Hi,thanks for reading...I am trying to plan a vacation. Paris to Barcelona with maybe Giverny, then Normandy and then slowly making my way through some great wine country (undecided) visiting Biarritz, San Sebastian and ending in Barcelona. I have read about taking a train to Caen (missing Giverny) and renting a car from there. I have also read mixed things about Bordeaux. I haven%26#39;t had any experience driving through Europe and wouldn%26#39;t be opposed to a combination of trains/bus/car/plane type thing. I have about 2 weeks timeline for the trip. I%26#39;d also love to spend a day or 2 in Paris and Barcelona, mainly to have some great food, but have visited both already. The rest is new to me. Any thoughts greatly appreciated.
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We have driven through the French country side and throughout Germany and have never had any trouble. (though avoid driving in large cities). Just make sure you understand from your car rental place what the fee is for picking up in one location and dropping off in another.
FYI - I think San Sebastian Spain is one of the most beautiful places I have every visited.
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Thanks for your input. So, you usually pick up your car outside of major cities, ie, if I flew to Paris, worth a train ride to a smaller city outside of the area to rent the car?
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Both airports in Paris are on the outskirts of town so there is no problem renting from there. Though some people chose not to because of the airport rental fee, but that would be offset by the cost of taking a train to a smaller location.
The only tension we had on our trip was trying to drive out of Charles DeGalle airport. (too many signs at one time requiring quick decisions).
Just a tip - driving through Europe takes a little longer than you plan for because except for major highways, they tend to like curvy road with a ton of traffic circles.
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Since there is an overnight train from Paris to Barcelona, I would stay in Paris 4-5 days, rent a car and explore a region 4-6 days, then turn in the car and take the train to Barcelona for 2-3 days and flight out from there.
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2 weeks from Paris to Barcelona via Normandy and Biarritz will force you to cut a lot of fascinating places in both Spain and France. Bordeaux by the way is a world heritage site and has undergone a magical transformation in the past 3 years. The river banks by the famous Place de la Bourse are especially welcoming now. Of course it does help to be familiar with 18th century architecture..check …dubacq.fr/public/…bordeaux-bourse2.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50543475@N00/145775550/in/pool-plus-belles-photos-bordeaux
You definitely need to buy a map of France and one of Spain plus a guidebook for each country and real as much as you can about a whole slew of places then make drastic choices. Just to see a few places in:
Normandy 2 days
Brittany 2 days
Anjou and Western Loire Valley 3 days
Limousin and Dordogne 3 days
Bordeaux area and Gasconny 3 days
Biarritz and French Pays Basque 3 days
San Sebastian and Spanish Basque country
(incl. Bilbao) 4 days
From there to Barcelona with several stops including Zaragossa 4 days.
total: 24 days--don%26#39;t forget that there is a LOT of driving and most of it will not be on autoroutes-- and this is just the bare minimum. I have done all of the above in various trips and believe me, the schedule above will make you miss so many interesting places!!!
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You can fly to Biarritz from Orly (Air France) or CDG (Easyjet) from Biarritz you can tour the Pay Basque on bus www.bus-stab.com While Biarritz gets all the attention, its less glamarous neighbour Bayonne is a more rewarding place to stay, just my opinion. From Pay Basque you can visit San Sebastian by rail, eg Bayonne to Hendaye with SNCF and from Hendaye to San Sebastian with Euskotren. You can also travel from Biarrits to SS by bus with Pesa www.pesa.net From SS you can hire a car and travel to BCN or you can travel by rail www.renfe.com
For wine country tou can travel from Pay Basque to Bordeaux approx 110 miles. The coutryside outside BCN houses some great wines Priorat %26amp; Pendes come to mind as does Cava production. If you have time to spare you could cross back into France and visit Languedoc Rousillon (or Northern Catalonia)for Corbierre, Cote du Languedoc, Fitue etc.
PS Car hire in Spain is much cheaper than France. Try www.doyouspain.com for quotes.
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