Could these be Europe’s best mountain thermal hot springs?

Location: Occitanie, French Pyrenees (stunning)

Train Line: Le Train Jaune (Yellow Train)

Station: Fontpédrouse (Fontpedrosa in Catalan)

Activity: Mountain hot pools (naturally thermal)

Walk time: One hour (up a big hill)

Terrain: Quiet road (well it was in April)

Toilets: Not in the village or at the station

Fitness level: If you don’t like walking, this might not be the train destination for you. The road is well surfaced and wide but it is uphill all the way to the pools.

Refreshments: There’s a cafe serving hot and cold food and drinks just inside the gate of the St-Thomas-Les-Bains thermal pools. Coffee is available at the pool complex but not poolside. You can leave and re-enter the pools during opening hours. Bring snacks and water for the walk up.

London to the Pyrenees by train with Interrail Global Passes

London to Paris – Eurostar (seat reservation fee €32 each)

London to Paris by ferry is also an option (but not as sustainable)

Paris to Toulouse – TGV INOUI (seat reservation fee €12 each)

Toulouse to Latour-de-Carol – TER (no seat reservation fee)

Latour-de-Carol towards Villefranche-de-Conflent on the Yellow Train (no seat reservation fee)

The Yellow Train station for the Saint-Thomas-Les-Bains thermal hot pools is Fontpédrouse. The train has to stop here to allow its counterpart coming the other way to pass, so this is not a request stop.

Walking to the hot pools

Fontpédrouse is a remote station, perched on the edge of a beautiful gorge. To get to the hot pools, walk down into and through the village to cross the bridge over the River Têt on the D28 (not the main D66 road). From there it’s a three kilometre walk up a winding road to the pools. There are signs on the road but not many through the village.

From Rotorua in New Zealand to Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, I’ve visited thermal hot pools all over the world. But these days, like many people, I try to limit my flights, preferring to travel by train or in our campervan.

Hot pools? Yes please!

But there’s something about a natural hot pool spa experience that calls me back again and again; perhaps it’s the luxury level relaxation or the warm-but-outdoors sensation or even that tang of sulphur in the air. I’m not sure but I do know that outdoor hot pools are a personal magnet.

I always feel drawn to them.

Not everybody’s favourite

Mr D. doesn’t put quite as much priority on the hot pool experience, and quite rightly pointed out, as we stood at the deserted station at Fontpédrouse that walking for an hour, up a big hill, on a hot day to sit in hot water, was perhaps not my most sensible holiday idea ever.

He’s a trooper though and once I had ascertained (in French) from the very friendly locals, which way we needed to go, was quite happy to enjoy the walk with me.

A walk to remember

And enjoy it we did. On the way up we laughed at the craziness of the idea, told jokes in pretend French and enjoyed the fantastic views up the river gorge. I had considered making the occasion my first hitchhiking experience but we only saw two cars and I chickened out both times.

‘Skinnies please!’

When we reached the hot pools at Saint-Thomas-Les-Bains, we realised the fun had just started. After listening to the list of rules (thankfully in English), that included which type of swimwear Mr D. should wear (we were prepared but they had ‘skinnies’ to hire just in case). We negotiated the changing rooms then slipped happily into silky water that was far enough above body temperature to feel luxurious but not so hot as to feel too much on a sunny day.

Springtime sunbathing

It was a wonderful experience. We tried all the pools and even did a spot of sunbathing; something I hadn’t expected in the mountains in early April. Our tickets allowed us to leave the pools for lunch or a wander and then return but we wanted to allow plenty of time for our walk back down the hill so didn’t stay too late into the afternoon.

Fromage? Avec les oeufs? Quelle surprise!

After our long walk up the hill we were quite hungry and pleased to find the cafe next to the baths open. We dined on Croque Madame (one of the many Croque Monsieur versions we tried on this trip) in a lovely garden next to the river, then had even more fun walking back down the hill to the station than we had had on the way up.

A hiking holiday?

Mr D. has since (with a grin on his face) accused me of disguising a walking holiday as a train holiday. On this trip, we walked for about an hour to get almost everywhere we went. Whether it was across Paris, around Toulouse or up mountain tracks, with our rucksacks on our backs, we found ourselves growing fitter and really enjoying having the time to look around and chat.

Slow travel really can be the most rewarding way to go.

It’s tricky to get to New Zealand or Iceland without flying (I have wanted to do both for ages) but across Europe, there are other thermal hot pools you can visit by train from London. To help you (and me) find them, I’ve listed three below but there are plenty to choose from.

Széchenyi Baths, Budapest, Hungary

Europe’s largest and probably grandest hot spa, the Széchenyi Baths have 18 thermal pools, all set in stunning architecture and fed by natural springs. Just four hops on the train from London.

London – Paris – Stuttgart – Budapest

Les Thermes de Spa, Spa, Belgium

The city of Spa is renowned for its natural mineral springs and happily placed on the European Route of Historic Thermal Towns, which stretches right across Europe and surely has to be a route to put on the bucket list. Les Thermes de Spa offers Thermoludic (warm water) activities such as aquagym as well as indoor and outdoor pools, jets and geysers.

London – Brussels – Verviers – Spa

The River Minho’s Thermal Route

This four kilometre walkway along the River Minho Thermal Route has up to seven thermal areas, many of which you can visit for free (when the river levels are suitable). This is a traffic-free experience; if you don’t want to walk, catch the Thermal Train.

London – Paris – Barcelona – Madrid – Ourense

If you love saunas as much as hot pools, and looking for one of the best outdoor swimming experiences in Europe, why not try Sweden by train?