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A Spa Holiday in France
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By Anil Mulchandani
While for most Indians, France means Paris and the Rivera in South-East France, the South-West of France offers a delightfully relaxing holiday with the snow-capped Pyrenees, beautiful beaches like Biarittz and some of the best-known spa villages of France, all in easy driving distance of each other. This is ‘Farming France’ where the produce of the plains, the livestock o f pastoral people, the hills and the oysters of the coast make for some superb food and wines.
PAU-PYRENEES
Fly to Paris and change for Pau, one of France's greenest regional capitals with a profusion of trees, flowering shrubs, English gardens, public parks and corn fields. About 20 minutes drive from the Pau-Pyrenees Airport is the famous Parc Beaumont where Hotel Parc Beaumont is one of the most relaxing places to stay. This hotel has rooms overlooking the parklands, with private balconies where a couple can enjoy their morning and evening tea while looking out to the Pyrenees and the blooms in the garden. Relax for a few days here enjoying the massages and spa treatments, swimming in the indoor temperature-controlled swimm ing pool, unwinding in the Jacuzzi and sauna/steam room.
From this hotel, you can walk to Boulevard des Pyrenees to see the panorama of snow peaks. At the end of the walk on the promenade, you come to the Chateau de Pau. This castle has a hallowed past – the much-loved King Henry IV of France and Navarre was born here on December 13, 1553, Napoleon stayed in the castle and the small garden was tended by Marie Antoinette when she spent much of the summer in the city. The castle has a fabulous collection of rich tapestries besides fine porcelain and oak furniture.
Salies de Béarn is also a spa town because the hot mineral waters of the town are known for their high salt content. The thermal spa treatments in Salies de Béarn are legendary. You can make base at Hotel du Parc, which has a casino and is just across the road from the spa baths and have access to a variety of sports from the fabulous surf of the Atlantic coast to the skiing and white water sports of the Pyrénéan Mountains, tennis, horse-riding, swimming, fishing, sailing, walking, rock climbing, cycling, mountain biking and golf.
If you are a golfer, visit the historic Pau Golf Club with a collection of antique golf clubs, golfing memorabilia, paintings and pictures of the days when only the British could play golf here and the French boys were caddies, and pe riod furniture. The dining room and bar is a superb setting for a drink or a meal. The fox-hunting club is an exciting place. The days of the blood sport of fox-hunting is over, fortunately for the fox and animal lovers, and this is now a place for those who love horses, riding and dogs. A scent is dragged over a trail and the pack of fox-hounds released to race towards the ‘drag’. Riders go in pursuit, jumping over stiles, gates and ditches and in the end kennel the hounds.
For excitement, visit the Pau Arnos Circuit racing track where you can watch the powerful Formula-three cars being driven over the contours. Don helmets, gloves, racesuits and boots before getting into a saloon or an open Legends car with an experienced driver at the wheel for an exhilarating drive on the circuit.
If wine is more your scene than sports, visit the vineyards of the Jurancon hillsides facing the Pyrénées -here you can taste dry and sweet white wines that are the region'sspeciality.
THE HEALING WATERS
From Pau, take the road to Lourdes which is one of the most visited places in Christendom. This spiritual town is famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes that are reported to have occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous and gets lacs of visitors every year. It is a moving experience to watch disa bled people on crutches or even stretcher cases moving towards the shrine and taking the waters, attending mass and joining the candle-lit procession in the evening.
A few minutes south of Lourdes, Argèles-Gazost, is an enchanting spa village nestled in the Pyrenees Featuring a casino and a lovely downtown area, this town offers a view of the surrounding High Pyrenees. This is an ideal destination if you like to combine spa treatments with outdoor activities like hiking and skiing in the Pyrenees. Salies de Béarn is also a spa town because the hot mineral waters of the town are known for their high salt content. The thermal spa treatments in Salies de Béarn are legendary. You can make base at Hotel du Parc, which has a casino and is just across the road from the spa baths and have access to a variety of sports from the fabulous surf of the Atlantic coast to the skiing and white water sports of the Pyrénéan Mountains, tennis, horse-riding, swimming, fishing, sailing, walking, rock climbin g, cycling, mountain biking and golf.
Another centre and portal for mountain activities is Oloron-Sante-Marie, positioned at the junction of two rivers, from where you can head to the Pyrenees for skiing, cycling, white water rafting, canyoning and rambling. From here, you can explore the beauty of the Pyrenees. Visit the Cirque de Troumouse, a semi-circle of precipitous cliffs with high snow-covered peaks rising up behind them and the Cirque de Gavarnie, a breathtakingly beautiful valley 800 meters deep and 3000 meters wide. The latter boasts the multi-tiered waterfall called Grande Cascade de Gavarnie, the tallest waterfall in France stretching about 1500 ft in all. A couple of hours walk towards the fall offers an opportunity to see sceneries of jagged peaks, lush greenery, wild flowers, butter flies and birdlife. These hills are home to European brown bears, marmots, foxes, eagles, owls, majestic vultures, colourful hill birds and alpine wildlife. This is also the land of mountain villages and shepherds. There are horses, donkeys and mules at the trail head for those who do not care to do a lot of walking. Spenda few nights at intimate inns and mountain lodges in the Pyrenees where you can also get robust rural French food and superb mountain views.
THE BEAUTIFUL BEACH RESORTS
From the Pyrenees, the road slopes down to the beautiful beaches and wonderful surf of the Basque coastline. For a luxurious spa holiday on the coast, head for the Hotel Du Palais at Biarritz. This grand property has a grand entrance hallway with chandeliers, richly carpeted floors, dark wooden furniture and towering columns with ornate columns. Walking through the long corridors, sweeping staircases and large halls, picture the days when visiting royalty from different countries came here for grand balls and house parties. The rooms are suitably luxurious and the views of the sea are simply unforgettable.
For sheer indulgence, soak yourself in the indoor swimming pool and Jacuzzi, relax in the Turkish bath and check out the spa treatments.
While staying in this palatial property, you can enjoy the beach, the casinos, the seaside restaurants, surfing and beach activities at Plage Miramar or Grande Plage.
For something less expensive, head for St. Jean de Luz which stands on the Bay of Biscay, with the Pyrénées in the background. Here, you will find good family-run places to stay, medieval churches and old houses. You can shop for fashionable clothes and leather handbags, the fine Basque linen, crafts and souvenirs, canned foods, wines, chocolates, almond-based confectionary and fine Basque linen. Bask on the white-sanded St. Jean de Luz beach between the Atlantic ocean and the Nivelle River. |
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