Tourist Guide

Haute-Garonne department

Prefecture :
Subprefectures :
Population :
Website : www.morbihan.fr

Ce département illustre parfaitement le contraste entre

KM 11 : ASPET (Pop : 960)

The first lord of Aspet whose name was preserved was called Ramon-Athon. He lived around 1068. Several Aspet knights took part in the Crusades, notably Arnaud II, who took to sea with Philip Augustus in Genoa in 1190. In the beginning of the 15th century, the barony passed over to the Coarraze family. Its last member was lady Catherine, whose fountain still stands in the middle of the town’s main square.

Behind the current church, the Gothic chapel keeps the armouries of the Coarraze. The Chucaou tower, watching over Aspet, is of unknown origins.

KM 26,5 : PORTET-D’ASPET PASS

The memorial to Fabio Casartelli can be found shortly after the pass on which he met his death in 1995. The 1992 Olympic champion crashed heavily in the descent. The marble monument, sculpted by Bruno Luzzani, was inaugurated in October 1995. It represents a wheel gradually changing into an Olympic flag. Casartelli’s bicycle when he crashed can be seen in the Madonna del Gisallo chapel on top of the eponymous mountain pass in Italy.

The Col du Porte d’Aspet is a classic climb on the Tour and the last rider to reach the top in the front was Frenchman Laurent Lefevre in 2007.

Ariège department (09)

Prefecture : Foix
Subprefectures : Pamiers, Saint-Girons
Population : 148,600
Website : www.cg09.fr

Nestled in the heart of the Pyrenees, its back to Spain and Andorra, Ariege is an area of mountains, valleys and lakes, which has been inhabited forever. Twelve painted caves are invaluable testimonies of our far past while the Middle Ages have left a treasure of castles and roman churches in the former land of the Cathars. Water, sun, snow and fresh air: everything is combined to make Ariege the ideal place for nature lovers. Food is as tasty and copious as it used to be while catering has kept its authenticity.

The building of a new motorway, the A66, has made Ariege much more accessible while the department keeps true to Napoleon’s saying which went: “Ariege produces men and iron”.

KM 44,5 : AUDRESSEIN (Pop : 105)

The village took part in a local 19th century revolt known as “la guerre des demoiselles” (the young ladies war). While its parochial church is the 13th century St Martin, the Notre-Dame de Tramesaygues church is the one worth a visit. Built and improved from the 13th to the 16 th century, it is a World Heritage site thanks to its campanile, its medieval frescos and its painted porch. A pilgrimage existed as early as 1139 and the original chapel was extended gradually to hold the pilgrims. The pilgrimage gained momentum when a congregation settled in the chapel in 1315.

KM 45,5 : CASTILLON-EN-COUSERANS (Pop : 430)

At the crossroads of the Bellongue, Biros, Bethmale and Balagueres valleys, Castillon has a long history: human presence is recorded since prehistoric times. The valleys, depending on the Counties of Comminges and Foix in the Middle Ages, were always a land of exchange with Spain through the Val d’Aran.

Each valley had its own special know-how. Breeding always thrived in the Bellongue valley, while the Biros was famous for its waters and its mines: a tramway was in function between 1911 and 1936. The Bethmale valley was renowned for its women, who often went to Toulouse to work as nannies.

The valleys shared privileges that led them to revolt against a new forest code in 1827. It was called the “guerre des demoiselles” (the young ladies war).

Castillon is also the home of a sheep breed, the Castillonaise.

St Pierre church
It is a great example of the typical Romanesque style which developed in the Couserans region in the 12th century. Built as the chapel of the old castle of the Viscounts of Couserans, it was rebuilt in the 13th century. A circuit of Romanesque art in the Pyrenees takes visitors to the many remarkable religious sites of the region.

KM 50,5 : BETHMALE (Pop : 100)

Bethmale was originally the name of the valley regrouping six villages not bearing the name. As a result, the commune does not have a locality to its name. It regroups the villages of Ayet and Samortein while Aret, Arrien, Tournac and Villargein regrouped in 1921 to form the commune of Arrien en Bethmale

Bethmale is noted for its cheese, btehmale or oustet, dating from the occupation of the Moors in the 8th century. It is a cow cheese weighing around 4.5 kilos.

KM 62.5: LA CORE PASS (1,395 m)

The first category pass, 17.5-kms long, is not extremely step with an average slope of 5.1 pc. But it opens on splendid views over the Bethmale lake. It was climbed for the first time in 1984 and Jean-Rene Bernaudeau was first at the top.

