Cauterets - Pont d'Espagne

Here, every nook and cranny teems with life. The leaping rivers, the black pines growing on the very rock, the grass frogs croaking, the marmots basking in the sun, the ibex bickering under the watchful eye of the golden eagle, the discreet izards sizing up the visitors, the flowers carpeting the meadows... The air is fragrant with the scent of pine resin and wild thyme. And the earth spouts thermal waters of 60°C, that flow abundantly into the lagoons of the balneo centre. Such abundance of life, such beauty and harmony... It simply makes you want to jump for joy! 

Back in the 19th century, Cauterets was already popular with France's elite; intellectuals such as George Sand, Alfred Vigny and Chateaubriand, to name but a few, would come here for a change of scene, for inspiration, for a taste of adventure. The town flourished in those days, acquiring a casino, a theatre, palaces and beautiful villas.

As you stroll down the Boulevard Latapie-Flurin, past sculptures and monumental Belle Epoque porches, it's not hard to imagine the old days when Romanticism was all the rage and the whole of France's high society would flock to Cauterets. These days, people still come to this idyllic resort for the same reason Victor Hugo once came: because it's a beautiful place from which to explore the nearby Pyrenees. Gavarnie, Lourdes, Tourmalet…

You’re going to love:

• The elegance of Cauterets, a mountain resort with a stunning Belle Époque atmosphere, inherited from a past among the most glorious of the French mountain range.
• The layout of Cauterets-Pont d’Espagne which allows you to enjoy the magnificent scenery of the Pyrenees National park without being a serious hiker.
• The water, everywhere, which fills the lakes, flows through the mountain streams, crashes down the waterfalls and bubbles in the lagoons of the bathing centre.