Col du Tourmalet

At two thousand one hundred and fifteen metres the Tourmalet is the highest paved pass in the central Pyrenees and has appeared in the Tour de France more often than any other climb, first crossed in 1910 when the organisers were unsure the road was rideable at all. A sculpture called Le Geant du Tourmalet, a stylised cyclist, stands at the summit through the summer and is taken down and carried to Bagneres-de-Bigorre for the winter in a small local ceremony. The climb is about nineteen kilometres from Luz-Saint-Sauveur. The Pic du Midi observatory can be reached by cable car from La Mongie on the eastern side.

What you actually see

• The summit marker - the pass sign at 2,115 metres with the giant cyclist.
• The Tour history - plaques and memorials to the climb's riders.
• The Pic du Midi - the observatory reached by cable car from La Mongie.
• The two ascents - long climbs from Luz and from Sainte-Marie-de-Campan.

When to go

June to October; the pass is closed by snow for much of the year, usually reopening late spring. Tour de France stage days close the road entirely to vehicles.

Honest expectations

Opening dates vary by year and are published late. Weather at the summit can be cold and clouded in August. Cyclists and traffic share a narrow road in summer.

Nearby

Lourdes lies northwest; the Cirque de Gavarnie is southwest.