Basque-speaking, wet and green in the west; craggy, snowy, Gascon-influenced in the middle; dry, Mediterranean and Catalan-speaking in the east - the Pyrenees are physically beautiful, culturally varied and considerably less developed than the Alps. The whole range is marvellous walkers' country, especially the central region around the Parc National des Pyrénées , with its 3000-metre peaks, streams, forests, flowers and wildlife. If you're a committed hiker , it's possible to traverse these mountains, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, along the GR10 or the higher, more difficult Haute Randonnée Pyrénéenne (HRP). There are numerous local alpine resorts as well - Cauterets , Luz-St-Sauveur, Barèges, Ax-les-Thermes - with shorter hikes to suit all temperaments and abilities, as well as skiing opportunities in winter.

 

As for the more conventional of the tourist attractions, the Côte Basque is lovely but very popular, suffering from seaside sprawl and a surfeit of campsites. St-Jean-de-Luz is arguably the prettiest of the resorts, while once-elistist Biarritz is now enjoying a renaissance. Bayonne , which lies 6km inland, is an attractive, if heavily touristed town, with an excellent museum of Basque culture (set to reopen shortly). The foothill towns are on the whole rather dull, although Pau merits at least a day or two, while Lourdes is such a monster of kitsch that it just has to be seen. The coast of Catalan-speaking Roussillon in the east has beaches every bit as popular as those of the Côte Basque, but on the whole is less inviting. Its interior, however, is another matter: craggy landscapes split by spectacular canyons, a crop of fine Romanesque abbeys - of which St-Martin-de-Canigou and Serrabonne are the most dramatic - and a climate bathed in Mediterranean heat and light.