Discover the Mesmerising Pyrénées Mountain Range
Originally posted on & updated on 14th January, 2025
Hello from southwest France, as we’re getting in the mood for the ski season, we want to tell you about a recent trip to Saint Lary, or Saint-Lary-Soulan as it’s officially called. We love Saint Lary, both in summer and in winter, because in summertime, it has great walks and river rapids to die for, and in winter, it’s beautiful and offers some of the best skiing in the Pyrénées.
A Picturesque Mountain Town
Set in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, Saint-Lary is an old town that has a style and charm about it that knocks the new resorts out of the water when it comes to beauty and class. Located only about an hour’s drive from Tarbes, Saint Lary is within easy reach of the UK, particularly since the introduction of RyannAir’s flight from Stanstead to Tarbes-Lourdes airport. It is also only 20 minutes away from Spain, which is great news for our New Year’s trip because the plan is we’ll head over the border when we arrive to stock up on really cheap food and wine.
Skiing Paradise: Something for Everyone
One of the largest resorts in the Pyrénées, it’s unsurprising that Saint Lary is such a popular resort. With over 100km of downhill slopes, it boasts 53 pistes. It’s a real ‘something for everyone’ resort with three distinct stations: Saint Lary 1700, Saint Lary 1900 and Saint Lary 2400. Saint Lary 1700 is where families normally head. Known as the Pla d’Adet, the first station at Saint Lary has a snow kindergarten, toboggan run and the ‘kids park’, which is the snow park aimed at kids aged between 6 and 12. Saint Lary 1900 is where more accomplished skiers head and 2400 boasts a range of moguls and slalom pistes with access to Lake Oule, where you can snow-shoe.
Summer Adventures in Saint Lary
All of that said, there’s a whole lot more to Saint Lary than just skiing. In summer there are great walks, with the GR10 passing through the village, and the ski lifts are even geared up to take mountain bikes up the hill so you can come down at speed without having to think about how you’ll get back up again.
Village Full of Delights
The village of Saint Lary has everything you could wish for in terms of a week or two-week-long stay. There’s a host of restaurants, bars, and a range of food shops that offer everything from charcuterie to ready-made dishes to delicious chocolates and cheeses. In fact, you could easily book a self-catering stay in Saint Lary and eat delicious homemade-tasting food every day without even needing to switch the cooker on. Add to this the fact that you can enjoy an alfresco aperitif in the winter sun, and you start to get a flavour of what this lovely village can bring.
Bars with Endless Charm
When it comes to bars, there isn’t one that’s necessarily better than the other because they all have individual charm. And that’s great news because it means that during a week’s stay, you need to try them all and pop back to your favourites just to narrow down your shortlist of the top three.
Thinking of Moving to the Pyrénées?
If you’d like to move to this area of southwest France, or any other part of the country, why not get in touch?
Search, Save and Review
