Grands Thermes de Bagnères-de-Bigorre

Roman forces under Valerius Messala discovered hot springs flowing from Mont Olivet around 28 BC, and a settlement grew up around the baths that was, by some accounts, equal in size to half of present-day Bagnères-de-Bigorre. The town's thermal fortunes have survived setbacks over the centuries — after severe earthquakes struck in 1660, the springs appeared to run dry, only to flow again some time later — and thermalism became so central to the local economy that 25 separate private thermal establishments were operating here by 1787. Today the town's cure activity centres on the Grands Thermes, while the adjoining Aquensis complex offers a contemporary thermoludic leisure circuit, together keeping Bagnères-de-Bigorre among the Pyrenees' most enduring spa towns, with skiing at nearby Payolle and La Mongie rounding out its four-season appeal.