Salies de Bearn, France
Self-Catering Salies-de-Bearn Cottages, Villas and Gites, France
Salies-de-Béarn is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Aquitaine region of south-western France. This beautiful traditional village owes its fame to its natural salt source which influenced the course of its history: it was discovered when a wild boar was found, near to the source, with its fur covered in salt crystals. When you stay in a Salies de Bearn holiday rental cottage you’re also entering a very picturesque town which is, unsurprisingly, considered the Venice of Bearn. The river Saleys runs through it, and can be crossed at two bridges in the town, on the pont d’Andioque and the pont de la Lune.
Salies has an old medieval quarter and a charming old-fashioned 19th century area – perfect for those who rent a holiday home in Salies de Bearn, France. The older part is where you will find typical 17th and 18th century houses built with timber framework filled in with a type of mud and straw mixture. Narrow, pretty lanes overflowing with flowers and houses whose supporting struts sit on the rivers edge.
When you visit Salies de Bearn, you’ll also want to see the second part of town: the thermal district. Old regal hotels and Palaces, snap-shots of the Post-Napoleonic era, are built near the Moresque style thermal spa centre. The bandstand and the Hôtel du Parc can be found next to Salies Casino.
There is also a 16th century castle, the Chateau Saint-Pe which is located behind the Town Hall. There is also a 12-hole golf course, a horse riding centre can be found on the road to Sauveterre and the pilgrim trail of Saint Jacques de Composîella is found here too.
With the discovery of thermal springs at 50°C, thermal baths have been built in beautiful buildings in a Moorish style. The waters are ten times more salty than the sea, while patients with ailments can bathe in the waters, for non-patients there are waters cooler and less salty.
Unsurprisingly, there is a museum dedicated to salt to see when you stay in self-catering Salies de Bearn accommodation –‘The Musee du Sel et des traditions Bearnaises.’
Travelling to your holiday gite or villa in Salies-de-Béarn, France; To reach Salies de Bearn Pau is close by ,offering flights with Ryanair to and from the UK. The nearest port is over the boarder in Spain at Santander. Pau also has a train station with regular high speed TGV trains to Paris Montparnasse station. There is an overnight train to Paris Austerlitz station.
The Atlantic has a moderating effect on the Salies-de-Béarn weather resulting in the warmest winters in France. The temperature rarely goes below zero. Eight or nine degrees Celsius are more common in the winter months. In summer the sea breezes keep the temperatures to a very pleasant 25 to 28 degrees.