Neste - Côteaux Barousse Baronnies

The Pyrenees are in view, but a good distance away, as you stray off the beaten path into a whole new land that doesn't appear in the guidebooks. It's a place of intoxicating discovery... New experiences, new people to meet; lush, pristine nature; mysterious chasms and caves; little villages huddling around their churches; simple, discrete locals; cows and sheep on the meadows; little backroads winding about the rolling hills; dense forests where the deer hide away... 

In each little village, you'll see old-fashioned craftsman's signs, here a blacksmith, there a wood turner, or perhaps a ceramic workshop set amid in a sea of flowers. As you enter Sost, you'll see a large sign that says: Sost, le village des fromages! (Sost, village of cheeses!) Here, in a land of family farms and subsistence agriculture in tune with nature and the cycle of the seasons, quality of food comes first: feast yourself on delicious pâtés and Noir de Bigorre ham, traditional pies, local cider, duck foies gras, and much more...

All this in perfect peace and quiet, the silence broken only by gurgling rivers and the bleating of sheep as a herd takes over the whole road, visibly in no great hurry to make room for cars. Such an experience, you'll admit, is well worth the detour...

You’re going to love:

• France at its calmest: village squares, bistro terraces, sun-baked countryside...
• The flavours of this region without any artificial tastes...
• Wandering again and again through the hills and meadows, forests and clearings, without ever losing sight of the beautiful Pyrenees.
• Relaxing in the nurturing waters of Edenvik, a spa resort in Capvern-les-Bains.