Bagnères-de-Luchon (; ; ), also referred to as just Luchon, is a commune and spa town in the Haute-Garonne department in the Occitanie region of south-western France.
The commune has been awarded three flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.Bagnères-de-Luchon in the Competition for Towns and Villages in Bloom
Geography Bagnères-de-Luchon is located on the Spanish border some 50 km south-west of Saint-Gaudens and 40 km south of Montréjeau at the end of a branch line of the Southern railway at the foot of the central Pyrenees. To the south the Luchonnais Mountains form a natural barrier and there is no crossing point into Spain. Access to the commune is by the D125 road from Salles-et-Pratviel in the north which passes through the town and continues south through the commune to its termination in the mountains. The D618A branches off the D125 south of the town and goes east to Saint-Mamet continuing to the Spanish border at the Col du Portillon leading to the Val d'Aran. The D618 goes west from the town to Saint-Aventin. The D46 goes north-east to Sode. The D125C goes north by north-west to Moustajon.
The town is located in a valley at the confluence of the L'One river from the west and the Pique river from the south. Numerous streams flow into these rivers including the Ruisseau de Sahage into L'One, the Ruisseau de Bagnartigue, the Ruisseau de Jean, the Lys, the Ruisseau des Barguieres, the Ruisseau de Laus d'Esbas, the Ruisseau de Garante, the Ruisseau de Sajust, the Ruisseau de Layrous, the Ruisseau de Roumingau, and the Ruisseau du Port de Venasque all flowing into the Pique. The Ruisseau de Bouneu forms much of the western border of the commune as it flows north to join the Lys. There are several high mountain lakes in the south of the commune which feed the Pique including the Boums de Port and the Étang de la Frèche.
Transport
The Gare de Luchon railway station is the SNCF terminal station for the Montréjeau to Gourdan-Polignan and Luchon line that also connects to Toulouse via Montréjeau. Previously on weekends (daily in summer), a night train connected Bagneres-de-Luchon directly to Paris. The Montréjeau to Bagnères-de-Luchon train line was suspended in 2014. The connection was made by bus until services resumed in 2025.
A Gondola lift since 1993 has connected Bagneres-de-Luchon to Superbagnères. It replaced the Chemin de fer de Luchon à Superbagnères (Luchon to Superbagnères railway) rack railway (Strub system) which operated from 1912 to 1966.
There is also a small public aerodrome in the commune just east of the town where the Aeroclub de Luchon is based. The nearest airports to the town are Pau Pyrénées Airport, located north west and Toulouse–Blagnac Airport, located north east of Bagnères-de-Luchon.
Climate The commune is located on a slope that ensures a drier climate. Winter temperatures range from −10 to 10 degrees Celsius and summer temperatures range from 10 to 35 degrees Celsius. The northerly wind brings more anticyclonic conditions and south-west or north-west winds are very often a harbinger of a disturbance (rain or snow). Sometimes the north and south winds are reversed causing storms on the valley which are sometimes strong with hail due to the moist air in the south and dry air in the north.
Toponymy The name Bagnères-de-Luchon comes in part from its hydrotherapy (bagnères = baths) and the other part from a local god (Lixon or Illixon).
After some confusion the Académie Julien Sacaze confirmed that Lixon is the correct Roman name for Luchon and not Ilixon.
History
The town has existed for more than 2,000 years. The presence of a population has been attested since Neolithic times at least in the Saint-Mamet Cave. The presence of Stone circles also attests to an ancient occupation.
It is often claimed that Pompey, returning from a policing expedition in Spain in 76BC (where he founded the city of Pamplona named after him), stopped in the area and founded the new city of Lugdunum Convenarum where he brought together the scattered Convènes tribe: this was the future Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges. However, extensive archaeological investigations have failed to find any evidence of this. During the Augustan period, the town was substantially Romanised and expanded.Rome in the Pyrenees. Lugdunum and the Convenae from the first century B.C. to the seventh century A.D. Simon Esmonde Cleary 2007 Routledge ISBN 9781134091034
One of his soldiers who suffered from a skin disease immersed himself in the thermal waters of Luchon and its "Onésiens" baths where he discovered their thermal properties. After 21 days (the traditional and still current duration of a cure) he came out completely healed.
In 25 BC Tiberius Claudius dug three pools and developed thermal baths. The baths had a modest motto: "Balneum Lixonense post Neapolitense primum" (the Luchon baths are the best after those of Naples) which is still today the motto of the town. Julius Caesar spoke of the region in his Commentaries.
The invasions of the Goths and Visigoths passed through the region as well as the incursions of the Moors. People took refuge in the high valleys of Larboust or Oueil. Traces of these invasions remain in some local myths and legends.
Charlemagne and Gaston Phoebus gave the area a special status of a border March with a certain amount of autonomy between France and Spain.
The area was relatively untouched by the Hundred Years' War, as well as by the suppression of Catharism and the Protestant Reformation. People remained loyal to a 'modified' Catholicism, which it took the bishops of Saint-Béat centuries to rein in; priests lived in communities, sometimes armed and married, and were poorly educated and poorly trained. They extorted payment for funeral Masses in the form of well-watered meals, and they were loyal to the interests of their house of origin, rather than to Rome.
In 987 the village of "Banières" and its thermal baths around its church was described as quite successful. At Toussaint there was a major fair which did not have, however, the fame of that of Saint-Béat, which benefited more from trade with Spain.
