Paris to Barcelona - Drive? Bus? or Train?

Have 4 days to get leisurely from Paris to Barcelona.
Anyone have any suggestions on merits of driving (rental car), bus trip or
train?

We are a couple in our early 60's. Any suggestions/experiences would be
welcome - including any recommendations for one way car rental places in
Paris?

Tks

"3dollarbill" wrote

Have 4 days to get leisurely from Paris to Barcelona.
Anyone have any suggestions on merits of driving (rental car), bus trip or
train?


Well, it's a nice drive, and the Millau Viaduct is an engineering wonder
well worth seeing in itself although in general I would avoid autoroutes and
take a leisurely trip along the National and Departmental roads..


--
Regards, Vince.

World Cup Trucking!
UK- Barcelona- Berlin. (new!) http://tinyurl.com/jkncn

3dollarbill wrote:
Have 4 days to get leisurely from Paris to Barcelona.
Anyone have any suggestions on merits of driving (rental car), bus trip or
train?

I would recommend the train. The bus is usually a lot cheaper (French
trains are expensive), so if money is an issue you should consider it
(look at Eurolines).

A rental car would be a lot of hassle, and in 4 days from Paris to
Barcelona you wouldn't be going far enough off the beaten track that
the car would really be an asset - everywhere that you would reasonably
visit on your way you could get to easily by train anyway.

On 22 Jul 2006 06:17:44 -0700, "Iceman" wrote:

3dollarbill wrote:
Have 4 days to get leisurely from Paris to Barcelona.
Anyone have any suggestions on merits of driving (rental car), bus trip or
train?

I would recommend the train. The bus is usually a lot cheaper (French
trains are expensive), so if money is an issue you should consider it
(look at Eurolines).

Figure out the difference in price, and then consider if sitting on a
bus for all that time is really worth the saving.

For some it is, for me it's not.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

Thanks for the suggestions - I'm following them thru.

3dollarbill wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions - I'm following them thru.

What suggestions were those?
--
dgs

3dollarbill wrote:
Have 4 days to get leisurely from Paris to Barcelona.
Anyone have any suggestions on merits of driving (rental car), bus trip or
train?

We are a couple in our early 60's. Any suggestions/experiences would be
welcome - including any recommendations for one way car rental places in
Paris?

Tks

I'd recommend car IF you can find a one way rental at a reasonable
price. Only the majors will do it, if at all. Try the likes of Hertz
and Avis - no promises that they will do it though.

You might find it more possible to get a one way hire to the border
(Perpignan?) and finish off by train.

3dollarbill wrote:
Have 4 days to get leisurely from Paris to Barcelona.
Anyone have any suggestions on merits of driving (rental car), bus trip or
train?

We are a couple in our early 60's. Any suggestions/experiences would be
welcome - including any recommendations for one way car rental places in
Paris?

Tks

Also forgot to mention - if you go by bus it will have to be a straight
through trip - Eurolines do not carry domestic passenger within France,
only cross-border ones. There are no long distance bus services within
France.

wrote in message
ups.com...

3dollarbill wrote:
Have 4 days to get leisurely from Paris to Barcelona.
Anyone have any suggestions on merits of driving (rental car), bus trip
or
train?

We are a couple in our early 60's. Any suggestions/experiences would be
welcome - including any recommendations for one way car rental places in
Paris?

Tks

I'd recommend car IF you can find a one way rental at a reasonable
price. Only the majors will do it, if at all. Try the likes of Hertz
and Avis - no promises that they will do it though.

You might find it more possible to get a one way hire to the border
(Perpignan?) and finish off by train.

That's what we did, since all the car rental companies would have added a
large charge for dropping the car in Spain. We turned in our car, had a
good meal somewhere in the old part of Perpignan, spent a night in a nice
Ibis, and took the train the next day to Barcelona. The train trip was
scenic and cost a great deal less than the drop charge would have been.

GG

"GG" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...

3dollarbill wrote:
Have 4 days to get leisurely from Paris to Barcelona.
Anyone have any suggestions on merits of driving (rental car), bus trip
or
train?

We are a couple in our early 60's. Any suggestions/experiences would be
welcome - including any recommendations for one way car rental places in
Paris?

Tks

I'd recommend car IF you can find a one way rental at a reasonable
price. Only the majors will do it, if at all. Try the likes of Hertz
and Avis - no promises that they will do it though.

You might find it more possible to get a one way hire to the border
(Perpignan?) and finish off by train.

That's what we did, since all the car rental companies would have added a
large charge for dropping the car in Spain. We turned in our car, had a
good meal somewhere in the old part of Perpignan, spent a night in a nice
Ibis, and took the train the next day to Barcelona. The train trip was
scenic and cost a great deal less than the drop charge would have been.

GG

That sounds like a good idea. Can you recall where you stayed in Perpignan?