Tourist guide

• LANNEMEZAN
  It’s a good thing the Tour kicks off in Lannemezan on a Wednesday: wednesday is market day in Lannemezan, quite an institution! Catherine of Navarre launched it in 1501 on what is now Place de la République.
• SAINT-BERTRAND-DE-COMMINGES (km 19,5)
  Sainte Marie cathedral combines Roman, Gothic and Renaissance styles – and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• SAINT-GIRON (km 83,5)
  The two torrents that gush through the town – the Salat and the Lez – bring much character to this crossroads nestled at the heart of a picturesque valley.
• FOIX
  The medieval chateau is now home to the Musée de l’Ariège and its fine Gallo-Roman archeological collection.

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Paul-Henri de la Rue, represents the new generation of French snowboarders. With his brother Xavier, he dominates the discipline of cross-country snowboarding on a national level. At the Turin Olympic Games in 2006, Paul made up for his brother’s disappointment, who was weakened by an injury, by winning the bronze medal.

“I was born in Lannemezan, but in fact I come from Saint-Lary-Soulan, which is a small convivial village both in the summer and the winter: it does not have many more than one thousand inhabitants. All of my family lives there as well as my childhood friends. So relations between people are healthy and simple. Personally what I like as someone from the mountains is that from one massif to another, there is a great variety of landscapes. In particular there is the Pyrenees National Park, which has exceptional fauna and flora. Next to it there is the granite massif of Néouvielle, situated in the park of the same name, which must be visited as well as its lakes (Aubert, Aumar, Laquettes, Orédon and Cap de Long) but also its magnifi cent mountain pine tree forests, which are the highest in Europe. It is possible to go for very pleasant hikes and spend a night in a refuge. I also like to play golf at the Lannemezan Golf Course, fi rstly because of its setting, as it is situated opposite the Pyrenees mountain chain and the “Pic du Midi” of Bigorre and secondly because you eat very well there.

I also like to go skydiving at the Castelnau-Magnoac Centre. In the surrounding area, I have two favourite restaurants which are both very original: “La Ferme Vignecoise”, in Vinec, and also “L’Auberge des Ariulets” in Aulon. It serves all kinds of black pork from Bigorre such as ham or pork chops. And Spain is only half an hour’s drive away. When you come out of the tunnel of Bielsa, you come across wonderful scenery, with the massif of “Mont Perdu”, the Ordesa National Park and the canyons of “Sierre de Guara”.”