Toulouse 3 days tour
spectacular Pyrenees mountain train & Tour de France Pass
in the national park
Great power Pyrenees mountain, highest french railway & Pyrenees hiking tour
departure point Toulouse / Pau / Lourdes
arrival Toulouse / Pau / Lourdes
journey thema: Observatory, hiking, Santiago pilgrimage, the Holy Land ,
local scenery: Travel view: World Natural Heritage, Europe's largest waterfall, lake, mountain range, Tour de France pass, mountain village Time: June 1st to October 4th
◎Pick du Midi Observatory Closed from May 1st to June 1st
◎ Lake Gove Ropeway & Lift Operating from June 1st to September 20th
( when coming from September 20th to October 4th) walk possible for 4 hours to Gaube Lake)
Price
per person : 780 €
Charter : 2,340 € (1-4 people) 2,730 € (5-7 people)
French driver will guide you in english.
*Customers' meals, lodging and entrance fees are not included.
Mileage 640 Km
Day 1
After leaving Toulouse, visit Lourdes, the Holy Land of the Catholic Church, the town at the entrance to the Pyrenees .
The spring from the cave of Virgin Mary is said to have appeared is famous for its miraculous water.
You can get water from the nearby faucet, so please take it back home. Drive to Lake Fabrege, 1250m above the Spanish border then a roapway.
Rises to an altitude of 2000m in the gondola, and ride the Pyrenees Railway Petit train of Artouste.
Enjoy a dynamic train journey that you can't imagine from the appearance of a lovely trolley train.
A one-way trip will take you about an hour on a rocky cliff. After arriving at the end point, climb up the mountain for about 15 minutes (please come in trekking shoes because of steep hills and feet), and head to the Artouste Lake Dam with beautiful blue water.
The return route will follow the same route. From the train window, you can enjoy magnificent views, alpine plants, and a flock of grazing sheep.
*Opening in 2020 is from May 21st . You will stay at Cauteret village with its peacefull 1000m altitude atmosphere resort from the 19th century.
*You can also stay in Lourdes. Arriving at Lourdes at 18:30 and departing at 8:00 the next day.
Day 2
Take the ropeway and lift to the gorgeous Gaube Lake.
You may be able to see wild guinea pigs early in the morning as there is a lot of nature around here.
Folding mountains, transparent lakes, and alpine plants blooming remind us of a scenic paradise in the sky.
Soak up your tired feet from the hike on a cold glacier lake and refresh yourself.
On the way back, we will take a lift to the middle, but we will slowly go down while exploring the Spanish bridge and its waterfalls without using gondola . We will have lunch at the small Saint-Savin village built around the Romanesque church.
There are cheeses, saussisson and good bread sold directly by the farmers in the village, so if the weather is nice you can buy food and have a picnic in the Gavarnie Valley.
Over 100,000 years, glaciers shave the mountains , hiking the 1700m-high, 5km-wide giant curl and Gavarnie Valley that were created by the erosion .
Take a stroll along the riverside promenade where there is not much difference in elevation, while looking at the highest waterfall in Europe. (If you wish, the driver will accompany you.) On the huge semi-circular rock surface, the waterfall with the largest drop of 413m in Europe flows down.
The best season is from June to July, when the greenery is beautiful and the plateau flowers bloom all over.
Overnight stay in Gavarnie village.
Day 3
Take a ropeway up to 2,877m to the Pic du Midi Observatory and you will be able to see the magnificent view of the French and Spanish Pyrenees.
In addition to the view from the observatory, which was previously only accessible to astronomers, specialists give lectures on astronomical observation, and you can sometimes observe the sun flare using a telescope.
*Closed from May 1st to May 31st.
The Pic du Midi Observatory is located between the Tourmalet and Aspin Passes, one of the famous Tour de France obstacles in the Pyrenees National Park.
It is very popular as a cycling course, and is crowded with many cyclists on holidays. It's a sight to see a mountain descending at a speed that is unlikely to be a bicycle.
It is a course that can only be reached by a private car that dynamically drives the steep mountains.
With the scenery of the magnificent Pyrenees in the background, we will stop taking photos at the pass spot, such as people bicycling over it, leisurely grazing cows, etc.
Have lunch at Luz-Saint-Sauveur village in the mountains. There are cheeses, saussisson and good bread sold directly by the farmers in the village, so if the weather is nice you can buy food and have a picnic.
Visit Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminge village, an idyllic meadow .
It was an important post town for pilgrimage to Santiago and a thriving era as a hub for trade between France and Spain.
A small settlement built around the Romanesque church is also one of the most beautiful villages in France.
Arrival to Toulouse.
program
Day 1
8:00 From Toulouse
10:00-11:00 Lourdes
12:30-16:00 Petit Train of Artouste
18:00 Arrival to Cauteret (hotel)
Day 2
09:00 Departure from cauteret
09:30-11:30 Gaube Lake
12:45-17:30 Gavarnie Great Valley
18:00 Arrival to Gavarnie (hotel)
Day 3
09:00 Departure from Gavarnie
10:15-12:00 Pic du Midi Observatory
15:30-17:00 Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminge
18:00 Arrival Toulouse (hotel)