Bed and breakfast accommodation in Tarbes - Laloubère Monasteries

Tarbes is known for its beautiful garden, the Jardin Massey, which figures on France's official list of Jardins Remarquables. This wonderful landscape park features a network of footpaths and a large number of rare tree species. 

A Moorish-inspired mansion topped with an observation tower stands in the middle of the park. It houses the Massey museum which has a collection of fine art and one based on the history of the hussars.

Also worth visiting is the Haras National de Tarbes founded by Napoleon in 1806. A guided tour of this Empire-style group of buildings shows you the stables, stallions of different breeds and a collection of horse-drawn vehicles. The Maison du Cheval there is a museum in a former indoor school dedicated to the world of horses and in particular images of the horse in the Midi-Pyrénées region. 

 And last but not least, if you’re inspired by the views of the mountains on the horizon to the south you could hop in the car for unforgettable trips into the Pyrenees. The stupendous Cirque de Gavarnie will leave you breathless, as is the colossal natural gap at the Brèche de Roland.

How to get around ? 

Tarbes is rather easy by walking, for example you can walk from the Jardin Massey to the Cathedral within ten minutes. 

Tarbes has an urban bus service between town centre and suburbs. Note there are no buses on Sundays or Holidays. From Monday to Saturday service ends by 8pm.

Tarbes has a small regional airport known as Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport and is located 9 kilometres southwest of Tarbes. Some of the other nearby airports which offer better connectivity and greater frequency of flights are at Pau, Carcassonne and Toulouse.

Tarbes has good rail connections with the rest of the towns of the region and it also lies on the high speed TGV network of France. SNCF operates the major rail services in France.

Events

Festival Equestria : every July “Equestria” is a horse-riding extravaganza taking over the regal grounds of this noble institution. Over four nights the city celebrates its horse-riding tradition in these sumptuous grounds, welcoming more than 45,000 spectators for blockbuster shows and all kinds of side events.

Tarbes is a city in the Occitanie region, in southwest of France. 

A small town founded in the 3rd century B.C. became a Roman colony under the name of Tarba. It was destroyed by the Vikings in 840 and rebuilt by the Bishop of Bigorre or Tarbes.

During the 12th century, Tarbes became the capital of the County of Bigorre. The army left horses and horse-breeding at the centre of Tarbes, and the light cavalry was stationed here right up to the Second World War. The National Stud continues to breed horses and teach equestrianism.

During the religious wars, the Tarbes cathedral was burnt in 1569 by Protestants but the bishop had it rebuilt in 1652. But if you come round to the outside of the apses on the church’s east side you’ll be looking at brick and stone checker-board walls that remain and were constructed 900 years ago.

The cathedral also includes a chapel of the Blessed Virgin in which visitors can read the testament of Louis XVI engraved on a black marble wall three meters high. 

Tarbes was also the birthplace of Martial Foch, who was in charge of the Allied Forces during the First World War. He coordinated the last push that defeated Germany. The home where he lived until he was 12 has been turned into a museum and contains family documents, photos and memorabilia from the French Academy and World War I to help you make sense of his illustrious career.