Road trip in SW France with Mom!

Hi Mary, Here's some thoughts Day 1 to Lourdes – about 150Kms 1.5 hrs drive Day 2 to either Carcassone or Andorra – both about 260Kms but Andorra is a 4hour drive, Carcassone is about 2.5 hours Day 3 – along the Mediterranean coast to Collioure – a magic little village on the coast –about 150Kms from Carcassone 1.5 hours. Depending on the car hire firm you may be able to drop off in Collioure and then take the train from Collioure to Barcelona – about 3 hours.
If not then drive back to Perpignan (30Kms 30 mins) drop the car off and train to Barcelona

Another option would be to drive to the Dordogne region and pick a base in one place for 3 nights and make day trips from there. You could stay in Sarlat or another town in the region. We liked our base at La Belle Etoile in La Roque-Gageac. If you have another night you could stop in Saint-Jean-de-Luz for a night on your way back. Your trip with your Mom sounds like great fun!

Baz and Sharon, thank you so much for taking the time to weigh in on my travel questions! I have started looking at these towns a bit, and at first glance, I really like Collioure, France! I think this will be a must stop on our way back to Barcelona. Baz, do you have a hotel or accommodation in this city you have stayed in and would recommend? Sharon, the hotel in La Roque-Gageac looks lovely. I might do two nights in La Roque-Gageac and then one night in Collioure before I head back to Barcelona. Do you have any insight on the best way to sample the local wine? Are there wineries open to the public or do you need an appointment? Or is it best to just visit tasting rooms in these towns? My plans for the rental car have changed slightly. I don't know why it didn't occur to me before but if I pick-up the rental in San Sebastian, and drop it off at the Barcelona airport then the rental will start/end in Spain and I don't need to worry about taking trains to avoid a cross country rental. Thanks you again - I appreciate your help so much! Mary

Wine = the area around the town of Pezenas in Languedoc. Gorgeous little very old town with lots of great shops and restaurants set among ancient, winding streets. It is SURROUNDED for miles by vineyards and beautiful family run wineries. I recommend Abbaye de Valmagne not too far from town. It's in an old abby...the huge wine casks fill the side chapels of the church. They have beautiful gardens and a lovely setting. There are SO many wineries in this area and it is wonderful just to drive around and see the hill towns and views. It'll take about 2 or 2.5 hours to get there from Barcelona. I highly recommend!

Hi Mary, We stayed at the Hotel-Restaurant les Templiers, it's located on one of the busiest streets in town and close to the harbour. You would need to park about 5 minute's walk from the hotel, but you can pull up outside to off your suitcases. Collioure is a maze of small one way streets, once you find the small creek (maybe stormwater channel) flowing out to the harbour, the hotel is on the street running beside that creek, it's not as bad as it sounds The hotel is quite quirky and full of locals, it's certainly not the Ritz but good value – have a look at the reviews on Trip Advisor and the hotel web site - http://www.hotel-templiers.com/gb/collioure.htm
We ate at the hotel and also at the restaurants close to the harbour – great memories.

Hi Mary,
I'm not sure about wine tasting - your hotel could probably make recommendations. If you stay in La Roque-Gageac I'd recommend a restaurant in nearby Beynac called La Petite Tonnelle.

Casa Pairal is a good hotel in the center of Collioure. It has a pool and a private parking lot which was free when we were there three years ago. We returned our car to Sixt located a block from the Perpignan train station (next to Hertz) then trained it to Barcelona.