Aulon Is The Perfect Pyrénées Spot For Winter Bonheur

This tiny village in the mountains has good food, plenty of sheep, and a tranquil vibe.

From the archives: Our March 2018 trip from Toulouse to the Pyrénées for a winter escape.

With busy work schedules and kids’ activities, we had a hard time this year planning a weekend escape to the Pyrénées. Which was especially a bummer because the region was getting more snow than it had in several years.

But we finally managed to pull it off and headed to one of our favorite regions, the valley that leads to Loudenvielle. We stayed near Loudenvielle for our first trip up here in 2014. So this time we decided to make camp in a different town situated just to the west: Aulon.

From the highway, the drive took us up through a lovely little village called Arreau. It’s one of the larger towns in the region and a good place to stop and get yourself oriented. We paused there for lunch and walked around the town along the little river that divides it before hitting the tourist office.

Arreau, France

From there, it was only about 45 minutes to our destination of Aulon, a small village set along the hillside. To our amusement, we realized that we had actually been here before back when we were first visiting the area in 2014. No matter. We had just passed through the last time.

This time, we booked rooms at the Chalet du Pic Noir, a gite in the center of town. (Note: tragically, the gite has since closed. Check out instead in Aulon the Gîte le pic d’Aulon run by Sandrine & Philippe Garnier.)

Because we booked last minute, the four of us shared a room, a chambre familiale, much to the consternation of the kids.

Overall, there are 10 rooms that can hold up to 34 people. The gite is under new management, and the owners (Damien and Myriam) were wonderful hosts, hanging out and singing songs, serving apero, and creating a nice atmosphere. During the three nights we stayed, we opted for breakfast and dinner, which included tartiflette and lasagne. It was all delicious and always a relief not to have to hunt around for a restaurant or cook ourselves.

The prices were also quite reasonable at €25 per person each night, or a total of €300. Each dinner was €12 per person, and breakfast cost €6.50.

Chalet du Pic Noir

If there was one disappointment, it was that the copious amounts of snow had begun to disappear. We even had some snowfall several days before we arrived. There was enough so that the kids could still walk out of the village and find a place to go sledding, but just barely enough.

Meanwhile, the adults went for a gorgeous hike about one hour to the west straight out of the village.

Auberge Des Aryelets

We returned just in time for our reservation at the main restaurant in Aulon: Auberge Des Aryelets. It’s still one of the more remarkable things about France and the Pyrénées that one can find a restaurant of this caliber tucked into a tiny village. But there it was, and we feasted like royalty.