I am planning our summer trip and we are toying with the idea of visiting northern Spain and then travelling to the Dordogne to spend a week in a rental. San Sebastian looks and sounds lovely. I would love any pointers/suggestions and for someone to tell me if my initial thoughts are practical. How would one get from San Sebastian to Agen?

Topping this because I would like to know more about San Sebastian. I spent a few nights there in the early 70s on my first trip to Europe. I must have picked it after reading Hemmingway's The Sun Also Rises (I was 17 and I cannot imagine any other reason why I would have picked it as a place to go).

It seems to be that a trip combining northern Spain and the Dordogne would be a good idea.

Pauline from Slow Travelers

Pauline, I really hope someone out there wants to help out on this! Right now, the plan is to fly into Madrid and make a journey north to visit San Sebastian (by car) stopping along the way (where?). Segovia is one place to see but I would love to know if there are better ones. Another option is to fly into Barcelona and visit Cadaques and other coastal towns, then work our way up to France and stay in a rental near St. Cirq Lapopie

[This message was edited by Tracy H. on 14 January 2004 at 08:34 AM.]

I'm not familiar with Agen but did spend Semana Santa/Holy Week in San Sebastián-Donostia just last year. We used "San Se" as our home base and traveled around to MANY MANY surrounding villages including over the French border. I wrote a rather detailed journal on the trip but not sure I can post the link here - let me know if you'd like it.

San Sebastián-Donostia just oozes with money - OLD money. This is where MANY French and Spanish go for their vacations to lay in the sun (topless or otherwise) during summers and its no wonder. The city, ocean, and mountains are just beautiful and the city is extremely clean. The beach and bay, La Concha, is a natural wonder and views from high above the city and bay can be seen from Monte Igeldo. See map of the city HERE .

I'm no expert but I did lots of research before going so just ask if you have questions. Have a great time! You won't regret it.

Saludos, MadridMan

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