Walking · Comminges · South-West France

Where the Paths Cross

Three waymarked routes set off from the village, a few minutes away by car — or a good half-hour on foot. The GR 86 runs through it: down from the hills of Fabas and on towards the medieval town of Aurignac — while a local loop unwinds through meadows, woods and wide horizons all the way to the Pyrenees.

The Starting Point

Three Paths from the Château

Saint-André is a stage on the GR 86, the long-distance path that links Toulouse to Bagnères-de-Luchon across nearly two hundred and eighty kilometres — all within Haute-Garonne, along the hills that look out over the Pyrenees. The village sits at its 111th kilometre: 111 from Toulouse, 166 before the mountains. We walked the track and measured it: the GR passes seven metres from the village-hall car park, between the stage coming in from Fabas and the one heading on to Aurignac.

To these is added a local twelve-kilometre loop, circling the village by way of the lake and the forest of Lilhac. From the château's gate, the chemin de la Broquère drops down to the village over nineteen hundred metres — the château is, fittingly, number 1900. Reckon on 2.7 km in all, and a good half-hour's walk, to the village-hall car park: the shared starting point for all three routes. By car, a few minutes will do.

What the Path Passes Through

Heading south out of the village, the GR 86 crosses no ordinary countryside. It travels back in time. We measured every distance on the path's official track.

From Saint-AndréWhat you passDistance from the path
km 0The start of the three village trails, at the village hall.7 m
km 14,5Aurignac — the counts' castle, and the museum that gave its name to the Aurignacian: the first culture of modern humans in Europe, thirty-five thousand years ago.57 m
km 50The Rideaux cave, at Lespugue. This is where, in 1922, the Venus of Lespugue was found — a female figure carved from mammoth ivory in Gravettian times. She is now in the Musée de l'Homme in Paris; copies can be seen at Montmaurin and Aurignac.22 m
km 50The Save gorges — limestone cliffs, listed caves, dippers and horseshoe bats. The road along them is closed to cars: you walk it.317 m
km 50The ruins of Lespugue castle, the most imposing in the area.349 m
km 50The Montmaurin Gallo-Roman villa — one hundred and fifty rooms, one of the largest in France, with colonnades in Saint-Béat marble.1,4 km
km 94Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges — the cathedral, the UNESCO listing, and the place where two Santiago pilgrim ways meet.322 m
km 165Bagnères-de-Luchon, and the end of the path.135 m

The GR 86 runs 279.1 km with 6,737 m of ascent, over nineteen days' walking (Destination Comminges Pyrénées tourist office). The château stands at kilometre 111 from Toulouse.

18
Waymarked routes on the map
117 km
Of mapped trails
2,7 km
From the château to the trailhead, on foot
279 km
The GR 86, Toulouse to Luchon
Mapping

Eighteen Routes, One Map

Eighteen routes, one single map. In blue, those that set off from the village — reachable on foot from the gate. In green, the Comminges, a few minutes away by car. In violet, the two Santiago pilgrim ways, which meet at Saint-Bertrand. In red, the Pyrenees, for a full day out. Click a column heading to isolate a group, or a line to isolate a single trail.

Loading the trails

The chemin de la Broquère, in gold dashes, drops from the château to the village: nineteen hundred metres, measured to the metre. The gold dot is the château. The thin lines are the long-distance routes: the whole of the GR 86, and the two Santiago ways. Click them to unfold their full length — Toulouse, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic.

The Routes

What You Walk Here

Distances and ascents measured from the GPS tracks. Times assume an easy pace, breaks not included.

The village loop · Yellow waymarks

Sentier de Saint-André

12,0 kmDistance
+215 mAscent
3h30Time
293–378 mAltitude
LoopEasy to moderate

The signature walk: a full circuit of the village, for a morning or a late afternoon. The trail starts at the village hall, climbs gently through meadows and copses towards the lake — where a viewpoint opens up — skirts the shaded edges of the forest of Lilhac, then follows the line of the hills, from where the eye reaches across the valley and, on a clear day, to the wall of the Pyrenees.

It's the only one of the three that returns to its starting point: no logistics for the way back.

