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Meditterean Coast of Spain Questions

2K views 24 replies 9 participants last post by  john lance 
#1 ·
Well, the E.D. adventure itinerary has been planned except for three nights! After departing Barcelona, the plan is to work down the Meditterean coast towards Valencia. It looks like small towns and beach places might be the place to stay. I would appreciate any suggestions as to things-to-do and places-to-stay for this area of Spain. Also, after leaving the coast, I will be traveling to Toledo for a tour and night stay. Anyone know of a decent place in Toledo? The timing of these nights is mid-week (May 27-29), so weekend crowds? should not be an issue.

On a different note, has anyone driven from Barcelona to Montserrat? It looks to be about 40 miles from Barcellona and appears to be a beautiful sight. Just not sure about the roads and parking and other things to see / do in the area.

Thanks to eveyone for all the help provided with my trip planning. I would never have tried an E.D. without the Bimmerfest community and all of the helpful information on this forum. :thumbup:
 
#4 ·
hbdunn2003, nice hotel! :thumbup:
I think jvogt1 looking for hotel near Neditterean cost - 'After departing Barcelona, the plan is to work down the Meditterean coast towards Valencia.'
 
#5 ·
Just south of Barcelona is Sitges, and while it's a huge destination for the gay/lesbian crowd, there are some really spectacular restaurants in the little town. It's beachfront. At the risk of sounding judgmental, unless you are gay, I'm doubtful you'd appreciate staying overnight -- I know I felt that way. Nice place to visit for an hour or two, and I'm glad I've seen the little seafront village, but it wasn't my scene.

Tarragona is worth a stop with its old ruins in the city. They have a beer brewery there (I forget the name, the bottle label is yellow/blue) of which they're very proud. There's a good-sized plaza there where the food competition among the cafes is snails/escargots/caracoles (in Spanish). By the way, there's a restaurant in Barcelona off the Ramblas on a little side street called "Los Caracoles." You walk through the kitchen into the restaurant -- great snails as well as other Catalan specialties.

Avoid Vinaros - it's like Spain's version of Gary, Indiana.

Another good seafront town is Benicarlo -- small with lots of cafes in front of the little harbor.

The drive to Montserrat is very cool, but if you want an abbreviated version, plug in "Parque Guell" into the GPS. It's right in Barcelona and offers an identical view.

If you're into Dali art, a visit to the Dali museum in Figueres is a must (this is north of Barcelona).

Toledo...can't give a recommendation, but having lived there, it's kind of a snooze. (Hate to be a black cloud.) Enjoy it for the day, though.

If you're dropping in Madrid, allow yourself plenty of time before the dropoff center closes. In all likelihood you'll take the A2 to get there, and the turnoff comes up quick. If you pass it (which I did :)), it's a good 15-20 minutes to "turn around." And Spaniards are notorious for closing up shop on time, if not a few minutes early. They have a washing bay there and I was able to persuade the guy to let me use it.

Enjoy the trip!
 
#6 ·
Just south of Barcelona is Sitges, and while it's a huge destination for the gay/lesbian crowd, there are some really spectacular restaurants in the little town. It's beachfront. At the risk of sounding judgmental, unless you are gay, I'm doubtful you'd appreciate staying overnight -- I know I felt that way. Nice place to visit for an hour or two, and I'm glad I've seen the little seafront village, but it wasn't my scene.
Exactly why we stop there just for 3 hr.
 

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#8 ·
Quick two cents on Toledo...

Toledo is very small, you could easily see it in one day. There is a high-speed train from Madrid (Atocha station) that takes you to Toledo in merely 20 minutes. There's a train every half an hour if I remember correctly, and doesn't cost much. The train station in Toledo is very close to the center of the city, maybe 15 minute walk (uphill though ;)).

So you may want to consider dropping off the car first, and then enjoy Toledo without a car. There are a few underground parking garages that are not too expensive but you'll have to navigate through Toledo's narrow streets populated with public transportation buses, delivery vans, and pedestrians out of control. You may have a better experience going car-less.

I'm picking my car up on the 17th of May and will be dropping it off in Madrid on the 30th (I was born and raised there, and all my family is still there :p). Let me know how your drop-off experience goes.

Best Regards,
Julian
 
#10 ·
The drive from Barcelona to Montserrat is fine. Good roads and scenic. Sitges is nice, but I would recommend Tossa de Mar, about 90 minutes north of Barcelona. That area is more picturesque then the coastline between Barcelona and Valencia.
 
#25 ·
In the area you are talkin about, I can highly recommend the hotel I am staying in tonight, it's brand new, very comfortable rooms - the Mercure Lyon Est Champonnay. It's about mid-way from Munich to Barcelona. At 65 Euros it's very reasonable.
 
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