perpignan

if you're looking for an international weekend trip, your closest option is france. you can catch a train to perpignan, stopping at the border to switch trains. it's the closest sizable town/city to barcelona, and its very different from spain. they speak french and catalan there, but don't expect to get by with castillian. there's also the 13th century palace of the kings of majorca, which you can explore. it's also home of the pictured garden. the sunday market in the town's main square has a great selection of very french things like cheeses and crepes and lavender, so you can really feel like you got your france's worth.