Pau > Laruns
07/05/2023 - Stage 5 - 163 km - Mountain
On the road
CYCLING TOURISM
Closest KM: KM 0 in Pau for the Tour des Géants, KM 30 in Oloron-Sainte-Marie for the loop
The Pyrenees have always been a wanderer's paradise, whether on foot with the GR 10, a footpath that spans the entire mountain range, or on a bicycle on the Route des Cols between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean… The guidebook Les Pyrénées à vélo ("The Pyrenees on a bike") has just been released to further strengthen the place of cycling in one of its favourite stomping grounds. Packed with 70 loops and climbs that challenge the formidable Pyrenean passes and showcase great cycling adventures, there is no shortage of inspiration to explore both legendary peaks and hidden gems! This guidebook, the result of a joint project involving L'Agence des Pyrénées and all the tourist development agencies of the range (spanning two regions —Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitania—, six departments and forty mountain resorts), appeals to both seasoned cyclists and greenhorns. Among other climbs, the Haut-Béarn Loop (page 16 of the guide), starting from Oloron Sainte-Marie, goes over the Col du Soudet, which appears in stage 5 of the race.
NEW AQUITAINE REGION
Departments : Charente, Charente-Maritime, Corrèze, Creuse, Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne, Haute-Vienne.
Population: 6 million
Prefecture: Bordeaux
Area: 2,011 km2
Specialities: Bordeaux wines, Cognac, Armagnac, Espelette chilli pepper, Périgord walnuts, Marmande tomatoes, oysters from the Arcachon basin, Salers meat, Aquitaine cow, Bayonne ham, Pauillac lamb, Bordeaux canelés. Goose, duck, Sarlat apples, Basque chicken, garbure, lamprey. Black truffle.
Sport clubs: Girondins de Bordeaux (football), Stade Montois, Union Sportive Dacquoise, Aviron Bayonnais, Union Bordeaux Bègles Atlantique, Stade Rochelais, CA Brive Corrèze Limousin, Section Paloise, Biarritz Olympique, SU Agen (rugby), Elan Béarnais Pau-Orthez, CSP Limoges (basketball).
Competitions: Tour de France, surfing in Lacanau (Lacanau Pro) and Biarritz. Tour du Limousin.
Festivals: Bayonne festival, Dax festival, Madeleine festival in Mont-de-Marsan, Francofolies in La Rochelle, Angoulême comic book festival, Brive book fair, Nuits de nacre in Tulle, Grand Pavois in La Rochelle, Garorock in Marmande, Cognac detective film festival
Economy: Bordeaux wines, Cognac and Armagnac, aeronautics and space industry, biotechnologies, chemistry, scientific research. Image and digital sector. Agri-food industry. Port of Bordeaux. Tourism. Universities.
Sights: Bordeaux, Saint-Emilion, La Rochelle, Biarritz, Arcachon basin, Dune du Pilat, Lascaux caves, Futuroscope in Poitiers, Lacanau beaches, Biarritz, Biscarosse, Hourtin, Carcans, Soulac-sur-Mer, Gironde river mouth, Bordeaux vineyards, Dordogne castles, Pau castle, Pyrenees, Oleron island, Ré island.
Websites and social networks: www.nouvelle-aquitaine.fr
PYRÉNÉES-ATLANTIQUES (64)
Region: New Aquitaine
Population: 687,000
Prefecture : Pau
Subprefectures : Bayonne, Oloron-Sainte-Marie
Number of municipalities: 546
Area: 7,645 km2
Specialities: Garbure, chicken in the pot, Salies salt, Béarn charcuterie, Jurançon wine for Béarn, piperade, axoa, Basque chicken, Basque cake, Irouléguy wine for the Basque Country
Sports clubs: Women's rugby: AS Bayonne, RC Lons; Men's rugby: Aviron Bayonnais, Biarritz Olympique, Section Paloise; Basketball: Elan Béarnais; Hockey: Hormadi d'Anglet; Football: Pau FC; Handball: Billère HB.
