Laruns (; oc, Laruntz) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

.INSEE commune file
/ref> It is situated at the confluence of two mountain streams, the

Gave d'Ossau The Gave d'Ossau is the torrential river flowing through the Ossau Valley, one of the three main valleys of the High-Béarn (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the Southwest of France. It is formed in Gabas from the confluence of two gaves coming fr ...

and its tributary, the Valentin. Formerly part of the province of Béarn, Laruns is now within the ''département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, itself in France's Nouvelle-Aquitaine ''région''. It forms part of the ''arrondissement'' of Oloron-Sainte-Marie, and of the

canton of Oloron-Sainte-Marie-2 The canton of Oloron-Sainte-Marie-2 is an administrative division of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, southwestern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Oloron-Sainte- ...

Geography

Laruns is geographically the third-largest commune in metropolitan France, after

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province ...

and Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. It includes a large area of upland, around and between the Gave d'Ossau and its tributaries, stretching as far as the border with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

at the Col du Pourtalet, to the south of the village of Laruns. The principal artery of communications through the ''commune'' is the D934 road, which runs south from the town of Pau, to the north, to the Col du Pourtalet. The D918 road branches off the D934 in Laruns village, and follows the Valentin before crossing the Col d'Aubisque to

Argelès-Gazost Argelès-Gazost (; oc, Argelèrs de Gasòst) is a commune and a subprefecture of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in southwestern France. The Pyrénées Animal Park is located in Argelès-Gazost. Population See also *Communes of the Hautes- ...

in the next major valley to the east. There are no direct roads westward from Laruns. Because of its large geographic size, the Laruns contains several recognisably distinct communities in addition to Laruns itself. These include:The villages of the city of Laruns
/ref> * Pon, an area of Laruns * Espalungue, an area of Laruns * Gêtre, an area of Laruns * Gabas, a hamlet below the Pic du Midi d'Ossau, and where the valley road is crossed by the GR10 long distance footpath that runs the length of the Pyrenees * Geteu, a former commune merged into Laruns in 1828 *

Goust Goust is a French hamlet in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of southwestern France. At some point in the 19th century, folklore began to describe it as an independent Republic. Noted for its centenarians, one pensioner was reported to hav ...

, on a small plateau above Laruns *

Eaux-Chaudes Eaux-Chaudes is a spa in the valley of the Gave d'Ossau in the French Pyrenees. Location The village is located beside the river, at the southern entrance to the Gorge du Hourat. It is separated from the spa town of Eaux-Bonnes by the Massif ...

, a spa situated at the southern entrance to the

Gorge du Hourat A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

* Artouste-Fabrèges, a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...

situated in the valley of the Gave du Brousset, and the beginning of the summer scenic route to the Lac d'Artouste via the

Petit train d'Artouste The Petit train d'Artouste is a narrow gauge tourist railway situated in the French Pyrenees close to the Spanish border, some south of the town of Pau, and within the ''commune'' of Laruns. The line runs high above the headwaters of the Gave d ...

* Miegebat Neighboring communes and municipalities: * North: Gère-Bélesten and Aste-Béon * East: Arrens-Marsous ( Hautes-Pyrénées), Louvie-Soubiron, Béost and

Eaux-Bonnes Eaux-Bonnes (, "good waters"; oc, Aigas Bonas) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. Description Eaux-Bonnes is close to the small town of Laruns. It is situated at a height of at the entrance of a fi ...

* West: Aydius,

Bedous Bedous is a commune of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France. It is the birthplace of Pierre Laclède, the Frenchman who founded the U.S. city of St. Louis. Its station on the Pau–Canfranc railway was closed after an a ...

, Cette-Eygun, Etsaut and Urdos * South:

Sallent de Gállego Sallent de Gállego (in Aragonese: ''Sallent de Galligo'' or ''Sallén de Galligo'') is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. The town is located in the central Pyrenees besides the reservoir of Lanuza on the foot o ...

( Huesca,

References

External links

Laruns website

{{Authority control Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques