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The Pyrenees
Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrenees is one of the sunniest regions, located in the southwest of France. On one side, the Pyrenees separate it from Spain, on the other side it is lined by the Massif Central mountain range.
In this region l'art de vivre is celebrated to the full, and the people take the time to enjoy it - an aperitif on a sunny terrace, a barbeque on a hazy evening, a meal fit for a king with friends.
Toulouse, the main city of this region, is vibrant and never sleeps - it is called the "pink city", due to the many buildings built in the local pink stone. Each department of Midi-Pyrénées has its own character and landscape - in Aveyron, you will find some of the most beautiful villages in France, made of stone and dating from the Middle Ages. Lot is a department where culture is visible in the street with many festivals, and the vineyards produce le Cahors, a well-known wine with a strong, distinctive taste. Midi-Pyrénées produces wines that are different from other French wines - rounder and sweeter (Gaillac and Fronton, for example). Finally, Gers is the cuisine department - it is the home of "foie gras".
 Foix - Foix is proud of its history. Gaston Phoebus was born here, a famous Occitan warrior, poet, and politician from the 14th century. He was also well-known for his hunting skills, so a good all-rounder who represented the different aspects of his region. He left a patriotic regional song, which is still sung in republican banquets, and family dinners, to this day. He became the governor of Languedoc, and the main liaison between the ambassadors of Spain and England. Foix market has regional specialities galore, with old artisan butchers rubbing shoulders with new arrivals to the region: "Green Tourism" has gradually drawn people into the area, which had previously been deserted in favour of towns. A few kilometres away, there is an underground river near the Plantaurel Massif, which you can visit by barge. There are many different level of grotto, stalactites, and underground waterfalls. If you drive up the route nationale RN 20, to Montgaillard, you’ll find a 5 hectare park with over 120 old skills represented. That’s how it is in Ariege, there is a nostalgia in the air, the past is always present.
Pyrenees National Park - Created in 1967, the Pyrenees National Park stretches for about 100km (60mi) along the French-Spanish border and covers an area of 460 sq km (180 sq mi) that contains hundreds of high-altitude lakes and the highest point in the French Pyrenees, the 3300m (10,825ft) Sommet du Vignemale. Forested areas make up only 12% of the park, which is streaked by rivulets and brooks fed by both springs and over 2000mm (78in) of annual precipitation, much of which falls as snow. Protected fauna includes the brown bear (only about 15 remain), lynx, chamois, marmot and endangered birds of prey such as the bearded vulture and golden eagle. A big favourite with rock climbers and hikers, the park has 350km (215mi) of trails - some interlinked with trails in Spain - plus a good number of refuges (basic mountain huts) that are open throughout the year. Companies in nearby Pau can arrange guided treks for small groups as well as logistical support for unaccompanied hikes and cycling trips. Cauterets, in the eastern portion of the park and 30km (20mi) south of Lourdes, is the easiest and most accessible entry point.
The GR10 runs through the entire park on its 700-kilometre journey from coast to coast, starting at Argeles-sur-Mer on the Mediterranean and ending up at Hendaye-Plage on the Atlantic shore; the tougher trail of the Haute Randonnee Pyreneenne (HRP) also finishes its course in Hendaye-Plage and runs roughly parallel to the GR10, but takes in much more rugged, alpine terrain. Hikers following either route are strongly advised to wear appropriate clothing and carry detailed maps and equipment. Though the Pyrenees have a modest maximum altitude by world-mountain standards, their climate can be as extreme as ranges twice their height in short, not the place for a casual stroll.
 Cauterets - The valley of Argeles welcomes you in one of the most beautiful and wonderful lands of the world in the Pyrenees. There are many activities to pursue in the area, the very many quality restaurants and bars, discover the beautiful countryside (Pont d'Espagne of Cauterets, Col d'Aubisque, Gavarnie,…), the leisure activities (ski, mountains, bungee jumping,…).
Pont d'Espagne - Leave Cauterets on the waterfall path and you will reach Le Pont d'Espagne, one of the most beautiful and most popular sites in the Pyrenees. Precautions have had to be taken to be able to host the million tourists that visit it each year while protecting the environment. From there you can walk or take a cable car ride to the Lac de Gaube, before visiting the Lutour and Marcadau valleys. 
