French Holiday Ideas | Activity Holidays in the French Pyrenees: fun for everyone

Can’t sit still? Want to be outdoors in stunning scenery, surrounded by great wildlife? Well, whether you’re an adrenalin junkie or enjoy a more sedate pace, the French High (Haute) Pyrenees offers something for everyone.

Every summer, locals and visitors do activities ranging from walking to trekking to mountain biking to paragliding to canyoning... on the flat, on the peaks, under-ground, on rivers, or in the sky, everybody finds something they like.

The French Haute Pyrenees are unique. They’re accessible, with villages and towns offering all the modern amenities you’d expect and want from a holiday. However, unlike other European mountain ranges, the Pyrenees have very few roads cutting across them. This means you can truly get away from it all relatively quickly and cycle, horse-ride, trek, climb- whatever takes your fancy- without seeing anybody else. Watch out for those bears and eagles though!

So what are the main summer activities that draw people here and how can you enjoy them the most?
On your own feet: Hiking, trekking, walking.

From gentle strolls round sleepy mountain villages to hair-raising edges and towering peaks, you can walk for an hour, a day, weeks, or months. Famous hiking trails that run across the Pyrenees are the GR10 (French side), GR11 (Spanish side) and HRP (Haute Route, following the highest trails along the border) traversing the whole length of the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean coast. These are 500 miles long, taking over 6 weeks to hike, but don’t let that put you off - there are plenty of day walks too!

Stunning scenery in the Pyrenees

With wheels:

Cycling and biking. Road cyclists can follow famous Tour De France routes, mountain bikers can use the ski-lifts to access adrenalin raising downhill courses. In Summer many of the ski resorts are also open for fun family activities including downhill karting, scooters and mountain boarding, with the ski lifts doing the hard work for you.

Get some wings:

Paragliding. The favourable Pyrenean thermals mean you can be soaring like a bird for an hour or more.

Get wet :

Raft or kayak after the snow has melted and swollen the rivers, or try canyoning, where you have to follow the course of a river using a combination of swimming, climbing, abseiling and jumping.
Go deep: Caving allows you to see how the Pyrenees are as spectacular underground as they are overground.

On 4 legs:

Horse-riding is a firm family favourite, with treks lasting from 1 hour to days.
Be like a spider: Rock-climbing or the Via Ferrata routes, where you use rungs and cables, allow you to cling to the soaring cliffsides.

Of course there are many more activities – swimming in mountain lakes and rivers or the village open-air pool, treetop parks, or just relaxing in the local park playing football or basketball. When it gets all too much, you can also head to thermal villages like Bareges and relax in the local spa.



With so much on offer, it’s important to book an activity holiday that’s right for you and your group. So here are our top tips:

1. Check when is the best time of year for your chosen activity

Want to walk and see the spring flowers? Remember spring comes late in the French Pyrenees, so you’re looking at late May to early July. Fancy white-water rafting? The rivers run fastest in the early summer, but the water is much warmer in August when the snow-melt has finished.

2. Be realistic about your fitness, ability and how active you want to be...

Research before what is required from you, emailing or phoning the activity companies you will be using. Over-estimating your fitness and motivation can lead to a soul-crushing experience, but underestimating it can lead to a boring one.

3. ...and be realistic about how much other people in your party want to do!

If you have varying tastes, fitness levels, and abilities, try a multi-activity holiday. There’s bound to be something that everyone enjoys.

4. Keep an open mind when out there

No-one can control the weather! If you arrive and it’s less than favourable conditions for your chosen activity, see what you can do in the weather you have. Too hot for a trek? Try paragliding. Raining? Who cares about rain when you’re in a river white-water rafting.

5. Check the qualifications of your guides and the language they will be guiding in

A good company will tell you what qualifications they have, and provide links to their regulating body. Also check the language – a qualified, experienced French-speaking caving guide is of limited use if you only speak English.

6. Take the right kit.

Check if there are kit lists and then follow them. Walking around in wet trainers for a week because you canyoned in them the first day and forgot to bring a second pair is no fun.

7. Check your travel insurance

What altitude does it allow you to go to? What activities does it cover? What does it exclude? And if you are a European citizen, remember to get an up-to-date EHIC card, for free French Health Care.
Finally, enjoy yourself. The French Pyrenees are a great, unspoilt location, and if you like summer there you can head back for winter sports!

Monday, 4th, July 2011 Written by Kara@mountainbug.com

For more information on activity holidays in the Pyrenees visit www.moutainbug.com

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