Bagnères-de-Bigorre
Bagnères-de-Bigorre is a spa town in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains partly in the valley of the Adour.
Like most thermal cities, Bagnères-de-Bigorre has a casino. It is in the same building as the Aquensis thermal spa. The ski resort of La Mongie is also nearby.
Understand
The town is in the Hautes-Pyrénées department and was home to about 7,300 people in 2017. Hydrotherapy and tourism are the main activities in the commune, and there are many small- and medium-sized businesses specializing in electrical equipment, mechanical, and aerospace industries in the commune.
Climate
Spring, autumn, and winter are cool and rainy, while summer is often hot and particularly stormy.
Get in
It is 18 km (11 mi) southeast of Tarbes and 15 km (9 mi) east of Lourdes.
By car
Access to Bagnères is by the D935 road from Tarbes which passes through the north-eastern tip of the commune and the town before continuing southeast to Beaudéan. The D938 branches off the D935 in the town and goes north to Tournay. The D29 goes from Beaudéan to the centre of the commune with no exit. The D918 from Barèges passes through the southeast of the commune through the hamlet of La Mongie and continues northeast to Sainte-Marie-de-Campan. Apart from the town area the commune is mostly mountainous with few roads.
By bus
The TER bus connect Bagnères and Tarbes from the old railway station which is now known as the bus station.
By plane
The nearest airport is Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport some 30 km (19 miles) to the north.
By train
The town doesn't have rail service. The line that once served it has been abandoned and dismantled.
See
- 🌍 Grands thermes de Bagnères-de-Bigorre, 5 Boulevard Rolland, ☏ +33 5 62 95 00 23. The Grand Thermal Baths of Bagnères-de-Bigorre are traditionally employed for treatment of rheumatism, nervous afflictions, indigestion, and other maladies. The naturally-sourced waters vary in temperature from 32 to 57 °C (90 to 135 °F).
- 🌍 Musée Salies. The Salies Museum of Fine Arts which lies below the oldest part of the thermal baths, the Dauphin baths dating from 1783
- 🌍 Église Saint-Jean de Bagnères-de-Bigorre (Church of Saint John), 1 Rue Saint-Jean (corner of rue Saint-Jean and rue des Thermes). This former church was built in 1280. After the Revolution, the church was transformed into a theatre. It was destroyed by fire in 1901. The portico and its central portal alone remain. Its portal is listed as a historic monument.
- 🌍 Conservatoire botanique Pyrénéen, Vallon de Salut, ☏ +33 5 62 95 85 30. open to the public Friday afternoons in the warmer months. A botanical conservatory specializing in flora of the Pyrenees. The conservatory was established in 1999 to preserve the endemic plant species of the Pyrenees. It is primarily a research establishment but also contains the herbarium collections of Louis Ramond de Carbonnières, Pierrine Gaston-Sacaze, Pierre Le Brun, and Georges Bosc, totalling some 30,000 specimens. Adjacent to it are the Marble Museum, with more than 300 large samples of European marble, and the Muséum Histoire Naturelle Bagnères de Bigorre.
- 🌍 Grottes de Médous (Médous caves). Natural caves accessible to visitors and a place of pilgrimage.
- 🌍 Chapelle Notre-Dame de La Mongie.
- The Church of Saint Vincent (1557) was built on a sanctuary of paleo-Christian origin. The style is High Gothic on the west façade while the south side is distinguished by its Renaissance style porch. The church contains several items that are registered as historical objects.
Do
- Stade Bagnérais. The local Rugby union team playing in "Federale1", the third tier of French rugby.