What to see & do:
- Go to the top of the Pic du Midiand admire the breathtaking panoramic view of the Pyrenees.
- Walk in one of the three magnificent natural reserves : Parc des grands Causses in Aveyron, Parc des causses du Quercy, and Parc of the Pyrennes.
- Ski in one of the many ski-resorts of the Pyrenees
- Sail down on the « canal du midi " that links the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
- Visit the lovely vineyards of Cahors,Gaillac or Fronton.
- Visit the amazing village of Rocamadour, perched on a cliff, and its caves.
- Learn about space and aeronautics in Space museum in Toulouse.
- Admire roman art by visiting Moissac Cloister.
- Stroll around the medieval city of Rodez, and see its cathedral.
- Discover the incredible Cathar castles (Montsegur), in the eastern part of the region.
- Do a pilgrimage in Lourdes or on the route of St Jacques de Compostelle.
- Canoeing or rafting in the canyons of Tarn and Dourbie, near Millau.
- Visit the Roquefort caves and learn how this famous cheese is made.
- Visit the old medieval vilage of St Cirq la Popie.
- Pamper yourself to a spa centre in the Pyrenees, in Ax-les therms, Luchon Bareges or Capvern.
- Visit the pink fortress of the Albi cathedral.
- Stroll along the river Garonne in Toulouse.
Events & Festivals
- June, Rocamadour : The biggest cheese festival in the South
- June, Toulouse : River Garonne festival, with concerts, theatre and many cultural and musical events.
- June/Juny , Salt road from Mediterranean sea to Rodez : a long trip on horseback in honour of the knights of the past.
- July, Vic Fezensac: Night market, with local produce, and an internationally renowned salsa party
- July, Moissac: fruit and music festival to celebrate the summer
- July, Gavarnie: theatre in the magnificent natural circus of Gavarnie, in the Pyrenées
- August, Marciac: International jazz festival, one of the best in Europe
- August, Bagnières de Luchon : Kite festival
- September, Rocamadour : European Hot Air Balloon festival
- September, Millau : 100 kilometre run in Millau, internationally renowned.
- October, Toulouse : « Jazz sur son 31 », popular jazz festival
Pyrenees Atlantiques - offers the Pays Basque and the Bearn. The ancient divisions of Labourd, Basse Navarre and Soule, with a population of around 250.000, make up the French Basque Country (Pays Basque). In 1970, despite local attempts to get departmental status for the Basque Country, the departement was renamed Pyrenees Atlantiques. Pyrenees Atlantiques is a combination of beautiful landscapes, a deeply rooted and vivacious culture, a history it can be proud of as well as flavoursome gastronomy. 
Gorges of the Haute-Soule - Four gorges, south of the D113/D26 route linking Arette-la-Pierre-Saint-Martin in the east and Larrau in the west, are the principal reason outsiders visit the district of Haute-Soule (Zuberoa), easternmost and remotest corner of the French Pays Basque.
Arette-la-Pierre-Saint-Martin - Some 10km beyond the Refugio de Belagoa and 3km into French territory from the border by road, Arette-la-Pierre-Saint-Martin is a modern downhill-ski resort, the westernmost in the entire Pyrenees. Atlantic weather influences generally mean good snow despite a modest top point of only 2153m (descending to 1527m or 1650m).Of the 18 pistes, two-thirds are green or blue-rated, so Arette-la-Pierre is essentially a beginner to intermediate resort.
Irati Forest (Foret d'Iraty) - To find Irati by car, follow the D301 east out of the Nive Valley. The road is very steep, narrow and full of tight hairpins and ambling livestock., but as you climb higher up the steep spurs and roundthe heads of labyrinthine gullies, ever more spectacular views open beneath you (Nive Valley, Saint Jean and beyond). There are superb places to camp, with views west to the orange and crimson striations of the sunset and the revolving beacon of the Biarritz lighthouse visible in the dark.