Competitions: Pau Automobile Grand Prix; Pau Eventing Competition
Festivals : Fêtes de Bayonne, Festival Hestiv'Òc
Economy : agropastoralism, hydroelectricity, agri-food, aeronautics, thermalism
Websites and social networks:
http://www.le64.fr / https://www.facebook.com/pages/D%C3%A9partement-des-Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es-Atlantiques/720037604708106 / https://twitter.com/departement64
Km 7
JURANÇON (Pop: 7,100)
Jurançon is world famous for its white wines (a dry AOC since 1975 and a sweet AOC since 1936), which were often served on the table of Henri IV and were particularly appreciated by novelist Colette. Legend has it that Henri IV was baptized by having his lips rubbed with a clove of garlic and jurançon. The main grape varieties of the appellation are Petit and Gros Manseng. These wines can be discovered at the Maison du Jurançon and at the Cave du Jurançon, located in Gan. Jurançon is the birthplace of skier Annie Famose, double Olympic medallist at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics, and one of the founders of the resort of Avoriaz in the Alps. The city was also the start of an individual time trial won by Primoz Roglic in the last Vuelta.
Km 28.7
GOÈS
Castle of Goes
Construction: 1385, then 15th and 17th century.
History: it belonged to the family of Montesquiou-Sainte-Colomme who built a fortified house in the 16th century and sold it to a canon of Oloron. It then passed to Gaillard de Gassion, then to the Colomiè family and finally to the Casaucau family.
Characteristics: the current building dates from the beginning of the 16th century and was modified in the 17th century. It takes the form of a rectangular, single-storey dwelling with a slate-covered, double-pitched Béarnais roof. The façade is flanked by a round and a square turret. The entrance is through an arched door with a lintel bearing the inscription 1617. In a room to the left of the entrance is a Renaissance fireplace made of Lasseube limestone. The few openings and the loopholes attest to the defensive role of the former fortified house.
Current destination: it is now a riding school.
Km 30.3
OLORON-SAINTE-MARIE
The city of art and history is known for its rich heritage in the heart of its three historic districts. Oloron-Sainte-Marie displays 2,000 years of history through the treasures of the Sainte-Marie Cathedral, the Grède Tower, the Maison du Patrimoine (House of Heritage) and the Notre-Dame Crypt. The city is also the ideal starting point for venturing into the great valleys of the Atlantic Pyrenees, the Ossau, Aspe and Barétous valleys in the Béarn-Pyrénées region. City of rugby and of poet Jules Supervielle, it is also a cycling town. In 1977, a stage of the Tour set off from Oloron towards Vitoria, where Dietrich Thurau won. Oloron was also the town of Bernard Becaas, Bernard Hinault's and then Laurent Fignon's loyal lieutenant at Renault Gitanes. Winner of a stage in the Giro d'Italia in 1982, he took part in four Tours de France between 1979 and 1983 and died tragically in 2000 in a motorbike accident at the age of 45.
St. Mary's Cathedral
Construction: 12th to 14th centuries.
Style: Romanesque and Gothic.
History: the church of Oloron was destroyed in 848 by the Vikings. In 1102, the Viscount of Bearn Gaston IV the Crusader decided to build a new cathedral. The Romanesque portal protected by the bell tower remains. The nave was built in the 13th century, as was the current sacristy. In 1569, when the Huguenots of Montgomery arrived in Oloron, the cathedral was pillaged and ravaged. It was returned to Bishop Arnaud de Maytie in 1602, then enlarged by Bishop François de Revol in 1749 with four side chapels with altarpieces on either side of the nave. This cathedral was the seat of the former diocese of Oloron, abolished in 1802. In 1909, the bishop of Bayonne took over the title of bishop of Oloron and Lescar. Since then, the diocese of Bayonne, Lescar and Oloron has had one mother church (Bayonne cathedral) and two co-cathedrals (Oloron cathedral and Lescar cathedral).
Characteristics: its sculpted Romanesque portal from the 12th century is what makes it so famous. The treasure, located inside the building, hides a small Béarnais cot, a collection of clothes and numerous pieces of silverware. Unfortunately, parts of the treasure were stolen in November 2019.
Listing: Historical Monument since 1939. Unesco World Heritage Site in 1998 as part of the Pilgrimage Route to Santiago de Compostela.
Grède Tower
Construction: 13th century.
History: the building was probably dedicated to trade in the 14th century. In the following century, the building grew in size as its owners wished to show their affluence through original architecture.
Current use: the tower currently houses a collection of local fauna. Its belvedere, at the top, offers a panoramic view of the city and the Pyrenees.
Listing: Historical Monument since 1943.
Km 40
ANCE-FÉAS
Born from the merger of the communes of Ance and Féas in 2017. Féas was the birthplace of a great figure in French rugby, Robert Paparemborde, former international prop of the French national team (52 caps), former president of the Racing Club de France and vice-president of the French Rugby Union, who died of cancer in 2001.
Km 45.3
ARAMITS
This is the village of Aramis, one of Alexandre Dumas' three musketeers.