See on the map → GPX track PDF sheet Official page ↗
Long-distance path · Red & white waymarks

GR 86 — Fabas to Saint-André

9,9 kmDistance
+168 mAscent
3h00Time
270–371 mAltitude
LinearEasy

The approach to the village along the heights. Easy going through a rolling landscape of fields and field-edges, between the lake and the forest of Fabas, the chapel of Saint-Pé-d'Arès and the village gardens. Two Comminges regulars cross your path: the autumn crocus in the meadows, the red kite overhead.

A linear stage: you'll want a car at Fabas, or link it with the next stage for a long day of some thirty kilometres.

See on the map → GPX track PDF sheet Official page ↗
Long-distance path · Red & white waymarks

GR 86 — Saint-André to Aurignac

14,8 kmDistance
+455 mAscent
4h45Time
286–444 mAltitude
LinearModerate

The great push west, and the most expansive stage: the one that links the château to the medieval town of Aurignac along the ridges of the Comminges. The path leaves the village past the foot of a venerable oak, then rises and falls through steeper country — fine viewpoints as the reward.

At the end, Aurignac is worth the stop: the keep of the counts' castle, the church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens, the Tower of Savoy, the Museum of the Aurignacian — and, on Saturday mornings, the farmers' market.

See on the map → GPX track PDF sheet Official page ↗
The château's walking booklet

The three routes are gathered in a printable booklet: A4 IGN maps, elevation profiles, points of interest and practical notes. It waits for guests in the drawing room — and can also be downloaded before you arrive.

Download the walking booklet (PDF) ↓·Map of the area (PDF) ↓

Round About

The Other Trails of the Comminges

A dozen or so waymarked loops lie within half an hour's drive. Almost all are rated very easy: enough to fill an afternoon with no preparation, with children or occasional walkers.

Aurignac — four loops below the counts' castle

All set off from the gate of the counts' castle, all return to where they began. You can link them up, or do just one and finish at the market.

TrailDistanceTimeWhat you see
Sentier des Bruyères ↗3,7 km1 h 30Woodland around Aurignac and Boussan; the dolines, those deep hollows in the limestone. The gate of Benque on the way back.
Sentier du Lion ↗4,4 km1 h 30Both flanks of the Joulin hill, the old lime kiln — and, with a little imagination, the rock said to look like a lion's head.
Sentier des Asphodèles ↗5 km2 hA figure-of-eight route, following the GR 86. A panorama of the range from the Joulin hill.
Sentier des Fossiles ↗6,2 km2 hThe fortified mill of Salleneuve, the Perron mill, the Louge valley — and fossils in the stones of the path.

In the neighbouring villages

TrailDistanceTimeWhat you see
Sentier de Lilhac ↗11,5 km3 hThe forest our own loop skirts, seen from the other side. The springs of the Touch, the ridgeline, the hills of the Gers. A shorter variant is possible.
Sentier de Mauboussin ↗—2 hCassagnabère-Tournas. A shaded woodland walk, doable in any season. The “fox holes”, a wood-pigeon hide, and a fine view of the Pyrenees.
Sentier de Saint-Lary-Boujean ↗6,6 km1 h 30Between ridge and valley. It follows the Nère — the river that runs below the château, a few kilometres upstream.
En passant par le Riou Pudé ↗8,1 km2 hCiadoux. Little climbing, full sun, a panorama of the range from the crossroads by the cemetery.
Castéra-Vignoles à Escanecrabe ↗11,7 km3 hThe longest of the nearby loops, in the hills to the west.
Les gorges de la Save ↗—1 h 30Lespugue. Start at the car park, facing the castle ruins. The trail drops into the gorges by the D9g, now closed to cars: you follow the Save, the old mill, the climbing rock, and any number of prehistoric caves. The Rideaux cave yielded the Venus.
Cardeilhac · l'arboretum ↗8 km2 hWildlife and plants, in the shade. Easy.
Aurignac · Archéologie & histoire ↗15,4 km4 hThe most demanding of the Aurignac loops — 483 m of ascent, viewpoints, and the thread of prehistory.

