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Travel guide
The French Pyrenees
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: June to September
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Welcome
The French Pyrenees, in a few days
A 1,500-metre wall with a waterfall of more than 400 metres pouring down it: the Cirque de Gavarnie sets the tone for the central Pyrenees, from Ariège to the Hautes-Pyrénées. Around it lie Tour de France passes, granite lakes, Palaeolithic cave paintings and the last Cathar stronghold.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Cirque de Gavarnie free · 2 to 3 hAn hour's easy walk from the village to a 1,500-metre limestone amphitheatre and its Grande Cascade, a UNESCO site shared with Spain's Monte Perdido.
- Afternoon · Pont d'Espagne and Lac de Gaube · 2 to 3 hAbove Cauterets, waterfalls crash below a stone bridge, and a gondola and chairlift lead close to Lac de Gaube, beneath the 3,298-metre Vignemale.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Vignemale€120 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Col du Tourmalet free · about 1 hAt 2,115 metres, the Tour de France's most-crossed pass, climbed in 17 km of hairpins from Sainte-Marie-de-Campan to the steel Giant statue.
- Afternoon · Pic du Midi de Bigorre · half a dayTwo cable cars rise from La Mongie to 2,877 metres and a working observatory whose Moon maps were used for the Apollo missions.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Le Bois Joli€115 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Néouvielle Nature Reserve free · 2 to 3 hOne of France's oldest nature reserves, created in 1935: polished granite, mountain pines, more than seventy lakes and easy walks like the Laquettes trail.
- Afternoon · The Sanctuaries of Lourdes free · half a dayMillions come each year to the Massabielle grotto, where Bernadette Soubirous reported apparitions in 1858; stay for the evening torchlight procession.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Manoir d'Agnès€120 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Niaux Cave · about 1 h 30One of Europe's few caves where you see original Palaeolithic paintings, not replicas: bison, horses and ibex drawn in charcoal some 13,000 years ago.
- Afternoon · Montségur Castle · about 1 h 30A Cathar stronghold on a 1,207-metre rock that fell in March 1244 after a ten-month siege; the walls visible today were rebuilt after its fall.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Les Arches€100 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €95 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJune to September
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/french-pyrenees
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.