Sante Engrace - Sante Engrace is a tiny settlement which used to be called Le bout du monde (the end of the world). Locked in a cul-de-sac valley beneath the Spanish frontier at the most eastern part of the Basque country, Ste Engrace is a beautiful remote and peaceful place. Ste Engrace main attraction is its 11th century Romanesque church in the nearby hamlet of Senta.
Baretous Valley - Between the Basque Country and the Pyrenees mountains, the Baretous Valley is chequered with corn fields and magnificent meadows, broken by oak copses with a backdrop of high limestone summits. It is here that the largest lapies (rain-formed semi-cylindrical vertical gutters) in Europe are to be found as the marvellous Pic d'Anie. Renowned potholing centre, seismology centre, ski resorts of Pierre-St-Martin and Issarbe, homeland of the musketeers Aramis and Porthos, the valley lives in harmony with traditions, pastoral life and tourism
Ossau Valley - The village of Laruns is well placed at the head of the valley, before the road winds up through the pine woods to the alpine pastures, up to the Col du Pourtalet, and the border into Spain. Reminiscent of the Dolomites, or the western side of the Lake District, the Ossau has green high pastures, making for easy walking, with rocky mountains above. Cheese-making seems to be a preoccupation, with lots of local farm cheeses, especially from ewes milk, and there’s a tasty local wine, Jurancon, produced down valley, near Pau. When we were there, the farmers were bringing the flocks down from the hills, causing traffic havoc as the Spanish drivers raced down from the border crossing and found the road completely blocked. You felt that the sheep had been travelling this way for centuries - the shiny cars were just a recent phenonomen.
The Pic du Midi d’Ossau sits on the west side of the valley, with a distinctive profile that you start to see everywhere - postcards, mineral water bottles, adverts, … While the weather was settling down, we had a couple of good days walks from the Lac Bious-Artigues - one going right around the Pic at about the 2000m level, the other taking in some lakes further west. The ordinary route on the Pic is a graded as a III scramble. We took a rope, pitched one section on the way up, and abseiled a few sections coming down. The N face of Tryfan came to mind as a similar sort of route. The Refuge de Pombie makes for a comfortable start, or you can do the climb from the road, as we did, with some 1400m of ascent in the day.
Nive Valley - The valley of the Nive river is the only public-transport artery southeast into the Basque interior, with four or five trains a day making the riverside journey from Bayonne to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in about an hour. The luminous green landscape on the approach to the mountains is scattered with villages untouched by speculative development, and remains as peaceful and harmonious as in the lowlands Festivals of Bearn (Pyrenees Atlantiques) reflect its image: astonishing, authentic, a true copy of its history, simple, colourful, noisy, convivial. "It's here, you like to find yourself among friends!" The village festival hall is a sacred place. As soon as the fine weather arrives and until autumn, the grand festivals concern a wide public; Salies celebrates its salt, Oloron its garbure, Aramits its shepherds, Pau its carnival, Orthez its feria, Laruns its cheese, the list goes on. Bearn is endowed with some big events. The Grand Prix Formula 3, the Festival of Pau, the "Saisons de la Transhumance" and "Culture d'Automme" pace the seasons to everyone's great pleasure; theatre, music, car sports- authentic festivals are on the agenda.
FESTIVALS AND EVENTS IN BEARN:
19th January: Horse-riding grand prix, Pau.
From 26th February to 4th March: Carnival Biarnes in Pau.
From 5th March to 4th April: Festival Danses Plurielles in Pau.
From 7th to 16th MArch: Festival Jazz Naturel in Orthez.
From April to end July: Navarrenx World Salmon Fishing Championship.
Easter: Antiques Fair in Salies de Bearn.
1st May: Traditional Pyrenees donkey fair, songs and dances, jumble sale in Oloron-Ste-Marie.
2nd, 3rd and 4th May: Mountains and songs festival, traditional polyphonic singing in Laruns.
28th May to 1st June: Transhumance Atlantics music festival in Laas.
31 May to June: historic Grand Prix Automobile in Pau.
7th, 8th and 9th June: Grand Prix Automobile in Pau (Formula 3).
Mid-June to Mid-July: Festival de Pau (theatre, dance, music).
Beginning July: Transhumance in the Ossau Valley. Movement of the flocks to the summer pastures, a great moment of joy, song and emotion in the life of the shepherds and villages.