Around 1200 the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem installed a commandery at Frontés, between Montauban and Juzet-de-Luchon. The goal was to control the passage to the mountain, which was a secondary road on the Way of Santiago de Compostela, and to organize hospices for pilgrims and merchants who risked their lives in winter. The building of the Hospice de France dates from this period and is the only trace remaining of the Knights Hospitaller. The opening of the Port de Venasque Pass followed later.
Then commenced a continuous struggle for centuries between the Knights Hospitaller and the people who were guided by their priests. The objective quickly became more economic than religious and it was not a question of sharing taxes. Finally the order abandoned the region.
There have always been very few nobles in the region where the peasantry has always fought for their survival. The old treaties of Lies et passeriesAgreements between rural communities in the Spanish and French valleys in the Pyrenees gave the people of both sides of the mountain free movement and free trade even if the kingdoms were at war. Any boycott would have little support as it would easily decimate the population. These treaties were systematically renewed and imposed on kings and bishops. A popular form of elected representation existed: the consuls. It was thus possible to speak of Pyrenean republics.
The kings of France sought to put an end to this situation which seemed to them abnormal.
In 1759 Baron Antoine Mégret d'Étigny, intendant of Gascony, was sent to Luchon. He began by creating a passable road using collective labour and expropriations. He was forced to appeal to a company of dragoons to hold the population in check as they were unaccustomed to such authoritarian treatment. In 1761 he reorganized the baths and gave them a foundation for their future development. In 1763 Marshal Duke of Richelieu came to take the waters and he returned in 1769 with much of the Court. The spa was launched. The Baron also developed forestry to provide timber for the navy and charcoal for forges. He died in 1767 at the age of 47, ruined and disgraced.
His successor gave his name to the Alleys of Étigny, the main artery of the town, and in 1889 a statue in his likeness was still displayed in front of the baths.
The French Revolution and the French empires had little impact in Luchon.
Many famous visitors came to Luchon, attracted by the popularity of the thermal waters which was launched by the Empress Eugenie or by the beginnings of "Pyreneism" by Count Russell-Killough. Lamartine, José-Maria de Heredia (who also lived in Marignac, a village near Luchon where he was inspired by the Pic du Gar for his collection of poems Les Trophées), Prince Napoleon III, the Prince Imperial, Edmond Rostand, Gustave Flaubert, Guy de Maupassant, Octave Mirbeau, and Stephen Liégeard. Moulay Mohammed (the future Mohammed V of Morocco), Alfonso XIII of Spain, Sacha Guitry, Francis Carco, and François Mauriac were some of the more illustrious guests.
The arrival of the railway in 1873 and the construction of the casino in 1880 further developed the popularity of the town where upscale and cosmopolitan tourists came until the Roaring Twenties. Social benefits such as paid leave and social security then democratized the tourist population.
A hydroelectric power plant was in place as early as 1890 by the La Luchonnaise company.
The Tour de France made the town one of its obligatory stages since its inception.
The opening of the mountain hotel of Superbagnères (finished work in 1922), then connected by a rack railway and today by gondola, completed the spa town with a winter sports resort. In the 1968 Winter Olympics, Ingrid Lafforgue was successful. Her twin sister Britt Lafforgue was successful at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.
The commune was mentioned with the nickname "Queen of the Pyrenees" by Vincent de Chausenque in 1834 in his book Les Pyrénées ou voyages pédestres (The Pyrenees or Hiking journeys).
Luchon mineral water has been marketed throughout France.
Excavations have uncovered traces of three large pools lined with marble with circulating hot air and steam.
Cyclone Xynthia at the end of February 2010 caused the death of 50 people in France and hit Luchon and its region. The winds blew at 200 km/h on the peaks which caused substantial damage.
Heraldry
Administration List of successive mayorsList of mayors of France
From To Name 1790 Bernard Cazat 1791 1793 Julien Rey 1793 1793 Etienne Sourd-Sacarrere 1793 1795 Henri Colomic 1795 1799 Bernard Cazat 1799 1800 Paul Boileau 1800 1800 Pierre Jean Soulerat 1800 1805 Bernard Cazat 1805 1807 Gabriel Nadau 1807 1808 Pierre Gascon 1808 1814 Etienne Sengez 1814 1815 Henry Colomic 1815 1816 Gabriel Soutiran 1816 1830 Paul Boileau 1830 1830 Bertrand Saint Martin 1830 1830 Arnaud Soulerat 1830 1841 Pierre Azemar 1841 1848 Mathieu Soulerat 1848 1870 Charles Tron 1870 1871 Bertrand Baque 1871 1871 Edouard Azemar 1871 1872 Charles Tron 1872 1874 Edouard Azemar 1874 1875 Bernard Larrieu 1875 1878 Charles Tron 1878 1884 Edouard Azemar 1884 1886 Lucien Colomic 1886 1892 Aimé Trescazes 1892 1894 Edouard Azemar 1894 1912 Paul Bonnemaison 1912 1914 Gabriel Estradere 1914 1919 Jean Bigourdan
Mayors from 1919
From To Name 1919 1944 Guillaume Germes 1944 1944 Rémy Comet 1946 1947 Alain Bochet 1947 1971 Alfred Coste Fleuret 1971 1974 Albert Castaigne 1974 1995 Jean Peyrafitte 1995 2008 René Rettig 2008 2020 Louis Ferré 2020 2026 Éric Azémar
Twin towns
Bagnères-de-Luchon has twinning associations with:National Commission for Decentralised cooperation Harrogate (United Kingdom) since 1953. Sitges (Spain) since 1981. Benasque (Spain) since 1990.