Carcassonne to Collioure options, Perpignan or Quillan?

At the half term in October we are flying into Carcassonne and back from Girona. In between we are staying a night in Carcassonne, two nights in Collioure and a night in Girona, travelling by train and bus. (I had planned to stay a night in Cadaques also but this proved to be a bus connection too far!).

I see the travelling as a big part of our holiday so I%26#39;m wondering what the best route would be to take between Carcassonne and Collioure to see the best of the region. Having looked at all the timetables I think we have the following options:

1. take the 12.10 train from Carcassonne to Perpignan via Narbonne and spend the afternoon in Perpignan before taking one of the early evening trains or buses to Collioure

2. take the 12:45 train from Carcassone to Quillan which would allow us a couple of hours there before catching the 16:15 bus to Perpignan and then onto Collioure

3. stay longer in Carcassonne and take the 15:11 train to Narbonne/Perpignan and carry on straight to Collioure

Our flight on the first day arrives in Carcassonne at 12:00 so we have the rest of that day and evening in the cite and at least the following morning. Is this enough time to see the best of Carcassonne or does it warrant spending longer there at the expense of missing out on the other places?

Is there much difference in the scenery between the routes via Narbonne and Quillan that would make one of them more preferable? In particular does the Quillan route go into the mountains at all?

Is it actually worth stopping in Perpignan bearing in mind we will be spending time in the city in Girona?

A lot of questions, I know. I think my preference might be to take the Quillan route since we then have more of a mix of city, coast and mountains/countryside (I think!) but any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Thanks

Stuart

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I would chose option 1 or 3. There is not much to do and see in Quillan if you don%26#39;t have a car.

From Narbonne to Perpignan the train runs between the sea and salt-water lakes and the landscape is beautiful.

Taking a bus from Quillan to Perpignan will take you a much longer time (plus you%26#39;ll have to schlepp your luggage from bus station to train station). You will not go through %26quot;mountains%26quot; but see vinyards and hills with an occasional glimpse at Cathar castles.

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