Midi-Pyrénées is the ideal place to unwind and relax. The spas and thermal baths have been drawing people to the area for hundreds of years. Here you will find hydro-massage, high-pressure jet seats, geysers, counter-current pools, bubble beds and musical baths set against the dramatic background of the Pyrenees.
Bagnères-de-Bigorre is the largest spa town in the region and has a pleasure dome of new age treatments on the site of the old Grands Thermes thermal baths. A glass-bottomed pool on the roof doubles as the ceiling, so as you walk in you are distracted by swimmers doing lengths over your head. There are outdoor Jacuzzis, a hammam, an audiopool where you get to listen to music while holding your breath under water, and treatment rooms where you can be wrapped in thermal mud.
It also has a number of "cures" on offer for ailments such as rheumatism or sleep disorders. If you want to stay the night, check in at the brightly painted teahouse, Les Petites Vosges, across the road, which offers four cheery rooms on a bed and breakfast basis.
The spa centre in Barèges is the highest in the Pyrenees, in the smallest spa town (local population about 250). Part of the baths are still in their original Napoleonic building (with a modern extension). Napoleon visited with his wife Eugénie in 1859 and his soldiers used the tiny mountain village to recuperate after battle. The pièce de résistance of these baths is the star room, where you can relax in the warm sulphurous waters while gazing up at the star-studded ceiling dome. For a warm welcome, stay at the nearby Hotel du Tourmalet.
At the Luchon fitness and wellness centre in Bagnères-de-Luchon you'll find a vaporarium that is unique in Europe. As you walk through underground tunnels you can enjoy a natural vapour bath, where thermal water filters through the rock face resulting in a damp, sweet-smelling heat between 38C and 42C. A wander through the vaporarium and a dip in the thermal pool costs €15. Just five minutes' walk away is the charming gite of Au Delà du Temps, where three pine-clad chalets surround a Japanese garden with a heated pool.
To find out more about this destination, visit gotofrancenow.com/midi-pyrenees
