Best Lakes in the Pyrenees: Lac d'Oô, Gaube, Sant Maurici & More

Our favourite lakes

Lac d'Oô (Haute-Garonne): a 275-metre waterfall plunges into this lake near Luchon. About 1 hour on foot from Les Granges d'Astau.
Lac de Gaube (Hautes-Pyrénées): the Vignemale reflected in blue water above the Pont d'Espagne.
Lac de Bious-Artigues (Vallée d'Ossau): a roadside lake facing the Pic du Midi d'Ossau, start of the tour of the peak.
Néouvielle Nature Reserve: Aumar, Aubert and Orédon lakes among pine trees, close to Saint-Lary.
Estany de Sant Maurici (Catalonia): the twin spires of Els Encantats above it, in Aigüestortes.
Estanys de Tristaina (Andorra): three lakes on an easy loop.
Ibón de Plan (Aragón): 'Basa de la Mora', a jewel near Plan with a legend of a Moorish princess.

Swimming is allowed in many lakes but the water is cold, even in August.
Some access roads, such as the Néouvielle road, are closed to cars or regulated in peak summer, with shuttle buses instead.
Arrive early: lakeside car parks fill by mid-morning in July and August.

Compare prices and free-cancellation rates.

Elegant 'Queen of the Pyrenees': thermal baths, villas, Lac d'Oô and some of the Tour de France's greatest climbs.

A Belle Époque spa town at the foot of the Pont d'Espagne, with skiing in winter and waterfalls all summer.

A real Pyrenean village with a gondola to the slopes and one of France's biggest Pyrenean ski areas.

Header photo: Photo: Tournasol7, CC BY 4.0

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