Laruns Things to Do

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Aaaaaaaaaaaaah, finally, we are on top; I forgot to take a picture of the café on the pass; there is a parking, a café, place for four-wheeled people to have a rest too, because driving up in the curves might not be totally relaxing!
Anyway, I could enjoy the view towards East, on the Arrens valley and see the Pic du Midi de Bigorre (Picture 2), skyline under the cloud.
The snowfields on Picture 3 seldomly fully melt during summer; I love to look at the mountains, the snow, the flowers and that was a nice ride!
Hope you enjoyed!

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Pedalling slowly uphill you have plenty of time to look at flowers, here a yellow Tussilage (Tussilago Farfara, bull’s foot) (Picture 1), very tiny and elegant; amateur botanists or simply flower lovers can find lots of flowers in the Pyrenees, and a special field book is necessary for many of the endemic flowers (Tussilago is of course very widespread).The blue spring gentian (Gentiana verna) (Picture 2) is quite common, but I never get bored looking at them, so I had to be careful on the bike. And the campanules (Picture 3), other blue flower, growing on the road side; was a good idea to grow there: I had a reason to stop to admire it and make a picture, so I could have a rest for 5 mn! and biking again, just looking at the snow-capped mountains (Picture 4) gives courage to reach the top which is now close. .

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Aaaaaaah, finally, I arrive at the small thermal resort of Les Eaux Bonnes (the good waters).
This is a tiny village (450 permanent residents) which displays a typical 19th century resort architecture; a wide central square with high buildings around and a bit further big villas and of course the casino.
Two springs are used nowadays; one the old spring (vieille source)comes at 44°C; the other coming at 13°C is called source froide (cold spring). The properties of the Eaux Bonnes waters are known since Roman occupation in the 2nd century A.D.and are since know for therapeutic use in rheumatology and airways (lungs, bronchus. . . ) diseases.
The casino is open during the summer when clients of the bathes are there.
I had a coffee and croissants at the café shown on Picture4.; biking opens appetite and I bike without hurry, and prepare for the last 12 km steep climb.
The main picture shows the village as it appears when you arrive, Picture2. is taken from the high side of the village. The casino with its Moresque style (Picture3). looks a bit strange here, between the snow capped mountains.
If you want to loose some money at the casino, or more simply enjoy the fresh air of this place there is a tourist office in Les Eaux Bonnes: http://www.tourisme.fr/office-de-tourisme/les-eaux-bonnes.htm Tel: 05.59.05.33.08 where it is possible to make reservations for a stay or for any information.

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Before the serious climb begins, better to have a rest in Laruns.
This is the main village of the upper Ossau Valley; the general view on picture 1 shows it is where the real mountain begins; it is at the junction of several creeks which merge as the “Gave d’Ossau”. it is a small resort, winter and summer and this village has kept a very rural character. If you happen to visit it early morning or in the evenings in Summer, the smell of cattle and their leftovers will enchant your senses. The traditional market on Saturdays (which I happened to visit when going skiing, buying ham, sausage, cheese, etc) is very lively. Picture 2 shows that in the upper side of the village the houses begin to get a “resort style”.
As we are close to the mountains, the ham they do here is wonderful, and two very well known (at least in Bearn) pork butchers just keep the tradition. Lahourate (Picture 3) does not make a lot of show-off, but for me he is the best, by far. another one of them (Picture 4) adds a bit of fun on his show window and what is written there in Bearnaise, means “the son of a b***”, which here is not that offensive as in other places, or may be it is only meant for tourists. . . ?
Well, in Laruns is a tourist office (Picture 5) and if you intend to stay around it is here where you may get the best info. There is accommodation possibility from hotel to homestay. Important to know, is that Laruns can be a base camp for skiers gong either west (my biking tour) to the Gourette ski resort or take the road south (direction Col du Pourtalet, Spain) and go to the Artouste-Fabrege ski fields; these two places can be reached by car from Laruns within 20-30 mn.
And now the serious biking begins. . . . .

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On the moraine hill on the right (East) bank of the gave, is this little village which kept buildings from the 16th century, and parts of the church are from the 12th century. The church contains a remarkable altar piece, but it is generally closed, and I could not make a picture, but the angel sculptures on marble on the arch of the entrance door (Picture 1) give an idea of what can be expected inside! The village street is very quiet (Picture 2), and you can see the tower from an old house, which is shown on pictures 3 and 4; a disappointment could be the way the church has been renovated outside (Picture 5), I prefer the raw stones, but this may be better than nothing.

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On the road up the Gave d’Ossau valley, you may go across many small villages located either on the the riverbanks or on the slopes of the hills. I may add more descriptions when I go back and think the make some pictures. . . . Just after Louvie-Juzon, the valley narrows, where the gave carved out his way in the limestone foothills; there are spectacular views of the gave in this little village.
Then, on Km 30, you will see the tower of the Castet castle (Picture 1); a little road going across a bridge allows to visit the village and have a look at the castle.
2 km further, on the right side sit the village of Bilheres (Picture 2), on flank of a moraine hill; there a road goes to the Col de Marie Blanque, a first category pass in the Tour de France race. Two km more and you will see the high cliff above the village of Beon; the cliff is called Falaise aux vautours (Picture 3) (vulture cliff), and you can see these majestic birds circling above the mountains. an information center and a small ecotourism museum is located at the feet of the cliff (http://www.falaise-aux-vautours.com/index.phtml ); in this museum, also displaying local traditional crafts , posters and videos about wildlife, you will see the vultures , their nests their chicks at the right season, thanks to video cameras strategically placed on top of the cliff and around. The people working there know the birds by their name. . .
Then, Aste-Beon, Gere-Belesten, Beost (special mention in next tip) and Assouste (Picture 4) on the right bank. The setting of all these villages is picturesque and I cannot choose which one is the most beautiful.
In all these villages (Picture 5), there is possibility for lodging but reservations have to be made in advance; best is to ask at the Laruns Tourist office (see Laruns tip)

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From Sevignac-Meyrac, with fine weather, you have a nice view over the upper Ossau valley. Picture1. was taken in May and Picture2. was taken in October. At the back you can see the Pic du Midi d’Ossau, “this terrible monster” (Victor Hugo, free translation) watching tower over the valley. To go to the Col d’Aubisque, you will have to turn left after Laruns in a small valley behind the big mountain, on the left. I the Pyrenees, the weather is seldom very clear and there are always a cloud or some mist in the air above the valleys. Real clear weather is above the clouds.

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This is a tiny typical béarnaise village, with stone houses, narrow streets, small gardens. . . As it is on a hill the houses built on the slope have often a porch, with the street going under the porch (Picture2). Of course, like in most villages, there is a church; there was one already in the 12th century, but the building we see now has been built in the 16th century . I would call it a “massive gothic” building, with these buttresses (Picture3)., and small narrow windows (probably younger than the original walls). The church was closed when I was there, I could only look at the entrance door where the sculptures are covered with chicken wire. The clock tower is a very massive one (Picture4)., and the general style of this building has a military purpose: buttresses, massive tower with an embrasure and small windows. This church was a rest place for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostella, and in the 16th century, people were still using churches as a shelter in case of unrest, brigandage, which happened a lot in Bearn, the robber gangs hiding in the nearby mountains. It is quite relaxing to have a short walk in that kind of village have a look at the roofs (Picture1). , or find some nice perspectives (Picture5).