Thermes des Eaux-Chaudes

In the Ossau valley, the thermal village of Eaux-Chaudes sits at 675 metres of altitude, fed by seven springs that have shaped its history since the Renaissance. Known at the court of Navarre as Eaux d'Albret, the site saw the bishop of Lescar, Jacques de Foix, build a stone house there as early as 1540. Jeanne d'Albret visited several times and installed four Protestant pastors there in 1566; the place remained popular until the end of the 16th century among illustrious visitors, including Henri IV and Catherine of Navarre.

After a gradual decline from the 17th century onward and deteriorating facilities, the town of Laruns financed major reconstruction works in 1783 with the backing of the valley's wealthiest landowners. Today, the waters from this Pyrenean site still support visitors' joint and respiratory wellbeing, carrying on a thermal tradition nearly five centuries old at the foot of the Ossau valley peaks.