Toulouse to Gavarnie or another route?
 

Would a trip from Toulouse to Gavarnie be a do-able day trip. A text search brings up very little on the Pyrenees so I am hoping someone has the information I need. I don't know if the drive is worth the view or if it would be better to go through Foix to see a small portion of the Pyrenees. We are more interested in the villages than the mountains but we did want to spend one day driving around in them, just not sure where. Thanks for any advice you can give. Deborah

Deborah:<BR><BR>Foix is easily accesable from Toulouse.. just head south via the N20 and about 1 hr and 15 mins later, you're there. The Cirque de Gavarnie takes bit a longer, due to the mountain roads you have to drive. The view is spectacular, but it is not a day trip. Why not spend some time in Gavarnie, after a respite in Toulouse? Depending on when you go, it will either be the ski season or if in the summer, the perfect time to hike the trails, in particular GR 20. Other villages in the area are Luz St. Sauveur or even Lourdes..<BR><BR>Drop me a line if you need further help.<BR><BR>Regards..<BR>Luis

Going through Foix will lengthen your trip by a day, it definitely is not the direct route. The direct route from Toulouse to Gavarnie would take you down to Lourdes and Argel&egrave;s-Gazost. You might then be able to do the trip in a very long day. But best would be to do some touring on the way. Lourdes has an interesting chateau with a &quot;folklore&quot; museum; St. Savin, above Argel&egrave;s has a nice little town square with a nice view of the valley and an interesting church.

Luis and Michael, thank you very much for the information about Gavarnie, we will be staying in a Gite near Toulouse for only one week then making our way back to Paris, I just wasn't sure if going to Gavarnie was something to be considered or if we wanted just a &quot;taste&quot; of the Pyrenees would driving through Foix to Andorra give us what we want, I don't think the Pyrenees are high on the Fodor's forum &quot;to see&quot; list because I haven't been able to find much information about them here. Thanks again, Deborah

Hi Deborah:<BR>We did this trip last summer but stayed in Lourdes a couple of nights so we could enjoy the walk to the cirque at Gavarnie.<BR>We were coming from a different place (spain actually) but our trip took us through Foix where we stopped for lunch Foix is about an hour from Toulouse). We drove the D117 cross country as I had always wanted to see this area, then hooked up to the A64. We enjoyed the drive in the foothills, it's quite pretty but didn't stop enroute so I'm not sure if the villages are interesting. The scenery sure was!! The A64 is one of the motorways going through Toulouse. So if you go directly from Toulouse via the motorway to Tarbes then the N21 to Lourdes this should take you only a couple of hours at most.<BR>The drive from Lourdes to Gavarnie took us 1 1/2 hours (it's glorious).(we are not great with heights so the trip up to Gavarnie is on the outside so took about 20 minutes longer than coming down.......our fear factor on the trip was fine though as the road was very good and only on place where it's a switchback and that was through a little town so not too terrifying) The walk from the village of Gavarnie to the cirque took us 2 hours (I think we were a bit pokey compared to some speed walkers we encountered) then we wandered around, walked up to the base of the cirque onto the glacier ,had lunch at the charming inn/restaurant and walked back to Gavarnie. To do this all in one day plus your drive would take away from the enjoyment of the area I think. But as you say for you the villages are your main interest ...and the little mountain towns on the way from Lourdes to Gavarnie are so pretty. (Luz St Sauveur,and Gavarnie itself which is touristy but so charming or a little bit off this route is Cauterets)<BR>Don't hesitate to visit this area, just give yourself an overnight somewhere to enjoy it properly.<BR> My husband and I have had the good fortune to experience the glories of the Pyrenees many times in both Spain and France and yes the information on this board about them isn't copious. Check out LP and Rough Guides books on the Pyrenees.<BR>(If you want some nice towns/villages to visit while you're in Toulouse check out Foix, Limoux!!,St Hilaire, Mirepoix all to the south of A64/A61 or over towards Carcassonne and follow the Midi Canal through some great little villages ).<BR>Have a great time!<BR><BR><BR>I know you'll love the area<BR>