# Pyrennees - any suggestions must do places



## carol (May 9, 2005)

We are off 1st September for 8 weeks, and are planning to go down to the Pyrennees and then back across probably towards Narbonne for some beach - is there anywhere you can recommend either aires, or places to not miss.

We did Peyrepertuse last year with your help - and thoroughly enjoyed that - and may well pass that way again

Carol


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

It's a miracle Lourdes,plus Pau.

tony


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## musicbus (May 1, 2005)

Hi Carol

from Lourdes head for Pic du Midi de Bigorre. It is a stunning drive and a visit to the planetarium up there is a must. This the reverse of the route the Tour de france took this year. unbelievable views

Further east you could go to Andorra La Vella..go over the top and not thru the tunnel, cheap fuel and ciggies in Andorra if you must. The ski lift car park is a good place to park up. 

cheers


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Give Andorra a miss.

Go to the nearby place where the French & Spanish borders meet, near the little enclave of Llivia. You can get cheap Spanish fuel there.

What you MUST do is take le Petit Train Jaune (little yellow train) from the nearby border station of Enveitig / Latour de Carol.

It is an amazing experience as you hurtle downhill in open carriages over trestle bridges, suspension bridges, around steep curves, vertiginous drops and so on.

If you can, stay the night at Villefranche-de-quelquechose, the lower terminal.
There is a B&B near the station run by an Irish couple.

When you arrive at Villefranche there is a free minibus (navette) up to the chateau, which is a fortified castle. 

Have lunch there and explore the fantastic defences.

Then walk down the subterranean tunnel with its 800 steps to the walled town for an icecream and to choose the nice restaurant where you will return for supper after freshening up in the B&B.

When you return to the B&B after supper it is likely that the proprietors and/or other guests will be sitting under the stars drinking and chatting.

Get the train back up (not quite as exciting) after a leisurely breakfast.

Your motorhome will be perfectly safe overnight parked at the station in Latour de Carol.

It was the highlight of our Pyrennéan visit a couple of years ago.


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## Lambo (Oct 9, 2006)

Hi, what about the Col de Portalet, with its free roaming, bell wearing horses, cattle and sheep, grazing the high pasture, the sound of which is simply enchanting? There is also the border shopping area, a good place to make your euros go a little further! 
At Laruns there is an aire and borne for water etc, supermarket for reasonably priced fuel.
Then towards the Col de Portalet a great wildcamping place at Artouste overlooking the lake, just a few miles from the border.
Take the ski lift to the petit train for a tour of the mountains the easy way. There is also at the far end of the resort car park another campingcar service point.
It really is a beautiful place, enjoy, cheers for now, Paul.


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

Hi Carol

I don't know if you have an interest in birds but remember that the Pyrenees is a great area for birds in Sept/Oct.

Many of the birds which reside there start coming down to lower (less steep!) levels so making them visible to more of us.

September is also the month of the great migration of birds making their way down mainland Europe and through the Pyrenees heading for Africa.

We've wanted to do an autumn birdwatching visit there but sadly I think we're now past it.

To give you a flavour:
http://www.limosaholidays.co.uk/tourDetail.cfm?tourID=410
http://www.birdingspain.com/pyreneesmonth.htm

Get out your bins, 'scope and tripod. :lol:


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## carol (May 9, 2005)

Thanks all for these ideas, some of the names ring a bell from our little tour - and if anyone has any more ideas, please add them

Many thanks all thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

Carol


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Re my post about the Little Yellow Train.

It terminates at Villefranche-le-Conflent from where the main line takes over to Perpignan.

The B&B is

http://www.activityholidayfrance.com/lang/en/index-en.html


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## derek500 (Oct 31, 2005)

pippin said:


> Give Andorra a miss.
> 
> Go to the nearby place where the French & Spanish borders meet, near the little enclave of Llivia. You can get cheap Spanish fuel there.


Maybe cheaper than France, but Spanish fuel is more expensive than Andorran.

In May 2008 we paid 1.41€ in France, 1.20€ in Spain and only 1.06€ in Andorra.

Always worth popping in if you've got an empty tank. It can be a bit slow getting out though, as they tend to stop and search.


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## thieawin (Jun 7, 2006)

Avoid Andorra at al costs, busy dull and you will be stopped by the customs police in France or Spain

The border towns near Llivia are Bourg Madame in France desolate and half closed and Puigcerda in Spain/catalonia vibrant and busy

Wonderful monastery at La Seu d'Urgell

What about another route between France/Spain via Gascony val d'Aran a Spanish enclave on the North side of the Pyreneean watershed from from Toulouse take A64 direction Tarbes and come off on A645 and via VIela to either La Seu d'Urgell or LLeida. In the val d'Aran there are lost oc campsites. They speak Aranesque a dialect of gascon and related to Catalan

Beautiful valley road runs by side of river small villages intriguing churches a great pass and the Spanish ski resorts of Bbaqueria

If you go from/towards Seu d'Urgell you go through the eagles national park


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## s7ev0 (Apr 26, 2009)

St Jean Pied de Port is a very picturesque Basque town, and we caught a game of Pelote Basque at the town fronton, which was pretty spectactular. The matches are on only one day a week though, so it's worth checking at a tourist office on your way before you turn up. The aire at St Jean Pied de Port is very close to the centre of town too, and is quiet.

