In the Pyrenees you can ski to sparkling viewpoints offering magnificent sweeping panoramas. You can also explore the vast open spaces of the Aubrac with the high-level skiing centred on Laguiole : ski through meadows blanketed with a bright carpet of snow and among the muffled silence of frosted beech and fir forests.
Cross-country resorts that are 100% unspoilt
With a total of
14 resorts providing excellent facilities for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, Occitania / Pyrenees-Mediterranean are passionate about cross-country skiing. Between them they offer hundreds of kilometres of trails for endless gentle exploring, and a thrilling opportunity to get up close and personal with the mountains. is packed with outstanding destinations for those who like their snowsports to have a nordic flavour.
The resorts of Beille, Le Chioula, Etang de Lers, Nistos and Val d’Azun have made nordic sports their speciality. Here, all you can hear is the swish of cross-country skis, the pad of snowshoes and the laughing of children, who are extremely well catered for (between them, these resorts offer fun trails and areas, sledging areas, beginners' areas, free ski passes for little ones, etc.).
Of these resorts, Val d’Azun has the largest nordic ski area in the Pyrenees. With 100 km of trails, it overlooks a valley containing a string of neat little villages that are busy and welcoming.
In the same département, Hautes Pyrénées, Nistos, with 60 km of trails providing some unique viewpoints of the Pic du Midi, Aneto and Maladetta, is a popular choice.
Up to 2,000 metres altitude
In Ariège,
the Beille Plateau is also part of the region's high-quality nordic skiing offering. In summer, Beille is a prestigious stage on the Tour de France.
In winter it becomes a vast ski area rising to an altitude of 2,000 metres, like a crown set on top of the forests of Ariège. This is a marvellous place for high-altitude cross-country skiing, along with some other original activities such as beginners' igloo building.
Many other ski areas offer both cross-country and alpine skiing, including Laguiole and Brameloup in Aveyron, and Cauterets, Le Grand Tourmalet, Le Mourtis and Mijanes-Donezan in the Pyrenees.
The region's carefully prepared trails in unspoilt countryside are a homage to the mountains, and what better way to appreciate their magnificence than on skis?