Credits: Sylvain Paradis
Caption: 02/2010
Credits: Sylvain Paradis
Caption: 02/2010
Credits: Sylvain Paradis
Caption: 02/2010
Credits: Sylvain Paradis
Caption: 02/2010
Credits: Sylvain Paradis
Caption: 02/2010
Location type
Categories
Environment
Forest,
Mountain
General presentation
The "Pont d'Espagne" is a natural tourist attraction in the Pyrenees, at an altitude of around 1,500 m in the commune of Cauterets in the Hautes-Pyrénées department.
It is a protected area in the Pyrenees, part of the Pyrenees National Park. It also boasts a cross-country ski area, part of the Cauterets winter sports resort.
Its name derives from the fact that it was an ancient route over the mountains to Spain, and from the stone bridge over the Gave.
The site is classified as a Grand Site Occitanie.
Location History
The site was a passageway for trade with Spain. From the mid-19th century onwards, it became a favorite haunt of high society, and from the 1960s onwards, a place of mass tourism.
Badly damaged by traffic and tourists, it was the subject of a vast rehabilitation project in the late 1990s.
Badly damaged by traffic and tourists, it was the subject of a vast rehabilitation project in the late 1990s.
Related locations
N°
45532
N°
52624
N°
45533