relax, hiking and biking in the pyrenees
 

We are planning a multi-generation trip next June. The group includes grandparents who are very fit and healthy down to teenagers.

We would like to be able to do day-hikes, bike (expert), and relax.

Can you recommend area in the Spanish or French Pyrenees which have easy access to these activities ?

We'd like to be able to base ourselves in one town/village in a house or lodge/hotel for about 5-7 days.

We will be coming from Barcelona .

I appreciate your help.

I would forget Barcelona and fly into Bilbao. The Navarran Pyrenees are perfect for what you want to do. Villages abound on both side of the Pyrenees (Pays Basque and Navarra), with some of the best cuisine you'll find in France or Spain. This is the area where Miguel Indurain, who lives in Pamplona, practiced for the Tour de France and still rides.

You can base yourself on either side of the Pyrenees and cross at either Roncesvalles or over the smugglers route out of Bera (Vera) in Navarra. You'll find the riding here to be nothing short of spectacular.

I was planning to travel from San Sebastian to Barcelona through Spain, visiting the Pyrenees, until several of my Spanish friends pointed out that it was much faster to go through France -- so I did.

We didn't really travel "fast" (that would have been a straight shot through Toulouse). Instead, we zigzagged through the French Pyrenees, ocassionally crossing into Spain, taking back roads.

I especially enjoyed Pont d'Espagne, which is accessible from the French side through Cauterets. Between there and St-Jean-Pied-Port, I saw a lot of pro cyclists doing altitude training. (Check out the area around Laurans and the Cirques Lescun and Gavarnie.)

Cauterets and Aix-les-Thermes are long established starting points for hikes and moutaineering. I stayed very inexpensively at Le Grillon in Aix-les-Thermes. The owner of the hotel is a mountaineer who organizes hikes into the Pyrenees.

One of the fun things about Aix-les-Thermes is the many hydro-spas, with geothermal waters. There is lots of hydrotherapy available for those who would like something restorative. There is also a public "bains" in the main square in town, where anybody can soak their feet for free. It's charming. The town also has a lively market.

Cauterets is really a 19th century, Belle Epoque town. Its access to the Pont d'Espagne includes many waterfalls and chair lifts for scenic walks.

There are other famous destinations in the French Pyrenees. It's really a very pristine part of the world, and it was just wonderful to be there. (I was there in spring.) The French are such avid, intense cyclists, I'm sure you can put together just want you want.

http://www.roughtracks.com/france/axl.htm

If you go a bit further south, you can also enjoy the Med, but I think the best part of the Pyrenees are its fantastic high peaks and it's icy clear water -- which tastes better than wine!

Enjoy!

You might start at www.peaktopeak.com

Thank you all for the great suggestions.

My brother-in-law is avid biker. Will the info with him.

We will be starting at Barcelona for varius reasons. Is it reasonable to drive from Barcelona to Bilbao ?
Aix les thermes ? I need a good map to figure the logistic of these places.

I recently went to Bilbao (from San Sebastian) and although I am an art and museum nut, I thought it was a waste of time. It is a Guggenheim "branding," a kind of "international" experience, something like EuroDisney. It's an invented destination.

Mr. Gehry's building is of course witty and sensational, but it's not really deeply interesting. I much preferred spending my time in San Sebastian. I'd have rather spent the time poking around the coast and mountains beyond San Sebastian.

I drove from San Sebastian to Barcelona. I wanted to sightsee, so I took several days to do it. Had I wanted to do it in a straight shot, I believe it is about five or six hours through France to San Sebastian, then another hour to Bilboa -- more like 90 minutes if you count parking and getting lost.

PS: I found it like pulling hen's teeth to find out information about the Pyrenees. In the end, the most useful book I had was the Blue Guide to the Pyrenees, and even that wasn't much help once I got near the Med.

This might help:

http://www.pyreneesguide.com/default.asp?zID=1

Sorry -- I made another typo. In my first post, I should have written "Larrau"

I´d come to the Basque Country area, or northern Navarra (Otxagabia, Bera de Bidasoa, Baztán valley, Roncal Valley,...), plenty of nature, hikes and relax.

There are 5-6 hours of driving between Barcelona to Bilbao, straight highway.

And regarding Bilbao, well, I don´t think it´s an invented destination...it´s just that the Guggenheim museum put it in the map, and the problem is that tourists visit the museum and forget about the rest...it´s like going to, say, Paris and just visit the Eiffel tower (unparalleled cities and an exaggeration, I know).

The Rough Guide alos has a good guide to the Pyrenees whith half focussed on France and half on Spain.

Here's a good place to live while you're biking.

http://www.frenchescape.net/

It's a good area to centralize biking plus it's a nice area to visit.

Blackduff

LOL Blackduff!

maybe they could even negotiate a good deal?

Thanks again everybody. You have already given me some very valuable perspective on the area.

Is it very easy to cross from France into Spain and vice versa ? No gates, sentry, etc ?

No, they're both in the EU and covered by Schengen- open borders.

Correct, but non EU citizens should have their passports ready at all times, they (and everybody) is subject to being stopped at the border at random.

In any case, this is very rare and crossing the border by car is hassle free.

Catalunya and the Catalan Pyrenees is a great place for outdoor activities. Girona (South of the Pyrenees) is home to a lot of bikers (Lance trains there quite a bit), and there are tons of orienteering groups that hit the mountains on the weekends. I have never done the actual mountains for anything other than skiing, but I have biked through wine country (Barcelona to Vilafranca inland, then hit the coast and headed back up) and done some great bike excursions starting in Girona and ending in surrounding villages (to visit friends).

The one thing you guys need to worry about is reliable bike rental, so you might need to rent in a city (BCN or Girona) and take the bike to the mountains. Make sure you get the proper tools for maintenence and that your riders know the equipment.

Hiking is great all over the Pyrenees, but I am partial to Jaca.

Good luck with the planning!

Okoshi, I have a number of trip reports in the Midi Pyrenees. Drop me an email if you want them?

(PS. I leave on Thursday night for the area for 2 weeks)

Everybody has been so helpful- thank you !