Distances, times and descriptions from the RANDO Haute-Garonne portal. The Mauboussin trail is published without a usable distance: the official sheet gives two hours' walking.

World Heritage · Fifty minutes away

On the Ways of Saint James

The GR 86, which passes seven metres from the trailhead, runs south. Ninety-four kilometres on — four to five days' walking, or fifty minutes by car — it passes three hundred metres from the cathedral of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, and one hundred and sixty from the basilica of Saint-Just at Valcabrère. We measured the distances on the path's track.

There, on a spur nicknamed the Mont Saint-Michel of the Pyrenees, two roads to Santiago meet. The site has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, on the pilgrim routes; the village has been one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France since 1982.

But there's a shorter way. The Via Garona passes eleven and a half kilometres from the château — we pinned the exact point: between Boussens and Martres-Tolosane, the earthenware town, at kilometre ninety-three of its descent from Toulouse. Twenty minutes by car.

La Via GaronaGR 861
163 km · Toulouse → Saint-Bertrand

A pilgrim way recorded since the 11th century, walked for seven hundred years, then abandoned at the Revolution — and forgotten. One walker, Jean-Marc Souchon, pieced the route back together; the path reopened in 2017. It comes down from the basilica of Saint-Sernin following the Garonne, crosses forty-one parishes, and links the Arles way to the Piémont way. Seven to twelve stages.

La Voie du PiémontGR 78
The southernmost

From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, along the foot of the Pyrenees: it's the southernmost of the French roads to Santiago, and the quietest. In Haute-Garonne it links Portet-d'Aspet to Saint-Bertrand over forty-nine kilometres — and crosses the GR 86 on the way. It then continues west: one hundred and seven kilometres on, it passes ninety-six metres from the grotto of Massabielle, at Lourdes.

Lugdunum ConvenarumBeneath the village
Before the pilgrims, Rome

Long before the cathedral, there was a city. Founded around 72 BC, capital of the Convenae, it covered more than thirty hectares and held up to ten thousand people in the 3rd century. The forum, the baths, the market, the theatre: the foundations still show, below, between the village and the Garonne.

50-minute drive · Loop · Four UNESCO monuments

Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges & Valcabrère

5.3 kmLoop
Half a dayWith the visits
4UNESCO monuments
1998Listed
EasyFor families

A short loop, linking the upper town to the plain — that is, the two halves of the site. Above, the cathedral of Sainte-Marie: a 12th-century Romanesque porch-tower, a Gothic nave, a cloister open to the mountains, sixty-six Renaissance choir stalls carved in oak, and a 16th-century organ counted among the finest in Europe.

Below, among the fields, the basilica of Saint-Just at Valcabrère. It was built in the 12th century against a necropolis of the Roman town, using its stones: the walls are studded with reused ancient funerary blocks. From its doorway, the view climbs back to the cathedral, the village, and the Pyrenees behind.

To these are added the Early Christian basilica and the chapel of Saint-Julien: the four UNESCO-listed monuments can be walked in half a day.

See on the map → The Via Garona on the map → The Piémont Way → GR 861 page ↗ Les Olivétains · 05 61 95 44 44
Walk a stage, sleep at the château

It's the simplest way onto a Camino without giving it a month. You leave a car at the end of the day's stage, get a lift to the start, walk — and in the evening, you come home. The Via Garona lends itself well to this: seven to twelve sections, several of them less than half an hour's drive from here. Its final stages descend towards Saint-Gaudens, then to the cathedral.

Let's be clear

Château de la Broquère is not on a road to Santiago, and isn't meant for pilgrims — a pilgrim walks alone, sleeps in a hostel and moves on at dawn. What is true, and checkable: the path that passes the village gate leads, in four days' walking, to the very place where two Caminos meet. And you can be there in fifty minutes by car, for the day.

Along the Way

What You Meet

The Comminges can also be read along its trails. A few regulars return, season after season — to be watched, not picked.

The notable oakSaint-André
Listed tree — about 600 years

A venerable oak watches over the village. Listed a Notable Tree in October 2015, it is reckoned some six centuries old: it was already here when the d'Arcizas took the seigneury. It stands guard at the start of the Aurignac path, a short way from the château.

