Bagnères-de-Bigorre

Bagnères-de-Bigorre - is a town and commune (with about 7,000 inhabitants) in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the French region of Occitanie, located at the foot of the Pyrenees in the valley of the river Adour, just over 20 km south of Tarbes and just over 20 km east of Lourdes (➤ mapka)(➤ mapka). Spa, tourist center.

The area where today's Bagnères-de-Bigorre is located was conquered by Julius Caesar in 56 BC, and the settlement itself, called Vicus Aquensis, became famous for its thermal springs. Today, visitors can use the "Grands Thermes de Bagnères-de-Bigorre" and other spa buildings to treat e.g. rheumatism, psychosomatic diseases and respiratory diseases.

The city is located on the D935 road, in the historic province of Haut-Adour, which was once part of Bigorre County.

In the picturesque old town, it is worth paying attention to, among others: the 15th-century Gothic tower, Tour des Jacobins , which is a remnant of the former Dominican monastery, the portico of the church of St. Jana (Église Saint-Jean de Bagnères-de-Bigorre) dating back to the end of the 13th century, destroyed by fire in 1901 (the portico is the only surviving fragment of the church), and the 14th-century church of Saint-Vincent . Marker are marked with the "Great Thermal Baths"; the spa buildings of Aquensis also houses the local casino. There are three museums in the city, including the Marble Museum (Musée du Marbre) opened in 2007 with a collection of about 300 large samples of European marble.




Approx. 2 km south of the city center there is an entrance to the Grottes de Médous cave with numerous stalactites and stalagmites, open to the public. Continuing southeast on the D935 and then turning onto the D918, you can reach La Mongie , the largest ski resort in the French Pyrenees, located at the foot of Pic du Midi de Bigorrre (2876 m), one of the most famous peaks of the Central Pyrenees.