KM 76,5 : SEIX (Pop : 800)

Located in the Regional natural park of the Ariege Pyrenees, Seix is the main village of the Haut-Salat valley and hosts the local high school. It lies at the crossroads of he Esbintz and Salat valleys. Since the end of the exploitation of tungsten mines in Salau, the economy relies mostly on tourism (ski, green tourism) and on sheep breeding.

The town was founded from a pairing between the local lords and King Philp the Bold in 1280, making Seix a royal enclave in the middle of the Comminges County. In exchange for watching over the border, the locals obtained favourable rights from the King. The village’s history is closely linked to the Spanish border and the cattle often spent the summer on the Spanish side while markets were a chance to trade meat and cheese against Spanish wine, oil and wool.

Seix was also from the 19th century a crossing point for Spaniards fleeing the Civil War or French partisans and Jews trying to reach Spain. In 1942, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, heir to the imperial family, was arrested in Seix.

Seix castle
Its two towers, its watchtower and its surrounding wall make the Seix Castle one of the remarkable monuments of the Couserans region. Overlooking the roofs of the mountain village, it watched over three major passes through which men and goods still transit today. It was built on the remains of an old mediaeval fortification, part of a defensive complex surrounding the village. The castle was purchased in the 1990s by the Community of communes of the Oust canton. Carefully restored, it houses a centre of regional heritage.

KM 83 : USTOU (Pop : 300)

Close to the Spanish border, the Ustou valley used to be crowded but many men left during the industrial revolution. The valley was known for its bear tamers. On the commune’s soil is the ski resort of Guzet Neige, which hosted three Tour de France stage finishes between 1984 and 1995.

KM 99 : AULUS-LES-BAINS (Pop : 200)

At the bottom of the Garbet valley, Aulus-les-Bains combines its sheep breeding tradition at the top of the village with tourism at the bottom, modern part of town. Not far from Aulus is the Ars waterfall, one of the highest in the Pyrenees. The village lived for long from the exploitation of lead mines, but in the 19th century, water took over from lead. In 1822, an officer named Darnagnac, affected by syphilis, found comfort in the local spring water. It received medical agreement in 1845, leading to the building of thermal baths and several hotels. The golden age ceased with WWII. In the last 30 years, the municipality has attempted to rejuvenate the spa. The new Aulus-les-Bains thermal baths, completed in 1989, are renowned to deal with metabolic troubles (cholesterol, diabetes).

KM 109 : COL D’AGNES (1,570 m)

The first category pass, 10.2-kms long for an average slope of 8.1 pc, was climbed first in 1988 on the Tour. Scot Robert Millar was first at the top.

KM 143 : TARASCON-SUR-ARIÈGE (Pop : 3,500)

Tarascon is an Indo-European word meaning rift. Its prehistoric heritage is exceptional. Its is still possible to admire the wall paintings of the Niaux caves or visit the larges cave in Europe, Lombrives, the home of Hercules lover Pyrene. During the antiquity, the iron mines were extremely disputed while Tarascon was invaded by the Franks, the Vandals, the Visigoths and the Moors. In the 16th century, the Wars of Religion were especially bloody. Protestants and Catholics in turn seized the castle, massacring their enemies. Tarascon later lived on agriculture and gypsum quarries before switching to tourism. The town hosted a rest day and the start of a Tour stage in 1998.

Prehistoric art park
In a mountainous park scattered with ponds and rocks, the superb site leads to an original approach of the prehistoric heritage of Ariege. Inside contemporary buildings, several interactive applications and a lightshow recount the history of the arts of our ancestors and are destined to adults as well as children. A reconstitution of the Niaux caves makes it possible to admire paintings now inaccessible to the public. Modern art exhibitions are also held to confront contemporary artists with their colleagues of old.

KM 145 : USSAT-LES-BAINS (Pop : 370)

Ussat-les-Bains is a spa town renowned for the cure of stress-induced psychosomatic diseases and neurological affections like Parkinson’s disease.

The calming effect of its waters accounts for stays based on relaxation and anti-stress. The virtues of the Ussat waters have been documented since the 15th century while the first medical treatise dates from 1771. The population had always used the water as a cure but the commercial exploitation started in the early 19th century thanks to Louis de Fraxine, Baron of Ornolac. Celebrities like the King of Holland, Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother, or poet Lamartine, made the international repute of Ussat. The Grands Thermes, now a listed monument, were built in 1845 to replace older facilities. The spa gradually went out of fashion but new private owners are now working hard to bring new life.