Barcelona and south of France
Replies: 10 - Last Post: Oct 8, 2012 6:31 AM Last Post By: neckervd
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Hi
I am utterly confused about this and need some help please..
The plan really is to have 4 days of party and city life, with night life, beaches, some shopping, touristy stuff all in Barcelona. And then 4 days of quaint and peaceful time in south of France.
Barcelona - I will be staying here with my wife in April next year. While I definitely want to visit Barcelona not sure what part i should stay in. Want to be able to cover some tourist destinations, and experience the night life. Also want to be able to cover a beach that isnt too crowded. A 3-4 start hotel recommendation will help too.
France - After 4 nights at Barcelona, I wish to go to some place in south of France, not sure where. I want to be able to drive (self) from Barcelona and spend 3 - 4 hours on the road. Please recommend which city will be peaceful, serine and scenic.
Will then either drive back or take a train to Barcelona for the return flight.
Many thanks in advance.
I am utterly confused about this and need some help please..
The plan really is to have 4 days of party and city life, with night life, beaches, some shopping, touristy stuff all in Barcelona. And then 4 days of quaint and peaceful time in south of France.
Barcelona - I will be staying here with my wife in April next year. While I definitely want to visit Barcelona not sure what part i should stay in. Want to be able to cover some tourist destinations, and experience the night life. Also want to be able to cover a beach that isnt too crowded. A 3-4 start hotel recommendation will help too.
France - After 4 nights at Barcelona, I wish to go to some place in south of France, not sure where. I want to be able to drive (self) from Barcelona and spend 3 - 4 hours on the road. Please recommend which city will be peaceful, serine and scenic.
Will then either drive back or take a train to Barcelona for the return flight.
Many thanks in advance.
1
If you are prepared to drice 3/4 hours there are plenty of places you could visit. I would consider a must Carcassonne. A real medieval town well worth a visit. The official tourist office site is worth a look. Here is the link to the English version:http://www.carcassonne-tourisme.com/carcassonne_EN.nsf/vuetitre/docpgeIntroVisiter
Hope that helps.
RonnieT
3
Carcassonne is pretty but more of an open-air museum than a city - worth half a day.A peaceful city? Isn't that an oxymoron?
My favourite city in the region is Montpellier, a lively city with a beautiful old town - and not too touristy. But it sounds like you're looking for a small town instead of a city.
This is a very useful website:
http://www.roughguides.com/travel/europe/france/languedoc.aspx
4
Thanks Tommi1I did consider Montpelier earlier, however thought it will have the same city hustle bustle..I will have had a similar time in Barcelona and would rather want to experience someplace quieter / slow pace.
Although i agree with you, i am prolly looking for a small town / village where we could just walk in the evening without too much traffic n things like that you know...Much appreciated, thank you.
7
.....but do n't expect any beach chairs, umbrellas, beach bars or even a bay watch.France: there are many charming small towns in Languedoc-Roussillon, do some research (google) and make a choice.
8
A nice palce for the part France can be the town Arles in the middle of the region Camargue. Using only the mororway it's about 420 km, a little bit more than 4 hours to drive. April is not the high season so traffic would be slow if you make from Arles some day trips. http://www.camargue.fr/9
Carcassone is probably only worth a day at most.If Carcassone is of interest to you, close by is Pont du Gard - a well preserved Roman aqueduct, Nimes, a town with a number of ancient Roman sights (well preserved colluseum, temple and watch tower), plus some other neat towns. You could take a train from Barcelona to Toulouse, start there (maybe with a side trip to Albi and work your way through Carcassone, Montpellier and Nimes.

