then swing over to the Milau Bridge just to say I've seen that.

That was only four nights -- time left over for one more in Barcelona maybe.

I refuse to recommend hotels, since all it does is start arguments. I'm really bad at resaurant names, but try these directions for two I really like:

Aigues Mortes: from the main (north) gate (not from the huge parking lot on the south side that is harder to get to) follow the street to the town square. Eat at the place on your right on the corner as you arrive at the square. Seafood.

Carcassonne: in the gate, up and to the left. Two restaurants across from each other. Pick the one away from the hill (pick the one with no view). Eat casolet (sp?) which is dead duck and beans and is really good.

Edit:

This seems heavily weighted to small coastal harbors, but I'm prejudiced. Other will have alternative ideas, use them as well.

Perpignan is an amazing place with a lot of cultural diversity. Most interesting is a Baque population descended from regugees of the Spanish civil war. If you spot a place to eat with Basque grub (really odd looking words or rabbit and ox) try it. There's one on the square near the cathedral, but I can't remember where. Otherwise, just about any of the whole slew are good.