Walks near Vernet-les-Bains and to Canigou

THE 'BELLE EPOQUE' WALK

The 'Belle Epoque' walk (description) map

géoportail

hours;  climb: 50m

A short walk which goes past the Casino of Vernet-les-Bains, and then into woodland on the outskirts of the town. There is a fine view from the highest point towards the historic centre of Vernet, with its hilltop church and castle.
(A very similar route, with notes on Rudyard Kipling's associations with Vernet-les-Bains, is described elsewhere on this website, here.)

1 - THE START (Place République). We descend a stone staircase and we go straight ahead... We cross the river at the 'Pont Kipling'...We go straight ahead ('Rue Louis Codet'). The Casino park is on the left.

2 - Casino. We pass in front of this building and in front of the Hotel Portugal... After the 'Thermes' (on the right), we go to the right and we follow a lane on the left which leads us to the 'Laiterie'.

3 - The 'Laiterie'. We pass in front of this building, then we go into a wooded area on the right, and we follow the path straight ahead. At a path fork after 30 metres, we go to the right... We come to a viewpoint over the River Cady, where we go to the right (sharp turn)... We follow the waymarked path across the side of a hill. At a path fork, we go to the left. The path winds uphill, then we climb a stone staircase.

4 - Second viewpoint. We descend and we follow carefully the yellow waymarks.

5 - Bifurcation. We go to the left (sharp turn).

6 - Lane. We climb to the left, on the lane. A campsite is on the right... At a bifurcation, we go out-and-back, to the left, to enter a field.

7 - Field with two former iron-ore furnaces. We return to the bifurcation, we turn to the left, and we go along a grass terrace... We descend some steps.

8 - Intersection of paths. We go to the right... After a covered reservoir, we go straight ahead along a lane (the entrance to the campsite is on the right).

9 - Bifurcation. We go to the right.

10 - Intersection of streets. We go to the right (out-and-back) to see the Anglican church (11), then we continue straight ahead... After an intersection, we climb to the right.. .We cross the river on the left...We climb up to our point of departure.