The red kiteAll year
Wildlife

A large raptor emblematic of the Comminges, it wheels above field-edges and farmland. You know it by its pale head, the white patches under the wings, and its deeply forked tail. Wingspan: close to a metre seventy-five; eyesight eight times sharper than ours.

The autumn crocusLate summer
Plants

A lilac-pink flower of late summer, known by its six stamens — where the true crocus has only three. Elegant but dangerous: the whole plant is highly poisonous. It favours damp meadows and woods, rarer now than they were.

Lake Saint-AndréOn the loop
Forty-five hectares

The village loop passes within sight of the lake, in the parish of Fabas: a stretch of water left wild, with no beach or shops, but a picnic area. Swimming is not allowed; it is, however, one of the best waters in the area for fishing.

The forest of LilhacOn the loop
Shade & cool

The only long stretch of shade on the three routes — precious in summer, when the hills bake. The trail follows its edges over the second half of the loop.

AurignacEnd of the GR
Medieval town

The keep of the counts' castle, the Tower of Savoy, the church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens, and the Museum of the Aurignacian — the rock shelter that gave its name to a whole period of European prehistory. Farmers' market on Saturday mornings, 8am to 1pm.

Tourist information office · 05 61 94 77 61
Higher up · An hour and a half away

The Two Lakes of the Pyrenees

From the château terrace, the range stands on the horizon. An hour and a half's drive later, you're walking in it. Lac d'Oô is the Pyrenean walk par excellence: the most accessible around Luchon, and one of the finest — a glacial lake of forty-two hectares, set in a cirque, into which a waterfall of two hundred and seventy-five metres plunges.

It once had another name, lac de Séculejo. The one we know it by today — two letters and a circumflex — has delighted crossword-setters for a century.

1h30 drive · There and back · GR 10, path no. 41

From the Astau barns to Lac d'Oô

6.6 kmReturn
+377 mAscent
3h00Time
1140–1510 mAltitude
ModerateFamily

The path starts at the Astau barns, just past the restaurants, on a wide forest track waymarked in the colours of the GR 10 — red and white — and of path no. 41. You cross a ford, a gate, and climb steadily through beech and fir. On the right, the waterfall known as the chevelure de la Madeleine, then the sulphur rock, at thirteen hundred metres.

Higher up, the path turns stony and the view opens over the Astau valley. After a short descent come the little stone bridge — fourteen hundred and eighty-nine metres — the dam, and the refuge on the right. You climb up to it: the waterfall is there, opposite.

Back the same way. Reckon an hour up at a good pace, an hour and a half taking it easy.

See on the map → Official page & GPX ↗ Astau barns car park ↗ Refuge · 06 79 98 06 16
1h40 drive · There and back · From the Port de Balès

Lac de Bareilles

9.5 kmReturn
~+280 mAscent
3h00Time
1740–1870 mAltitude
ModerateLittle shade

The other lake, and the opposite of the first: where Oô draws the crowds, Bareilles — also called lac de Bordères — stays quiet. Six and a half hectares of natural water, cut into the schist, deep in a wooded valley. Around it, the Pic du Lion, the Mont Né, the Pic de Montious: all above two thousand one hundred metres.

You set off from the Port de Balès (1,755 m) — the pass the Tour de France made famous. The way is broad and waymarked to the Port de Pierrefite, where a menhir waits; it passes near the Mont Né refuge, whose spring runs even in summer. Then a narrower path, a short scramble through rocks, and the lake appears below.

It's a balcony walk: the view runs the length of the range. But there's almost no shade — hat and water.

Reckon an hour forty on the road from the château. The last stretch, from Bourg-d'Oueil, is narrow and winding: you'll meet stones and sheep. Drive gently.

See on the map → Port de Balès car park ↗

What you find up there

The Lac d'Oô waterfallOpposite the refuge
275 metres high

It drops straight into the lake, over close to three hundred metres. It's what you come to see, and it doesn't disappoint. The flow varies with the season: it's at its strongest with the snowmelt, in May and June.

