Spain/Provence

Semana Santa ends March 31st this year. If you end up traveling slightly earlier than planned, take a train to Zaragosa for some of their Holy Week processions - they are awesome. If not, it may still be a nice loop to leave Barcelona toward Montserrat, Zaragosa, and loop through Pamplona and San Sebastian before heading into France. If you go that way, stop in Olite (near Pamplona) and visit the castle. It's a relatively small castle, with a nice hand held audio guide, that you can explore on your own. We saw a lot of castles in Spain, Olite was probably my favorite visit.

Having read some older posts, it appears that taking a train would be cheaper. We will change our itinerary to taking a train from Barcelona to Provence/ Dordogne and rent a car there. Would appreciate towns/cities to arrive and to stay. Also, hotels and restaurants in the area. Thanks, Gladys.

I would say drive. You can't pull over and visit that cute little "whatever" from your train seat. Southern France is not densely populated. I differ with Gladys in Miami. "Provence/Dordogne"??? The Dordogne River valley is one very long and arduous day's drive west of Provence. What is Gladys drinking? Everything in Provence is close so keep looking for places to stay. We stayed in a Northeastern Avignon suburb near the motorway. Stay OUT of central Avignon except on foot. Do try to get to L'Isle sur la Sourge on market day. Get there very EARLY for parking sake. FYI the Barcelona to Provence drive is all motorway. I don't know much about the Spanish leg of the journey, but the French motorway is flat and fast.

"Dordogne/Provence" is like "Miami/Jacksonville," only with craggy hills and mountains and no direct road. So plan accordingly. You can see both regions in about 10-14 days. I do think taking the train into France is a good idea, maybe to Perpignan or Toulouse or Avignon depending on your itinerary, then get a car to explore.

Don has me a bit confused: Maimi to New Orleans is a mean thirteen hours. Since the road goes past my house, it's easy enough to add up the two segments. Avignon to Les Ezyies is an easy six. His earlier post regarding working from Barcelona means only another six hour drive into the Dordogne, but neglects the fact that getting a car in Spain and dropping it in France will empty a pocketbook. The whole Dordogne is only three hundred miles long, but it's an insgnificant creek until it passes Biars. Most tourist interest poops out passing Bergerac. I don't know what the wiggle distance is, but staight-line, it's less than seventy-five miles. There's nothing to driving in Avignon. Adam's assessment is pretty darn good.

Dear G, Was an early submitter to your inquiry. You still refer to Provence/Dordougne. Darling. That's like saving Miami/New Orleans in the US. They are very far apart.