A resort in the French Pyrenees at the Col d'Aubisque, in a natural bowl surrounded by steep limestone walls, with a good vertical for the range.

The terrain is mostly intermediate with steeper ground higher up, and the setting is more dramatic than most Pyrenean areas manage.

Eaux Bonnes below is a small thermal village and Laruns further down is a working Béarn town with a market and a strong local cheese tradition.

The Aubisque is one of the classic Tour de France climbs. Pau is around an hour and a quarter away and prices are well below the Alps.