The lake1 505 m
42 hectares · 67 m deep

A natural glacial lake, raised ten metres by a dam in 1921. Fifteen million cubic metres. Drawn off through a tunnel, it feeds the Oô hydro-electric station at Luchon. Swimming is not allowed, as in all mountain lakes.

The Pyrenean desmanIf you're lucky
Vulnerable species

The “trumpet rat” — a small semi-aquatic mammal, endemic to the Pyrenees and north-west Iberia. Shy, all but invisible. Its status moved from near-threatened to vulnerable on France's Red List of mammals in 2017.

The Montious reserveAround Bareilles
Regional nature reserve

Lac de Bareilles is a regional nature reserve (Montious massif). Dogs are not allowed, swimming is forbidden — the signs on site are the rule. The track that used to climb from the village of Bareilles is now closed to cars: access is via the Port de Balès.

The Lac d'Oô refugeAt the water's edge
Staffed · 25 beds

Meals, refreshments, ice creams — and half-board on booking: five twin rooms, two singles, two six-bed dormitories. A partner in the Refuges en Famille Pyrénées network. Cards are not accepted: bring cash.

Open 1 May to 31 October · 06 79 98 06 16
Before you go up

The route is walkable from 1 April to 30 November. In winter it is not advised: some sections ice over and the valley has avalanche gullies.

The Astau barns car park fills very fast in summer. Set off early — before eight in July and August. The refuge has no drinking water: bring your own.

The Port de Balès, the start for Lac de Bareilles, can be closed to traffic in winter. Check before you leave: the road ends at 1,755 metres.

Information: Pyrénées 31 tourist office · 05 61 79 21 21

Going further

The path doesn't stop at the lake. It carries on to Lac d'Espingo — two hours more, and a far stiffer climb — then Lac de Saussat and, right at the top, Lac du Portillon. A full day up to Saussat is some fifteen kilometres and more than a thousand metres of ascent: one for seasoned walkers.

Practical

Before You Set Off

PointWhat to know
Starting pointThe village of Saint-André. From the château: 1,900 m of chemin de la Broquère, then the village road — 2.7 km in all, a good half-hour on foot. A few minutes by car.
ParkingThe village-hall car park in Saint-André.
WaymarkingRed & white for the GR 86; yellow for the local loop. Keep to the marked paths.
KitWalking shoes, water, a hat in season. The hills give little shade.
Best timeThe morning, in summer — for the cool, and for the light on the Pyrenees.
InformationAurignac tourist information office, place de la Mairie (31420) · 05 61 94 77 61
Tracks & sheetsThe RANDO Cœur & Coteaux Comminges ↗ portal — GPX, KML and PDF sheets.
Going furtherThe tourist office lists a thousand kilometres of waymarked trails across the Comminges. Its app, RANDO COMMINGES, is free, guides by GPS and works offline — handy here, where signal is scarce.
Fire risk

In dry spells, the préfecture issues a fire-risk level. When it is high, all naked flame and wild camping are forbidden in natural areas. The community-of-communes portal shows the current level. Emergencies: 18 or 112.

The château as base camp

Château de la Broquère is among the accommodation listed as “nearby” for the three routes on the community-of-communes portal. Seven bedrooms, fifteen guests, sole use: the house suits a group of walkers well — all the more so as the saltwater pool waits on your return, and pets are welcome on the ground floor.

See the château's listing on the walking portal ↗

Frequently Asked

Good to Know

Do the trails start from the château?

The three waymarked routes start from the village of Saint-André. On foot, reckon 2.7 km from the gate: nineteen hundred metres of chemin de la Broquère, then the village road — a good half-hour. By car, a few minutes will do, and you park at the village-hall car park, which is also the start of the local loop.

How hard are the three routes?

The village loop: 12.0 km, +215 m, 3h30 — easy to moderate. The GR 86 from Fabas to Saint-André: 9.9 km, +168 m, 3h00 — easy. The GR 86 from Saint-André to Aurignac: 14.8 km, +455 m, 4h45 — moderate, the most demanding of the three. Times assume an easy pace, breaks not included.

Does the GR 86 really pass through Saint-André?

