Bagnères-de-Luchon, France
Bagnères-de-Luchon cycling information, submitted by: Owen
La Corneille
What you love about this place
Close to some epic Pyrenean climbs and the Spanish border.
Anything else you want to mention about the town?
Great central location for cycling.
Any climbs nearby?
- Col de Peyresourde
- Superbagneres
- Col de Portet d'Aspet
Other comments from Owen
We stayed at La Corneille on a Baxter STI tour in 2008. Great hotel, quiet, but very close to the main street. Can't remember if it had wifi, but the rooms were good, and the restaurant was great. Fed a group of 30 of us (about 50/50 split between riders and non-riders) for breakfast and dinner for the 4 days we were there.
Just loved Luchon. Beautiful spa town, and located at the foot of the Peyresourde. There's also a chairlift up to Superbagneres, so on the TdF rest day a group of us rode up there, and my wife and some other non-riders took the chairlift up and met us for a feed. One of the best rides I've ever done.
Tim's Comments
Ah yes! Bagneres!
What a pretty place. Kate and I passed through here in 2011, on our way to watch Stage 12 of the Tour (from Arreau).
It's a very lovely town and a great base for cycling.
Where to Ride
As Owen says, there are a bunch of great mountains right of Bagneres' doorstep. In addition, a short drive (<50km or so) can put you at the Tourmalet, Aspin, Hautacam, Soulor, Aubisque, Marie Blanque, Col de Port and many more.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Riding up the Peyresourde"]
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(Google Map of Pyrenees climbs or see embed below).
View Pyrenees in a larger map
Worth mentioning is Bageneres' proximity to Spain. It's but a short ride up the devilish little Col du Portillon and down into Spain where through the magic of crossing the French-Spanish border, food is way cheaper (and in my opinion better) and the jamon – LORDY THE JAMON!
The Col du Portillon is an ace little climb. Very pitchy, lots of switchbacks – great fun.
If you stay in Bagneres, it's definitely worth riding across into Bossost. We stayed on the Spanish side of the border for a few days in 2011 – read about it.
How to get there
Bagneres de Luchon is well served by the La Pyreneenne Autoroute only 40km away, so driving there from the north or east (Alps, Provence, Med Coast etc) or west (Toulouse) is not a problem.
Where to stay
Given Bagneres is a spa AND ski town, there is a lot of accommodation around.
Find accommodation on Expedia or Booking.com
More reading
Read more about the area with my climb up the Peyresourde and the Spanish side of the border nearby.
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