Camping de l'Adour

Serenity seekers have been bubbling away in spa baths around Bagnères-de-Bigorre since Roman times (you may have heard that those Romans liked their baths), so a wallow in these waters is practically mandatory while you're in town. After that, there are fountains, pools and splendid old buildings to admire; two museums (one on art and one on marble) to visit, and the pretty Parc Thermal spa garden to wander around. For a subterranean rather than a submerging time, make for the limestone caverns of the Médous caves, where you can take a boat on the underground river. A cinema, theatre and casino are in town too for glitzy eves. The Pic du Midi's been pretty famed in these parts for yonks too: drive to La Mongie half an hour's drive away to be hauled (gently) up the mountain by cable car, to visit the museum and the spectacularly set 19th-century observatory.