Armagac Region SW France

Finalizing plans for our summer family vacation. We will be flying into Paris and spending a few days there before heading to my wife’s family country home in the southwestern Auch region (outside of Toulouse). We will stay there for ~4 days (of course a day trip to BDX is in the cards), but we are unsure where to go from there. Since we will be so close to Spain, we naturally thought Barcelona would be ideal, but curious what others have experienced. Keep in mind we’ll have 2 kids (6 and 7) in tow. BCN is at the top of the list, but have also considered San Sebastian, Bilbao, Madrid, etc

Last, we’ll be traveling by rail from Paris to the countryside, but am debating renting a car for the last leg in Spain vs. taking a train. Thought it would be a fun way to see more of the country along the way, but unsure if that’s just a waste of time and/or too stressful. Thanks!

I guess it depends what you and your kids want/like to do. I think people always try to cram too much in to European trips (myself included). It can be tough on little kids to keep moving from place to place. Personally I think Paris needs more the a few days but there isn’t a ton for 6-7 year olds to do there IMO.

I think if you wanted to do one more stop Barcelona would probably be a good choice. Do your kids like beaches? Some great ones in and around Barcelona. Driving is easy in that part of the world. Even driving in Barcelona isn’t bad. Getting a car big enough can be a little bit of a problem and I assume you can confidently drive a manual transmission. Also, beware of large drop off fees with rental cars when you pick up in one country and drop off in another.

George

Flights and hotels have been booked for Paris and Barcelona (will peruse the forum for ideas on those cities as I imagine there is a wealth of great suggestions).

However, looking for any advice from folks that have visited the Armagnac region in SW France near Age/Toulouse as we will be spending 4 days there at the family country home. Suggestions for Armagnac wineries(?) to visit, restaurants, sights to visit?

Carcassonne is definitely worth a visit. Only an hour from Toulouse on the way to Barca. Cadaques north of Barca near Girona is worth seeing. Dali museum there. Cirque du Gavarnie sw from toulouse in the pyrenees is pretty spectacular. A couple of gorges on the way from toulouse to barca as well - Gorges de la fou and gorge de galamus. If you want to break up the drive to barca, there’s a very nice hotel on the coast called hostel de la gavina.

Thanks Dan, will definitely look into these. Any wineries worth visiting in SW France?

We have taken our kids to France for summer vacations (my wife’s country) and we rent a car and drive. I think the trains are good for going from Paris to Toulouse. But if you want to explore the little towns and regions then it’s not great. If you drive to Barcelona you can go through Collioure and Banyuls and then to Figueres. We’re going to be in the Arcachon area this summer and I’ve never explored the Armagnac region. I agree we try to do too much when we go. Best to pick a couple places and spend 4 or 5 days there and I remember bringing my boys to Paris when they were young and it was not good. Everything I wanted to do cafes, restaurants, museums not great. Bonne Chance!