My husband and I just returned from two weeks in France and Spain. Most of our time was spent in southwest France and then two days each in San Sebastian and Bilbao. These destinations were all chosen by my husband for reasons that still escape me except for Bilbao, but my job was to pick the hotels and the restaurants. We stayed in some wonderful, grand old hotels, and one stinker that was like a Holiday Inn stuck inside an old monastery. We also rented a car to move from place to place. The moving from place to place was fine, French and Spanish highways are good with good signage and drivers who pay attention to some of the rules that we Americans often forget (like stay to the right except when passing). But driving in the cities was a nightmare even with a GPS system of navigation.
I can heartily recommend Le Parc restaurant/hotel in Carcassone. It is a Michelin starred restaurant with a small hotel attached. This is a much newer building with very stark modern design, but it wasn't that expensive and the restaurant is amazing.
