Hello everyone,

I'd love to hear your feedback on a trip we have planned to the French pyrenees this summer. We are a young couple, predominately interested in hiking and trekking.
Experience in multi-day treks all around (including the Spanish pyrenees, having been to Torla-Ordesa and Aiguestortes last year), but time looking for a bit easier time with mostly daily hikes.

This is our plan so far:
July 8: Evening arrival at Bordeaux, rent car and go to rest.
July 9: Make our way to the mountains, specifically Luchon.
July 10: Day hike in Lac Vert in Vallée du Lys, sleep at Luchon.
July 11: Two-day hike, day one- Superbagneres to Ref. d'Espingo.
July 12: Day two- down to Lac d'Oo and Granges d'Astau, shuttle back to sleep at Luchon.
July 13: Watch in person Tour de France stage from Pau to Peyragudes, sleep at Bareges.
July 14: Hike from Pont Gaubie, up to Col Madamete and down via Lac Coubous, sleep at Bareges.
July 15: Drive to Gavarnie, day hike in the area, drive to and sleep at Cauterets.
July 16: Three-day hike, day one- Pont d'Espagne to Refuge Wallon.
July 17: Day two- Refuge Wallon over the two Cols to Refugre Oulettes de Gaube.
July 18: Day three- Refuge Oulettes out to Pont d'Espagne, sleep at Laruns.
July 19: Day hike to Refuge d'Ayous and back from Lac de Bious-Artigues, sleep at Laruns.
July 20: Make our way back north to Bordeaux.
July 21: Return car and fly out of BOD in 10:20 in the morning.

Some specific questions I have:
Suggestions for nice stops on the way (or not too far off it) from Bordeaux to Luchon?
Suggestions on how to best view in person the Tour de France?
Should we sleep at Luz-Saint-Sauveur instead of Bareges on July 13-14?
Is Laruns a good idea for sleeping on July 18-19 or are there nicer towns in the area?
Suggestions again for nice stops on our drive north on July 20, and where should we sleep?

And more generally:
How is our choice of hikes and treks? Did we "miss" some really good ones that should not be passed over? Did we choose some not-so-good ones that can be dropped from the itinerary?

Many thanks.

topping

I have seen your post on several forums and not a lot of replies. Perhaps there is a more specific hiking forum that could give more advice. Speaking for myself, your hikes are very specific. I suspect, and I could be wrong, most people have little idea of where these places are, if they are the best or even if they are worth doing. I can recognise some places, especially the trek from Pont d'Espagne and Gavarnie.
We actually spent two weeks in Luz last year and had a lovely time. The difference is that we are a 60+ couple interested in some comfortable walks and nice drives. I have not seen a lot of questions about more challenging hikes and overnight treks.
Having said that, we were there in October, and Bareges was very quiet. Perhaps in between summer hiking and winter skiing crowds? Not sure.
If you click on my name, and scroll through to the relevant weeks, you can read what we did in the area around Luz.
It is a lovely area.

Hi rhon, yes you are right I did not get too many replies for this. However I feel now pretty confident about our hiking schedule, so that's ok.

I'm still looking for advice on our way to/from Bordeaux: I would love to hear some suggestions about nice locations along the way (or not too far off it), either as a stop or a place to overnight, as I'm willing to devote two days instead of one to reach the Pyrenees after we land in Bordeaux.

We have not set aside time for Lourdes, Tarbes, Pau, Grottes de Betharram, etc. during our time in the mountains, so those two/three days at each end of our vacation will be the time to visit those places.

However, maybe there are more interesting further up north on the way to Bordeaux? I heard for example of Saint-Emilion as a recommended stop, although that's not exactly on our way south (but again, we're willing to detour a bit).

Our destination when arriving from Bordeaux is Bagnères-de-Luchon, and on our way back we will depart from Gourette.

In terms of timing, we land late in the evening and will spend the night near the airport (after renting a car), so next day will be a full one. Or two full days if we decide to make an overnight somewhere. Similarly, we depart in the morning and will spend the night before near the airport, so again the commuting day is full.

Thanks!

If there is <b>any</b> chance that you will have jet lag, I would strongly encourage you to wait at least one day before renting a car. Although many people are not aware of it, there is mounting evidence that driving with jet lag is just as dangerous -- to yourself and others -- as driving drunk, and <b>nothing</b> you can do will prevent the microsleeps (which you might not even notice) that are the apparent culprit. Seriously -- NOT a good idea, no matter how short the distance and no matter your prior experience!

Hi kja, thanks for your reply and concern. Luckily I'm the driver and I will be in the area for a week before my wife joins, so no worries of a jet lag.

Glad to hear it!

I don't have much advice for you, as you are headed to places I'm not much familiar with, but I will chime in and say that St-Emilion, IMO (and I live in SW France), is about the most overpriced, overhyped town in the whole area. I've visited it at least a dozen times over the years, and the last time I did (last summer, to show it to my husband, who had never been), it was so nauseatingly overcrowded and expensive I swore I'll never go back.
There are plenty of places you could go through on your way south. Places I can recommend would be Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Agen, and Auch. The one thing you probably do not want to do is hug the Atlantic coast and then turn eastward into the Pyrenées. You haven't met BORING until you've driven through Les Landes.