The Musketeers of Barétous
With no less than three musketeers having a link with the valley, Barétous can pride itself on being the valley of the musketeers. The village of Aramits, the capital of Barétous, is undoubtedly the birthplace of the Aramitz family, whose Henri, born around 1620, inspired Alexandre Dumas' Aramis. A few leagues away, near the church of Lanne, a large square house would have belonged to a nephew of Isaac de Portau, alias Dumas' Porthos. Even more than Aramis, this character, who is so alive in the novel, has left few clues to his history. Of the four musketeers, Athos, who was born near Sauveterre around 1620, has nothing to do with the valley, although he was related to the Count de Tréville. Mr de Tréville was born in Oloron in 1958 to Jean de Peyrer and Marie d'Aramitz (sister of the musketeer Charles), whose real name was Arnaud Jean du Peyrer, and whose mother had strong ties to Barétous. He took up the profession of arms at the age of 17 and, thanks to his bravery, rose through the military hierarchy until he was given command of the musketeers in 1634. As we can see, the true history of the musketeers fully justifies the valley's claim to a part of their history. Under these conditions, it is not surprising that its rallying cry is now "One for all, all for Barétous!
Aventure Parc® Aramits
This amusement park offers acrobatic courses in height: more than 120 games in the trees in unlimited on thirteen adventure courses of different levels. Activities for all, access to games from a height of one metre: jumping mattresses, AirBag Adventure, paintball in the forest. The Adventure Catapult propels visitors into the air at a height of over twenty metres.
Km 63
LICQ-ATHÉREY
The bridge at Licq, known as the Laminak Bridge, is the subject of a lively legend. It is said to have remained unfinished because its construction was entrusted to the Laminaks, half-human, half-beast goblins who live only at night and who accepted the work in exchange for the most beautiful girl in the village. Her grieving fiancé had woken up the village rooster to crow before the end of the construction and put the goblins to flight.
Km 71.2
SAINTE-ENGRÂCE
Surrounded by forests, mossy hills and meadows suitable for pastoral activity, the village of Santa Engràce is famous for the Kakuetta Caves, but also for its 11th-century Romanesque church, Santa Grazi. The Navarrese Abbey of Leire founded the Romanesque church of Santa Grazi (1085), named after a young Portuguese noblewoman who took refuge here to escape persecution. With its hospital for pilgrims, the abbey became an important stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. The only survivor of its heyday is the listed 11th century church, a rare example of Romanesque architecture.
Kakuetta Gorge
Opened to the public in 1966, the Kakuetta Gorge immediately catches the visitor's eye with its beauty: a turquoise lake, a canyon, a waterfall of more than 20 m, vertiginous walls shining with fresh water and luxuriant vegetation. In this Upper Swabian country, only smugglers used to take the steep paths. It took the audacity of a caving enthusiast, Edouard-Alfred Martel, to dare to venture into this labyrinth of rocks and faults at the beginning of the 20th century. In the past, the farmers used to bring down the wheat from the high cliffs to the water mill installed at the entrance of the Kakuetta Gorge (the latter was washed away by the 1937 floods), and then they would bring up the heavy sacks of flour by the same route.
Verna Cave
Accessible by reservation only, the La Verna cave is known throughout the world for its extraordinary dimensions. It is part of the la Pierre-Saint-Martin pit, which is very popular with sports cavers. It is one of the ten largest underground chambers in the world: 245 metres in diameter and 194 metres high (it could contain up to six Notre-Dame de Paris cathedrals). The extraordinary human adventure linked to the discovery of the Verna is the main theme of the guided and commented tour, which follows a secure 800-metre route, accessible to people with reduced mobility.
Km 87.7
SOUDET PASS
It links the Barétous and Soule valleys, the municipalities of Arette and Tardets-Sorholus, the provinces of Béarn and the Basque Country, on the road to the ski resort of La Pierre Saint-Martin, as well as to the Pierre Saint-Martin pass, which is three kilometres away and lies on the border. Col de Soudet has already featured seven times in the Tour de France, between 1987 and 2020, when Marc Hirschi was first at the top, already during a stage between Pau and Laruns.
Km 108.4
ARETTE
On 13 August 1967, the village of Arette was 80 pc destroyed by an earthquake of magnitude 5.5, which killed one person. It was the strongest earthquake in France since 1909. The former president of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, Nelson Paillou, who died in 1997, lived in Arette. The Pierre Saint-Martin resort, the finish of a stage of the 2015 Tour, won by Chris Froome, lies in the commune of Arette.
