Cauterets, both a mountain sports playground and historic thermal spa town, is a relatively unknown jewel in the heart of the French Pyrenees. It offers a very different ski experience to the more commercial resorts in the Alps with uncrowded slopes, a genuine friendly French feel to the town and ‘more for your money’ prices making it an ideal location for a great value skiing holiday.

The resort is easily accessible via budget airlines to Pau and Toulouse airports and once there the town has everything you need for a great skiing holiday so no need to hire a car. Cauterets is an all year round town, rather than just a winter resort and this means it tends to have more of a family friendly atmosphere than a traditional après-ski party resort.
Recent investment into Cauterets has given the resort a high speed cable car (univerally just known as 'the télécabine') linking the town centre with the slopes as well as better snow making facilities and improved piste signage and information. The main ski area is based in the Cirque du Lys, a large east facing bowl which retains good snow conditions far longer than the majority of the other surrounding resorts. There are off-piste and ski touring options with guides for the more adventurous.
The ski area is not as extensive as many of the resorts in the Alps but Cauterets still provides plenty of good skiing for beginners and intermediates alike. You'll also find a surprising selection of off-piste skiing to keep more advanced skiers and snowboarders entertained. There are two main ski areas; the Cirque du Lys and then Pont d'Espagne which cater for all types and abilities of both skiing and snowboarding. Although mainly popular amongst the French and Spanish, many of the instructors speak English.
The ski season generally runs December to April, with heavy snow fall in March and April in recent years.
| Resort altitude | m - 2501m |
|---|---|
| Highest lift | 2500m |
| Lowest lift | 1300m |
| Kms of piste | 110kms |
| No of lifts | 17 |
| Black pistes | 5% |
| Red pistes | 40% |
| Blue pistes | 40% |
| Green pistes | 20% |
| Snow parks | 1 |
| Glacier | No |
| Snowmaking | yes |
| Nearest airports | Type of resort | Stay in | Go for a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biarritz Carcassone Pau Tolouse | Mountain town Small alpine village | Chalets Hostels Hotels Self-Catered | Week Weekend |
| Good for | Children | Food and drink | Other |
| Cross-country Freestyle Off-piste Snowboarding | Creches Babysitting Ski schools | Apres-ski Evening drinking Resort dining Vegetarian Family friendly Live music Late drinking Mountain dining | Internet access Churches |
| Other activities | |||
| Adrenaline fuelled Sightseeing Relaxation Shopping |