I’ve long wanted to visit the capital of Spain, and finally had the chance to spend a long weekend there with my daughter. We love our mother/daughter getaways and this one was much needed. We agreed to make it a very chill and not at all over-packed visit, taking in the culture, ambiance and scenery, a bit of shopping, tour-less museum visits and lot’s of good food and drink. Here are some recommendations and highlights for an introductory weekend in Madrid…

It’s visually quite striking, a mix of bright historical buildings and sleek, very modern structures, colorfully tiled facades, interesting street art and laundry flying like flags from windows everywhere.

A gem of a village in the Languedoc. One of the oldest villages in France, Marseillan actually has two pretty distinct parts, the old village of Marseillan and it’s port on the Etang, and it’s beachside sister Marseillan Plage on the Mediterranean.

Surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and the Etang de Thau (a lagoon or saltwater lake), sits this unique village steeped in art, music, history and oysters.

France’s 7th largest city, 3rd largest on the mediterranean coast, and the country’s fastest growing city for the past 25 years, it’s well worth a visit and stay awhile if you can!