Yes. The GR 86 links Toulouse to Bagnères-de-Luchon over some 280 kilometres, all within Haute-Garonne, along the hills that look out over the Pyrenees. It runs through Saint-André between Fabas and Aurignac: the village is a stage on the path, and the château lies less than three kilometres from its route.

Which waymarks do I follow?

Red and white for the GR 86; yellow for the local loop, a PR (short-distance) route. Do keep to the marked paths: the trails cross farmland and working farms.

Where can I download the GPX tracks?

The GPX tracks and printable PDF sheets are published by the Cœur et Coteaux Comminges community of communes and by Haute-Garonne Tourisme, on their respective portals. The links are at the foot of each sheet, on this page. The château also provides a walking booklet in PDF, with IGN maps and elevation profiles for the three village routes.

What's the best season?

All three routes can be walked year-round. The hills give little shade: in summer, better to set off in the cool. Autumn is the finest season — the crocuses in the meadows, the low light on the range. In dry spells, a fire-risk order may forbid all naked flame in natural areas.

Can I walk with children, or a dog?

The village loop, with no technical difficulty and dotted with viewpoints, suits a family half-day. Dogs are welcome at the château, on the ground floor; on the paths they must be kept on a lead, especially near livestock.

Is the château on a road to Santiago?

No — and it isn't meant for pilgrims. But the Via Garona (GR 861) passes 11.5 km from the château, between Boussens and Martres-Tolosane: enough to walk a stage for the day and come home to sleep. And the GR 86, which passes seven metres from the Saint-André trailhead, leads in 94 kilometres — four to five days' walking — to Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, where two roads to Santiago meet: the Via Garona (GR 861, from Toulouse) and the Piémont Way (GR 78, the southernmost of the French routes). The site, a UNESCO World Heritage listing since 1998 on the pilgrim routes, has four listed monuments. It's fifty minutes by car from the château: a fine day out, with a 5.3 km loop linking the cathedral to the basilica at Valcabrère.

Which walk should I pick for a day in the Pyrenees?

Two lakes, two temperaments. Lac d'Oô — 6.6 km there and back, +377 m — is the classic walk: its 275-metre waterfall is a sight, but the place is busy and the car park fills before eight in summer. Lac de Bareilles — 9.5 km, ~+280 m, from the Port de Balès — is longer, quieter, and a balcony walk: you see the whole range. On the other hand, almost no shade, and dogs are not allowed (regional nature reserve). Reckon 1h30 on the road for Oô, 1h40 for Bareilles.

Can I do Lac d'Oô from the château?

Yes, for the day. The Astau barns — the starting point — are 1h30 by road from the château. The climb to the lake is 6.6 km there and back for 377 m of ascent, about three hours' walking: manageable for a family. The route is walkable from 1 April to 30 November and is not advised in winter. A tip: set off early; the barns car park fills very fast in summer.

Is the château in the commune of Labroquère?

No. Château de la Broquère is at Saint-André (31420), in the hills of the Comminges. The commune of Labroquère (31510) is a different place, near Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, some fifty kilometres to the south. The GR 86 does indeed pass through both — but it's only a coincidence of names.

Check availability

Sources: tracks, distances, ascents and points of interest from the RANDO Cœur & Coteaux Comminges portal (Cœur et Coteaux Comminges community of communes); base maps © IGN — Géoplateforme and © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA); the chemin de la Broquère after OpenStreetMap; the GR 86 after Rando Haute-Garonne. Times are indicative. Waymarking and path conditions may change: each route's official sheet is the sole authority. Comminges trails, Lac d’Oô and Saint-Bertrand after RANDO Haute-Garonne (Haute-Garonne Tourisme / Pyrénées 31 tourist office). Santiago pilgrim routes after the FFRandonnée Haute-Garonne and the Friends of Saint James of Toulouse. Distances measured on the official GPS tracks; ascents and times taken from the sheets, not recalculated. The GR 86 stage between Saint-André and Aurignac is extracted from the path's full track: a cross-check on the previous stage gives 10.0 km against 9.9 km on the official sheet. “GR” is a registered trademark of the Fédération française de la randonnée pédestre.