Tarbes

Introduction

Tarbes is located just north of Lourde in the Midi-Pyrénées region of France. The Pyrenees are just to the south and the nearest ski resorts about half an hour from Tarbes. The mountain views are an attractive backdrop for the town.

Tarbes is a historic town and is full of architectural masterpieces, the cathedral, churches and stylish façade, all bear testimony to its ancient heritage. The city is also known for the Equestrian festival and also its national stud farm which produces finest quality horses.

Its ideal location at the foothills of the Pyrenees provides ample opportunities for the sport enthusiasts with activities like mountain biking, rafting, rock climbing, paragliding, etc

Sights and Activities

• Jardin Massey is a 19th century 25 acre park featuring some interesting tree specimens, various statues, monuments, a 14th century cloister, a greenhouse and the Hussard fine arts museum.
• Parc bel Air provides some great views of the Pyrenees.
• Cathedral Notre Dame de la Sede
• The National Haras of Tarbes is a historical stud farm. They put on calvary shows and give guided tours at some times of the year. Ph: +33 (0)562 563 080

Events and Festivals

Getting There

By Plane

Tarbes has a small regional airport known as Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport and is located 9 kilometres southwest of Tarbes. Air France, operated by Brit Air serves Paris, BMI has seasonal flights (summer) to Manchester and Ryanair will start flights to London from December 2009 onwards.

Some of the other nearby airports which offer better connectivity and greater frequency of flights are at Pau, Carcassonne and Toulouse.

By Train

Tarbes has good rail connections with rest of the towns of the region and it also lies on the high speed TGV network of France. SNCF operates the major rail services in France.

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

La Poste in France is also referred to as the PTT (short for postes, télégraphes et téléphones). The mailboxes are painted bright yellow and often there is a slot for local city mail and another slot for "outside mail". Normally there is a queue in the post office, but most of the post offices have the self service machine installed which is quite easy to operate. Nowadays many of the tabac and even some of the souvenir shops also sell postage stamps. Normally an overseas postcard costs almost as much as sending a letter.
Post offices are generally open from 8:00am to 7:00pm Monday through Friday, and 8:00am to noon on Saturdays. Apart from the basic job of mailing letters, most of the post offices do some banking activities also and some even have photocopy machines and cyber cafes for internet access.