BootsnAll Travel Community

OK- since I've spent the last year living in France, I thought I would share some my favorite places to see. Maybe a cool itinerary to take from the north of France (Paris) down to Barcelona.

Some places I have visited and really think are cool (not along the route from Paris to Barcelona):

1) Mont St. Michel- seriously, one of my all time favorite places in France. It is near Normandy, so it is foggy and damp and rainy, but very cool.

2) Beaches at Normandy- there is a cool museum for WWII stuff, and of course the cemeteries of soldiers who fell at Normandy. Very emotional. Living history.

The cool trip I think is from Paris going south. These are the stops I would recommend.

1) Avignon- this is the former capitol of France, and where a bunch of kings hung out. It is pretty neat, and on the main train line down if you don't take the TGV. From Paris, it is about 3-4 hours depending on the stops. This is a VERY pretty train ride, and while the TGV flies through in 1-2 hours, I recommend the TER (regional train) or Corail because it cuts through some nice countryside. Once in Avignon, there isn't much going on except the ancient city, but it is totally worth a visit, especially at night when it is all lit up.

2) Nimes- another cool "ancient" city, less than an hour from Avignon. This was one of my favorite places to visit because there is a huge Roman amphitheater, the best preserved in all of Europe. Think Roman Coliseum, only slightly smaller. And you can walk around inside and take pictures and it isn't very expensive with a student ID, and they have a bullfight there once a year (in May or June, I think). There is also another Roman building from like, 150BC that you can go into, where they show films about the history of Nimes. The town isn't huge, but it is a decent size and nice to walk around. You can even have a drink in the cafe right by the amphitheater. It is totally bizarre that this huge Roman ruin is just sitting in downtown Nimes, but it is awesome.

3) Montpellier- from Nimes it is a 30 minute train ride along the coast. This is a cool town, and I'm not just saying that because I lived there for a few months! The beaches are gorgeous, and the downtown is a fun place to go out. It is a really "pretty" town, and it is filled with young people and international students. If you feel like taking a break from all sorts of cultural stuff to meet a ton of people in a hostel and go out and enjoy a night on the town, Montpellier is great for that. The downtown has lots of shopping and there is a cool old part of town with a Roman aqueduct. It is a vibrant, young city, with a lot of flavor, and it isn't too expensive. You can easily spend the day sitting outside in a park, or at the Comedy, have a picnic, take a boat out at the beach. Whatever takes your fancy, the weather is great here from April through October.

4) Carcasonne- on the regional train from Montpellier heading west down the coast, you get off in Narbonne (also has a castle and stuff, but that's about it) and take a train to Carcasonne. This is an old walled fortress, one of the best known in France. Super cool for a day trip. Then you can always head north to Toulouse (which is just another big city), or back down toward Narbonne to head to Perpignan.

5) Perpignan- a town right at the end of the French mediterranean coast, before you head into Spain. This is Catalan country, and the red and yellow flags are everywhere. If you take a bus from downtown Perpignan to Couilliore where there is an amazing little seaside village and castle with a vineyard. You can walk around, watch people play petanque (bocce ball kind of), there are some gorgeous walks along the rocky coast, and up to an old castle. The town of Perpignan is also quite cool, and the weather is fab. Definitely worth a day or two on your way to Spain.

From Perpignan you can take a train to Barcelona through the town of Port Bau, right on the border of Spain.

If you take a week to do this trip, you will see all sorts of cool stuff, and the weather is usually great. There is a lot of kite surfing along the coast here, and also some fishing if that's what you're into. It also isn't very expensive on the regional trains. With a youth pass (under 26), you can go from Paris to Perpignan for about 60-80 euros, making all of these stops.

Regional specialties along the south coast: Muscat (a sweet wine that is made in the region, it is VERY good and not expensive), Pastis (a anise/licorice liquor, I'm not a fan, but most people like it).

Just some fun tips from someone who has seen it and lived it!

Hi duchessofcali, I did Mont St Michel and Normandy as a kid. From what I remember Mont St Michel was a truly amazing place.

I am planning to do the south of France later this year - provided that the pound doesn't fall much further against the euro. Avignon, Carcassone and Perpignan are all on my list of places to see. As a prelude to my trip I am currently reading up on the Albigensian Crusade... and it's pretty interesting stuff.

Hi craze_boi, you should defnitely stop in Nimes on the way- it is less than an hour from avignon, and the stopping point for the train (usually, to get on a westbound train toward Narbonne/perpignan you change in Nimes). I freakin' love the Roman amphitheater in Nimes (it is like, 5-10 minutes walking from the train station), you can do it in a 2-3 hours and then hop right on the train to Carcasonne.


This is a beautiful part of France to see, I think you'll really enjoy this trip.

As for the pound- you'll be rich against the Euro, it is certainly a million times better than the dollar. Not sure how old you are, but Avignon to Perpignan is a 30-40euro trip if you're under 26. That's like, 20-25 pounds! Not bad.