Hello TT posters! I am going to Barcelona from mid-November to early December, to visit my sister, who is studying abroad there. She has an apartment in Barcelona, where I will be staying for a week or so, but since this will be my first time in Europe, I want to venture out by myself for a few days. I know that lots of travelers run the risk of trying to do too much in too short a period of time, so I want to be careful to avoid falling into that trap. What I would really like is some advice about short trips in Spain (or even Southern France?). I'm thinking I will spend a week in Barcelona using the Les Cortes apartment as a base, but would like to travel around for the other week, staying in hostels if I can or hotels if I need to.
Because I'll be in Barcelona, I don't necessarily have to go be in other big cities like Madrid, for instance, but I wouldn't be against it if someone told me it's definitely worth it. I also have zero idea about travel times, so I thought for just a week it might be better to stick to northern part of Spain or possibly the southern part of France. I'll be traveling by myself (don't know if that matters), and some of the things that have looked interesting so far are things like cathedrals, monasteries, or castles. I like museums but I definitely don't want to spend all my time in them--the Guggenheim in Bilbao is one I thought I'd like to see and I also thought Guernica might be worth visiting. I thought about going to Andorra for kicks, but I'm not really big on skiing and from what I've read it probably wouldn't be worth a visit as a result. I like beaches but don't know if there will be a point to visiting any since it will be cold in November. I do like to hike and literally "sightsee," and I thought tours of vineyards would be a lot of fun too. I love pubs and live music, etc, but don't HAVE to go out every night. Anyway I hope this isn't too vague, and any suggestions are really appreciated!