It's worth visiting the Grottes de Medous near the D935. The caves have a staggering number of stalactites and stalagmites and a guided tour through them finishes with a 200m boat trip on the underground river.

There are a couple of waterfalls not too far as well, that are worth a visit.

This was our first venture abroad in our new (well, 16 years old) Dethleffs Globetrotter, and we had three brilliant weeks trekking down through France, deciding where to go next every morning. With two teenage lads and a young daughter I consider that a success!


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

_val d'Aran a Spanish enclave _

I have searched extensively for evidence that this is an enclave/exclave.

I am not convinced of its existence.

Enlighten us!


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## thieawin (Jun 7, 2006)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aran_Valley

Not an enclave in the sense of being entirely surrounded by FRance like Llivia but an enclave like Ceuta or Melila cut off from Spain by geography. If you want to try and be erudite about English usage I think you have chosen a poor one but to be totally accurate you are correct it was a pene enclave and is no longer since the tunnel opened

I take enclave to mean to be shut off or locked out (latin in clavus), which Aran was from Spain every winter and still is now if the tunnel or tunnel approaches are blocked

It is on the northern side of the Pyrenees and on the French side of the watershed and the river that rises in the valley is the Garonne which flows to the French atlantic coast, the only river rising in Sspain to flow into the sea in France

There is now a tunnel linking Viehla with the rest of Spain but before that the pass was impassable in winter so communication was via France.

Aranese is a form of Gascon, not Spanish

the losing side in the Civil War controlled Viehla and the val d'Aran until 1948 inspite of the war having finished in the rest of spain in 1936

other authoritative uses of the word enclave to show usage

1.	Ceuta is a Spanish enclave in North Africa
Ceuta is a Spanish enclave in North Africa located on the northern tip of Morocco on the Mediterranean coast, practically opposite Gibraltar, it is known in ...
www.georeme.co.uk/ceuta.htm - Cached - Similar
1.	BBC NEWS | Europe | Country profiles | Regions and territories ...
12 May 2009 ... The national networks of Spain's public broadcaster, RadioTelevision Espanola (RTVE), are available in Ceuta and Melilla. The enclaves are ...
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/4209538.stm - Cached - Similar
1.	Les - Era Val d´Aran - « Starting page »
The town of Les is situated in a privileged mountain enclave. ... Val d'Aran Transport's To consult the timetable, download the PDF file. ...
www.torismeles.com/Default.asp?lng=en - Cached - Similar


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Thanks for that.

I was thinking in terms of the common meaning of the words which is why Vielha did not show on the various specialist enclave/exclave websites.

You have got me thinking now.

Our town of Tywyn and Blaenau Ffestiniog are exclaves from the Snowdonia National Park.

However, Bl Ff is totally surrounded by the NP whereas Tywyn has a sea boundary that is not part of the NP.

Enclave/exclave? Dunno, but it doesn't half affect the planning laws just one field away from our house!


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## grouch (Oct 1, 2005)

Brilliant place - Artouste-Fabreges. It features in All the Aires Book. Parking by the lake. From there you can take a cable car and then a little red train which takes you up the mountain. Brilliant views etc. If you are able you can then walk from the train to a reservoir. If not you can straight back on the train. We saw our first marmots there.


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## carol (May 9, 2005)

Well thank you for these further ideas all will be printed at the end of this week and taken with us 

Are there any more places

Must say the train trips sound interesting - especially as Duncan likes trains

Carol


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## Ecosse (Feb 6, 2006)

Hi Carol.....earlier this year we spent a few days in the Pyrenees,we camped for a couple of days in Foix, mainly to visit the chateu there,not much to see in the castle but the views were superb.We then drove to Ax-lea-Thermes then drove east to Orlu.Great walking- lovely countryside-good municipal-really enjoyed it. We are interested in the cathars so later we drove over the mountains on the D163>D29 to Belesta then to Montsegur which is an amazing place.After that we camped at Puivert, a lovely village which has a very good municipal .The chateau there is excellent a well worth a visit. 

hope this helps and enjoy your holiday

Mike


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## carol (May 9, 2005)

Well folks am back and want to thank you for your suggestions - I have just posted a too-long account of our trip - and we had a great time, so thanks again to those that posted.

Carol


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

The solar furnace at Odeillo Font-Romeu is worth a visit:


__
https://flic.kr/p/2749843139

G


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*ees*

What about the Pyrenees in December/January?


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

In a word - _neige_, or indeed _nieve_ !


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Niege*

Snow then!


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