Guide to Lannemezan

The town of Lannemezan is perfectly situated for exploring as it is at midway point in the French Pyrenees. It affords panoramic views of the mountains including the Pic Du Midi, which boasts one of the largest planet observatories, constructed on its summit. It can only be reached by a 15 minute journey in a cable car. (Don’t look down!)

Lannemezan itself is a medium size town with a good selection of shops-bars and restaurants to suit everyone. It holds a colourful bustling market on Wednesday mornings which has a real French flavour with the smells of fresh bread-strawberries-herbs and spices filling the air.

If you are a keen golfer, there is an 18 hole course with Pyrenean views to enjoy. The club house serves excellent food too.

The Tour De France often starts from Lannemezan on stage 11, heading south to the town of Foix. The town is also a great position to strike off to Spain on well directed traffic-free roads. You can be there in less than 30 minutes. Alternately, there are great GR10 routes to explore on foot. Some of which take in the Pyrenees National Park with rewards of breath-taking scenery en route. If you prefer to ski, there are many excellent resorts close-by. There is even a cross country course at Cap Nistos where the new trend of raquette walking is becoming very popular.

Maybe the most precious jewel in the crown for Lannemezan is that it still maintains its normal day to day lifestyle and is blissfully unaware of the rat-race. So if your idea of a holiday is to change down a gear or two, you will love this part of France.

Lannemezan can be reached by the main auto-route through France or by Pau or Toulouse airports equally about 1 hour by car. The Atlantic coast of Biarritz is a 2 hour drive west and the Mediterranean coast of Perpignan is the same distance if you drive east. There is also a main rail station which supplies a very good service on the edge of town.

Written by Karen Boatwright - Owner of Property 92810 in Lannemezan, France