My Road Trip to Southwest France
On June 8, I’ll fly to Paris for my annual France trip (my 7th since moving back to the US.)
As I have done for the last 4 years, I’ll follow one of my road trips in my book, Hit the Road in France: 9 Road Trip Itineraries Across France, specifically the trip that takes us along the France-Spain Border.
Though I wrote the guide a few years ago, last year I completed a massive update, after I followed the Brittany Road Trip. I added 60% more information to the book, making it more valuable for travelers.
I like to follow my road trips at close range to:
- See how they can be improved,
- Update what is different or
- Add what I didn’t know to include
And make the whole guide (and trip) better for readers!
And I’ve always wanted to give a step-by-step overview of the road trip in almost real time, in case you either like road trips or are curious about them. Usually, tech difficulties on the road blocked me, but I hope to overcome that this year!
Road trips are a great way to see every corner of France!
To date, I have done the Alsace trip, the Brittany trip, and the Provence trip from start to finish, and have traveled parts of the Central France and West of Avignon trips. I’ll plan to bring you along (by way of blog and media posts) with me from now on!
So, join me as I travel through southwestern France. We’ll arrive in Paris, take a flight to Toulouse, and begin our adventure!
I’ll plan on sending posts by Instagram and/or Facebook every couple of days, then post a week at a time, summarizing each fascinating place (with photos) that we visit. It’s a great way for you to sample areas you might not have visited or even heard of!
You’ll see photos and video of each destination and a few corresponding snippets from the book. That just might give you a craving to follow this road trip yourself!
(If I happen to have tech problems again this year, I’ll catch up in full detail as soon as I return! Disclaimer!)
First stop, Toulouse, where we’ll spend 2 nights. As we leave Toulouse, we’ll pick up our rental car and drive to Carcassonne.
Carcassonne has two sections, the Cité Mediévale (the fortified town…picture city walls…) and Bastide Saint Louis, where most of the locals live. Both areas are fascinating, and we plan to enjoy both.
This road trip will begin in Toulouse (current aeronautics capital of France) and move eastward to Carcassonne, then move south along the western Mediterranean coast (after a few hours in Narbonne.)
We’ll discover Perpignan for a couple of days, then spend time in Collioure, a little-known (by foreign tourists) jewel on the water.
After that, the trip heads west, as we take a longer ride to Pau, the first aeronautics headquarters of France, visited by our very own Wright brothers! There are interesting stops along the way as well.
Arriving in Pau, we’ll stay two nights, exploring all this southwestern wonder has to show us. Part of the thrill of this trip is the proximity to the Spanish border and the rich Catalan culture mixed with the French. Along with that, the scenery through the foothills of the Pyrénées should be fabulous!
We won’t stop by Lourdes, an optional visit on the road trip, but continue on to St. Jean-de-Luz, an idyllic town on the water, known for lots of light. (Luz means light.)
After that, a few hours in Biarritz (home of French surfing) will give us an exciting afternoon before we head to Bordeaux. The road trip can end up back in Toulouse, but if all you’re doing is returning the rental car, it’s best to return it to Bordeaux, which we’ll do, and stay overnight there before continuing on to Paris.
Sound fun to you? I can’t wait to get started. And I’ll do my best to tell you how the road trip really is in 2026! Stay tuned!
K. B. Oliver
