CAMPSITES HAUTES PYRÉNÉES : 

Come to discover a historical territory at the gates of Spain ! Between plains and mountains, grandiose landscapes await you summer and winter in Hautes-Pyrénées.

Founded during Antiquity, do not miss the wonderful city of Tarbes, capital of the Pyrenees. From the 3rd century BC. JC, a stone bridge was built on its territory to cross the Adour, probably to develop the salt trade. It was the Romans who later founded the town called "Tarba". From this period survived many vestiges, including vast villas with the grandeur of Roman architecture. Much later, it was in the Haras de Tarbes that the Anglo-Arab was developed, this crossing between the races of English and Arabian horses in order to equip the Napoleonic hussars. The Massey Museum traces the history of these regiments of military horsemen in the unique setting of the house of Placide Massey, a talented botanist. Art lovers can also find an impressive collection of Fine Arts and an exhibition dedicated to the people of the territory, supported by numerous archaeological finds.

But there is also in Hautes-Pyrénées a city that enjoys an incomparable fame on the international scene. It is obviously Lourdes, third place of Catholic pilgrimage to the world. Before the apparitions of 1858, it was a simple village. Everything changed when, at the present grotto of Massabielle, a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous had seen the Virgin Mary eighteen times, attracting the attention of the Catholic community. As soon as the apparitions were recognized by the bishop of Tarbes in 1862, this former peaceful village quickly transformed into a pilgrimage site and the landscape surrounding the cave was immediately modified. The site of the sanctuaries of Lourdes, it is more than 50 hectares gathering constructions of striking beauty. The first was the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, built between 1866 and 1871 in a neogothic style. The enthusiasm for Lourdes, however, only increased and the need to build other places of worship for the pilgrims became urgent. Thus, in 1889, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, the jewel of Roman-Byzantine architecture, the huge Saint Pius X Basilica with a capacity of 25,000 faithful and the Holy Church -Bernadette, inaugurated in 1988 at the site of the last apparition. The site receives several million visitors each year, between pilgrims and curious to admire its splendor.

If the mountains of the Hautes-Pyrenees also have their regulars, it is because their perched stations are must-sees in skiing and balneotherapy. Sport or relaxation, no need to choose in Cauterets ! Sublime landscapes on a ski area of 22 tracks, complete relaxation in the center of Bains du Rocher... Relaxing in the mountains has never been so easy !