Toulouse - moving on the Pyrenees

[DominoDaancing]

Hello! We will be in Toulouse for a couple of nights at the very end of June.

We would like to stay another 5 nights maybe and wondered about moving on to somewhere in the Pyrenees to do some hiking.
Any recommendations would be great! We weren’t planning to hire a car so place accessible by train would be ideal - but we could hire one if need be.
Thanks!

Hmmmm. We had a lovely holiday last year in the Monte Perdido National Park, (just) on the Spanish side, in the middle. It was a highly car centric holiday though 🤔 The hiking is fantastic in the Pyrenees though- the GR10 runs all along the French side, the GR11 along the Spanish and the Haute Route along the spine, with many many minor trails. I would start with looking for stations in the area (Latour de Carol?) and work from there.

Ah OK, I had a quick look on the map. Latour de Carol/ Puigcerda is the only rail crossing of the Pyrenees by the looks of it. From there the Train Jaune runs, which looks like it takes you to small stations high up in the mountains.

@crackofdoom thank you! I think we are coming to the conclusion that we will hire a car for more flexibility so I will take a look at the area you enjoyed 😊

There were certainly some beautiful walks there- it's incredibly gorgeous! It's just the other side of the Aragnouet- Bielsa tunnel- we stayed fairly close to Bielsa (Cirque de Gavarnie is close as the eagle flies on the other side of the border- if you're a seasoned hiker you can walk there, staying at refuges). Valle de la Pineta, Tella, Canyon de Anisclo were all stunning. It was easy to get up to about 1600m (could have gone further and higher if we didn't have a 9 year old with us). There were also loads of places to swim in beautiful rivers. There were no other British tourists at all, and a reasonable amount of French and Spanish.

There are a few options on the main rail line south of Toulouse, e.g. Foix is just getting you into the Pyrenees, then beyond that you can probably find good day hikes from any of the stations as you head into the mountains…if you head in that direction you could maybe base yourself in Aix-Les-Thermes.

Would also second as another option going further west - Cirque de Gavarnie etc

We stayed in Luz St Sauveur in 2023, lots of amazing walking (including the Cirque de Gavarnie, which is as stunning in real life as in the photos, even with the world and his wife there). But you would need to hire a car as public transport was very rare. Nearest train was station was in Lourdes, which was a 25 minute drive away.

Oopps, not enough coffee, just seen my “Aix-Les-Thermes” upthread…should be Ax-Les-Thermes..

Anyhow there is some stunning walking to be had to the eastern end of the Pyrenees, but it’s not a particularly fashionable part of the world verses the areas further west that are accessible from Lourdes or maybe Pau,

I’d agree with @mrssquidink that in general public transport isn’t frequent so if you want much more than a short day hike from somewhere that has rail access.

https://www.ariegepyrenees.com/preparer/explorer/villages/ax-les-thermes/randonnees/

Cirque de Gavarnie is stunning. You can stay in Gavarnie itself and walk to the Cirque. That is not an especially difficult walk, families do it. You can extend it a lot to walk in to the Cirque.

For the adventurous there are walks to the Breche du Roland. We did that once but, gosh, more than 30 years ago. Don't think I would manage it now. You need good weather and to be fairly well equipped.

Lots of other lovely walks there too.

I am also very fond of Cauterets. Lovely walks from Pont d'Espagne.

We are frequent visitors to the Pyrenees and base ourselves in either Bagneres de Luchon or Argeles Gazost. Beautiful area