Voie-Verte

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Adast, Midi-Pyrénées, FR

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Route Overview

Vélo Peloton Pyrénées

Cyclist accommodation and bike rental.

36 km

310 m

The Voie Verte de Gaves is an old railway line which has been tarmaced over to create this fabulous green way. It is 18km long from Pierrefitte-Nestalas to Lourdes.

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Route Details

# Voie Verte de Gaves
The Voie Verte de Gaves is an old railway line which has been tarmaced over to create this fabulous 18km long green way. This is a great route for any easy day on the bike. Definitely the easiest route in the Pyrénées. All along the route there are multi lingual information points and maps. I have started and finished in Pierrfitte-Nastales but there are plenty of access points all along the route.

Starting from Pierrefitte-Nestalas this route is a very easy ride down the valley to Lourdes and back to Pierrefitte. The scenery is spectacular. The green way is used by cyclists, rollerbladers and pedestrians of all ages. The speed limit is 30kmph. In reality it is often slower than this as it can get busy in summer. The slow speed will give you more time to enjoy the magnificent mountain views.

The first 3 km will be slightly downhill before a small rise to @poi[Argeles-Gazost](1083715). This town is the heart of the valley. Here you will finds plenty of shops, cafes and hotels. In the town there is likely to be more people walking and also lookout for the @poi[crossing of the main road](1083706) just after the rugby pitch. After you leave Argeles-Gazost there is a short downhill section under the main road and then a short rise to a very nice @poi[iron box bridge](1083708) across the Gave du Pau river.

You will definitely want to get your camera out on this bridge. From here the route is very flat until 2 km from Lourdes. There is a small @poi[cafe](1083709) here which is only open in mid summer. Just off the route through the carpark by the cafe is a small hotel which makes a nice refreshment stop. It also has a cycling museum featuring lots of Tour de France memorabilia.

The last 2 km into Lourdes is uphill but not at all difficult. As you enter Lourdes take a look at the mountain on the right. There is a @poi[funicular railway](1083717) climbing to 1000m altitude. For mountainbikers this is one of the best downhill tracks in France. It has hosted the French Championships and the UCI World Cup. When you reach the road crossing in [Lourdes](http://www.lourdes-infotourisme.com/web/EN/) take a left turn to go into the town or turnround and follow the route back to the start.

Lourdes is a town of 18,000 inhabitants. In the summer it has 7,000,000 prilgrims who come to partake of the waters and pray at the shrine of the Virgin Mary and [Saint Bernadette](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernadette_Soubirous). It is claimed that only Paris has more hotel that Lourdes, there are approx 400 in the town.

Voie-Verte

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Voie-Verte

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Route Details

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