5th July: Hestejada Aussalesa in LAruns, Bearn song contest. Exhibition and sales of craft products.
13th July: La Junte de Roncal, the oldest peace treaty between France and Spain ar Col de La Pierre-St-Martin. Ceremony officially marking the ancient peace settlement.
21st to 23th July: Tour de France in Bearn.
24th to 29th July: Orthez Festival. For 5 days the feria comes to town: funfair, concert/dances, bull-fighting, street bands and bodegas.
31st July to 4th August: Monein Fete, its fruit (including the renowed Roussane peach) and its Jurancon wines. Everything stops for "la hesta" in Monein.
15th August: Traditional Festival in Laruns "Hesta de Nostre Dama", where you can discover the beautiful Ossau valley costumes to the sound of the flute and tambourin drum.
16th August: Blonde d'Aquitaine Cattle Festival, historic parade, agricultural exhibition in Sauveterre de Bearn.
6th September: "La Garburade" (competition to find the best garbure in the world: garbure is a traditional soup to the foothills of the Pyrenees and more especially to Bearn) in Oloron.
2nd weekend of September: Salt Festival, floats, food markets, salt-barrel carrying race, etc.
4th weekend of September: Bearn song festival in Siros. Perhaps it is not possible to understand all the words, but the voices will transport you, and the Gascon stories are somewhat racy.
4th and 5th October: Cheese Fair and olden style market. Traditional festival "par excellence". An unforgettable moment in Bearn kife in Laruns.
End October:Complete International Horse-riding competition in Pau. Annual meeting for the best international riders in PAu.
7th December: Grape-picking festival. Open day in the wine-making workshops of the producers on the Route des Vins du Jurancon.
Pyrenees Orientales.
Ancient Rousillon is a small region of greater Languedoc (administrative region), forming the Pyrenees Orientales departement. It includes the towns of Perpignan and Collioure within its borders. Over its long and colorful history it has known many rulers. Roussillon was administrated first by kings of Aragon and later by the the Spanish Kingdom until 1659 (except the period between 1463 and 1493). Since 1659, with Treaty of the Pyrenees France controls the land. The Mediterranean coast between Perpignan and Montpellier now has one of the most modern holiday complexes in Europe. Montpellier offers grand civic spaces, cutting-edge architecture and state-of-the-art tram system and a vision into the future of urban living. The vineyards, started in the Roman era and producing red, white and rosé wine, begin in the Narbonne area. Nearby, Agde is a smaller fishing port whose main attraction is Le Cap d’Agde, with its wide expanse of unspoiled beaches and large nudist colony.
Cerdagne - Mountains and high mountains with their ski resorts, but also canoe and kayak, rambling, fishing, canyoning, horseriding and mountainbike await you in these high region. The Cerdagne has an exceptional climate with an average of 2.800 hours of sunshine per year. Its dry, healthy air is the reason why there are some specialised establishments for respiratory ailments. Cerdagne, that is magnificent landscapes, an animal park (Les Angles), hot-water springs (St Thomas les bains), the solar oven of Odeillo, and a treasury of well-preserved Roman art which you will discover in small churches that shelter beautiful retables. The beauty of the Cerdagne was the reason for the inintiative to run the "Little Yellow Train". this train enables visitors to see the countryside from the Conflent to the extremity of the Cerdagne.
Bourg Madame - This is the the frontier village situated at the lowest point of the French Cerdagne, very near the Spanish border. Puigcerda (Catalunya Pyrenees) is the neighbouring village and many visitors come for its shops. Visit the Romanesque church, with its polychrome Madonna and Child (13th century) and the baroque retables.
Bouillouses lake - At an altitude of 2.000m, the Bouillouses lake cover some 1.800 hectares in the massif du Carlit between Font Romeu and Les Angles, at the edge of the Cerdagne and Capcir. Enjoyed by walkers, the site has very appealing flora and fauna.
Saillagouse - Village at the crossroads to the ski resorts, Spain and Andorra. Saillagouse is renown for its archaeological centre. Visit in the hamlet of Sainte Leocadie, the Romanesque church with its fine retables
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