Hi, I am in the process of planning a two week trip to Spain and France (one week in each). Our plan is to fly into Spain and fly out of Paris. We are looking to do a combination of cities (Paris, Barcelona) and small towns. Any suggestions on what airport in Spain to fly into and how to best use our week in that country before going onto France? THANKS!
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Your basic premise is a bit rough. Madrid is logistically closer to the center of Spain, and offers a bunch more opportunities, especially for smaller towns. Barcelona is way out on the end of the stick. In a week, it's there and nothing else except for a few burgs to the immediate north. France is much the same way. Any small towns close to Paris (a couple of hours or so) are fairly well trampled by folks on day excursions. I'd concentrate on one country with a mix, then one city only in the other country.
Posted by
Atlanta
3262 posts
Hi Lance,
You have so many options in Spain but I agree with Ed that you'll have more possibilities if you focus on Madrid. As an example, we did a one-week trip in Spain last year. Here's our itinerary: We flew into Madrid and immediately took the train to Toledo for 2 nights. Then, train to Cordoba for 2 nights. Then, back to Madrid for 3 nights. After that, we flew Madrid to Marsailles to spend time in Provence. Finally, after time in Provence and 3 nights in Paris, we flew home from Paris.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
We are doing a bit of the same trip. However, we are staying in Barcelona for 4 nights and then in France for 14 nights. We'll miss the more Spanish center of Madrid and surroundings. IMO, I just don't think you will have enough time to see either country well in a week. With our 14 nights in France, we are wishing we had another 3-4 days to see more. We're skimping a bit on Provence and Burgundy and we're not seeing any of western France outside of Paris. And that's with 14 nights. Point being - You'll spend a lot of time on the train and won't see as much as you will like.
Posted by
Downingtown, USA
2451 posts
I too agree, we had 4 days in Barcelona and that was plenty. We also felt "locked" in as didn't find many nice small towns around. There is much more to do in and around Madrid. I assume you will have a car in France? You can spend several days, maybe 4 in Paris and then car to get outside of town for a few days. Enjoy.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17456 posts
If you skip Barcelona and fly into Madrid, you could visit some small towns with a short ride on the fast AVE train (Toledo and Cordoba come to mind)' and then head to San Sebastian on your way to France. Smaller towns on the route from there to Paris include St. Jean-de-Luz, Bayonne, etc. Or if you really want to keep Barcelona in the mix, you could visit Girona for your small town, and then head into France via Carcassonne. We just returned from 2weeks in Spain. While we enjoyed Barcelona, we liked everywhere else we went (Toledo, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba) even more.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
Picking up on Ed's suggestion to focus on one country plus one city in the other: 1) Fly into Barcelona. 4 days or so 2) Train to French Catalonia. Small town overnight: Collioure. 1 day or so 3) Train to Provence. Small city: Nimes, Arles. Small towns: Many wonderful options. Rent a car while there. 4) Train to Paris. Or, 4) Drive to Burgundy. Many charming small towns. Small city: Beaune. 5) Train to Paris. Depending on time of year you could do this route in reverse too.