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Through the PyreneesFrom Toulouse to Barcelona
On this splendid journey, you combine two vibrant cities with spectacular rail trips through the French and Spanish peaks. In complete contrast to the bustle of Toulouse and Barcelona, you spend your middle three nights at a mountain hideaway high in the Pyrenees, with the opportunity to explore on snow-shoes, a superb way to appreciate the stillness of the mountains and the clarity of the light. Nights: 7 Starting point: Hotel Mermoz (3*), Toulouse. Our comfortable, centrally located hotel is named after Jean Mermoz, a pioneer of early 20th-century airborne exploration. Equipped with a small bar, the hotel is modern, with hints of Art Deco in the furnishings. You stay on a bed and breakfast basis. Day 1: your first day is free to explore Toulouse and its ancient brick-built buildings. This is a distinctly southern city, with a vibrancy and cosmopolitan atmosphere second only to Paris. Be sure not to miss the striking basilica of St Sernin, one of the largest Romanesque churches ever built, and the church of Les Jacobins. You could also visit the excellent museum of art - which boasts a large collection of Romanesque works, plus pieces by later artists such as Rubens and Toulouse-Lautrec - or the planetarium and other space-related exhibitions within the Cité de l’Espace. Accommodation: Hotel Mermoz, as above. Day 2: your first three-and-a-half-hour train journey is very scenic, beginning across a broad plain, then rising to the spa town of Ax-les-Thermes. From here, the landscapes become increasingly dramatic as you ascend through the Ariège Valley, and you pass through a tunnel to reach the Cerdagne, a large plateau ringed by the eastern peaks of the Pyrenees. You are met by a taxi at Latour-de-Carol and taken to your mountain hideaway. Accommodation: Auberge des Ecureuils (3*), Valcebollère. Situated at the head of a secluded valley, this atmospheric mountain retreat offers attractive accommodation, superb cuisine blending classic French dishes with Pyrenean specialities, and warm hospitality from English-speaking hosts Etienne and Patricia Laffitte.
Days 3 & 4: the magnificent mountains surrounding Valcebollère offer rewarding cross-country skiing for intermediates upwards right from the door. They also invite more leisurely exploration on snow-shoes, an activity for which you need no previous experience and which often rewards you with sightings of wildlife (you can hire skis and snow-shoes from the hotel). Of course, you may prefer simply to relax at the auberge and to make the most of the cosy atmosphere. Accommodation: Auberge des Ecureuils, as above. Day 5: today you are taken by taxi to Puigcerdà, from where your train descends out of the mountains and crosses the plain below to reach Barcelona (pay locally; approx. 10 euros). The first section through the southern flank of the Pyrenees is particularly picturesque. The journey takes approximately three-and-a-quarter hours.
Accommodation: Hotel Colón (4*), Barcelona. The location of this elegant hotel is unrivalled. Here, in the heart of the Old Town and right opposite the cathedral, you are within very easy reach of Las Ramblas, the focal point of the city. The bedrooms are smart and air-conditioned, and there is a pleasant lounge in which to relax. We can offer other high-quality, conveniently located hotels when this is not available. Your stay in Barcelona is on a bed and breakfast basis. Day 6: you have a full day to explore Spain’s most cosmopolitan city. A good place to start is Las Ramblas, the boulevard running through the Ciutat Vella (Old Town). Lined with shops, restaurants and cafés and frequented by street entertainers, this one street sums up the city: vibrant and self-confident. Many historic buildings, including the Gothic cathedral, can be found in the streets leading off Las Ramblas, especially in the dark, twisted alleys of the Barri Gòtic, Barcelona's medieval heart. The main shopping district is the Eixample. Here, you can discover many examples of late 19th-century and early 20th-century modernista architecture, including the Sagrada Familia, Gaudí's unfinished church, and numerous other buildings that he designed. Barcelona’s wide variety of museums includes a Museum of Modern Art and another devoted entirely to Picasso. Accommodation: Hotel Colón, as above. Similar holidays: From Innsbruck to Venice, The Glacier Express, Austria's Great Cities Prices & travel 2009:
Included travel: British Airways out Gatwick-Toulouse (1h45) (dep 1455), home Barcelona-Gatwick (2h15) (arr 1415 or 2150) > Notes on prices > Any queries? Let us call you back  |
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The splendid mountains surrounding Valcebollère 
