French department
Europe > France > Occitanie > Hautes-Pyrénées

Hautes-Pyrénées is in Occitanie. The area is known for its hot springs, most notably Cauterets, Luz-Saint-Sauveur and Bagnères-de-Bigorre. There are popular ski resorts such as Barèges-La Mongie, Gavarnie, Luz-Ardiden, Cauterets, Hautacam, Piau-Engaly and Saint-Lary-Soulan.

Cities

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Map
Map of Hautes-Pyrénées
  • 1 Argeles Gazost Argelès-Gazost on Wikipedia — the town serves as a "base camp" for both summer and winter tourism
  • 2 Bagnères-de-Bigorre — a spa town with a casino. The ski resort of La Mongie is also nearby.
  • 3 Gavarnie — best known for the Cirque de Gavarnie, a massive glacial cirque in the Pyrenees Mountains, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • 4 Lourdes — a global centre of pilgrimage to a wrotto where many Catholics believe that the Virgin Mary appeared 18 times
  • 5 Tarbes — from Tarbes, you can explore the foothills and the mountains of the central Pyrenees

Other destinations

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  • 1 Pyrénées National Park includes well-known attractions such as the Cirque de Gavarnie and the Pont d'Espagne. The entire area is a favourite destination of hikers and mountain enthusiasts.
  • 2 Saint-Lary-Soulan — offers a blend of authentic Pyrenean culture, outdoor adventure, and relaxing spa facilities; a destination for skiers in the winter and hikers, cyclists, and nature lovers in the summer

Understand

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Get in

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By plane

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The airport Tarbes Lourdes Pyrénées Airport (LDE  IATA) is located 9 km south-west of Tarbes and 14 km (8.7 mi) north of Lourdes. It is served several times a day by domestic flights from Paris-Orly and by seasonal charter flights for pilgrims. The nearest international airport is Toulouse-Blagnac (145 km east of Tarbes).

By minivan

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If you arrive at Lourdes, Pau, Toulouse or Biarritz airport you can use the shuttle arranged by Détours Pyrénéens, which also organises tours.

By road

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The A64 motorway (Toulouse-Pau-Bordeaux) runs through this department. From here, the national road N 21 branches off at Tarbes to Lourdes and Argelès-Gazost, parts of which have been expanded to resemble a motorway.

A road comes in from Spain through the Bielsa-Aragnouet tunnel. You can drive through Aragnouet and Saint-Lary-Soulan towards either Lourdes or Bagnères-de-Bigorre.

Get around

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A view of the Chapel of the Marcadau and mountains beyond, from the Marcadau valley, Cauterets
  • hike
  • Winter Sports: There are several major ski resorts including Saint-Lary-Soulan and Grand Tourmalet–Pic du Midi (La Mongie/Barèges)
  • Cycling: The slopes of the Pyrenees offer a challenge for trained cyclists, the Col du Tourmalet, for example, is an almost legendary climb in the Tour de France
  • A jazz festival is held each year in Luz-Saint-Sauveur: Jazz a Luz.
  • Tarbes hosts an annual horse festival, Equestria, and a tango festival, Tarbes en Tango.

Drink

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Stay safe

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Go next

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This region travel guide to Hautes-Pyrénées is an outline and may need more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. If there are Cities and Other destinations listed, they may not all be at usable status or there may not be a valid regional structure and a "Get in" section describing all of the typical ways to get here. Please plunge forward and help it grow!