The House of Barétous
In the heart of the village of Arette, the museographic space La Maison du Barétous opened its doors in July 2009, to allow visitors to discover the Barétous valley, a land of movement and traditions with multiple facets, detailed in different exhibition rooms. Speleology, seismology, pastoralism, musketeers, emigrations... so many riches that have made the history of the Barétous valley.
Km 120.4
LOURDIOS-ICHÈRE
The village of Lourdios-Ichère, where one finds the pretty eco-museum of the Aspe valley, is especially famous for its former mayor, Jean Lassalle, candidate in the French presidential elections of 2017 and 2022. A native of the village and a member of parliament since 2002, he made a name for himself in 2006 when he went on hunger strike to prevent the departure of the Toyal factory from the Aspe valley.
Km 147
MARIE BLANQUE PASS
It links the valleys of Aspe and Ossau. The Tour de France has been riding it regularly since 1978. In 2020, it was Marc Hirschi who was in the lead.
Km 154.5
BILHÈRES-EN-OSSAU
Bilhères is situated on the road to the Marie Blanque pass, a pass separating the valleys of Aspe and Ossau, regularly crossed by the Tour de France. The village is made up of old houses with beautiful 16th and 17th century doors, decorated with decorative keys. It is also a stronghold of pastoralism with the Benou plateau. Finally, it is a very lively place in summer with the concerts offered by the Auberge du chemin de Perchades. There are many hiking paths from Bilhères or Benou, including the Cercles de pierres and the Turon de Técouère.
Km 158.1
BIELLE
On the left bank of the Gave d'Ossau, the commune is the capital of the Ossau valley. The church of Saint-Vivien was built in the 15th and 16th centuries in a flamboyant gothic style with cross and tierceron vaults, a polygonal apse, sculpted capitals, keystones and lampposts, Gallo-Roman columns, embattled doors and a square bell tower.
The Vulture Cliff
In the communes of Bielle, Aste-Béon, Bilhères and Castet, there is a natural reserve for the nesting of griffon vultures, created by ministerial decree on 11 December 1974. The reserve is managed by the Pyrenees National Park. Two sites on a total area of 82.3 hectares, on a cliff at an altitude of 1,000 m, have been protected to favour the reproduction of griffon vultures, which need abundant food and perfect tranquility. The reserve is also home to 5 or 6 couples of Egyptian vultures.
Gave d'Ossau
Main tributary, by its flow, of the Gave d'Oloron, it springs at altitude (Pic du Midi d'Ossau, 2,884 m). A mountain torrent in its upper course, its bed widens between Arudy and Laruns. The valley, 35 km long, stretches from the Spanish border to the plain of Pau, and is one of the 3 Bearn valleys. It is a pastoral valley with its transhumance and its ancestral traditions. Its flagship product is the pure ewe's milk cheese called Laruns. The Ossau valley is also a skiing haven with its resorts of Artouste-Fabrèges and Gourette, a valley where you can treat yourself or get back into shape with its thermal spas. When looking at the mountains from Pau’s Boulevard des Pyrénées, it is the Ossau massif that is in sight.
Km 160.5
GÈRE-BÉLESTEN
The municipality is made up of two villages that came together at the end of the Middle Ages. The old quarter, more picturesque, is stuck to the mountain. A fortified house, known as the Tower of Ore, is located near the church of Gère, and dates from the 13th and 14th centuries. It has been listed as a historical monument since 1997. The castle of Gère, former seat of a lay abbey, dates from the 16th century. In the Monplaisir district, there used to be a racecourse where races were organised for the spa tourists. No trace of it remains today. An original feature: the old railway tunnel was converted into a cheese salting room.
On the French side of the Pyrenees mountains, reaching towards the Atlantic ocean, discover nature at its finest. From the snow-topped ski slopes and majestic waterfalls, to rugged hiking trails and vast stretches of greenery. Whether you choose snow sports, dry land of water-based activities, this invigorating area has plenty to offer adventurers throughout the year. Between the peaks and rivers, you'll find charming French towns steeped in history and local culture. The region's capital, Pau, home to an imperial Château and several museums, is a highlight for lovers of architecture and fine arts. Nearby Tarbes offers something for more modern history buffs, surrounded by equally splendid gardens and riverways.
5 things you must see in the French Pyrenees
1. The picturesque town of Pau
2. Panoramic views from the Pic du Midi
3. The parks and gardens of Tarbes
4. Pilgrimage site, Lourdes, its grotto and basilicas
5. UNESCO World Heritage site, Cirque de Gavarnie
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