The market of Bagnères-de-Bigorre
The large Saturday market in Bagnères-de-Bigorre is one of the best in the Hautes-Pyrénées region and, most importantly, one of the largest to be classified as a country market. Patricia guides you to discover it …
A sensory experience
The large Saturday market in Bagnères-de-Bigorre is one of the best in the Hautes-Pyrénées region and, most importantly, one of the largest to be classified as a country market. All year round, I stock up at the Saturday market in Bagnères. I love the friendly and warm atmosphere, the decor, the colours, and above all the scents and flavours from near and far ! Here you find the heart of Bagnères, its spirit, its authenticity; it is an unmissable local event. If you want to have a choice, then it’s worth arriving bright and early.
I have a routine, and I always start with the “flower market” on Place du Foirail. I buy beautiful seasonal vegetable or flower plants from the horticulturists. I continue my shopping, strolling to the forecourt of the media library where the organic producers have their stands.
Around the covered market sit the older, more experienced farmers; you can also find small producers who sell half-a-dozen eggs, Asté carrots and Trébons onions, and, depending on the season, mushroom collectors with penny buns, morels and chanterelles. I stroll through this friendly and bustling labyrinth seeking seasonal produce. Everything is teeming: the stalls are full of produce.
The local producers offer fruits and vegetables, fresh produce, charcuterie, cheese, bread, fish, regional products and products from further afield.
The pedestrianised streets and the Allées des Coustous are dedicated to clothes, accessories, knick-knacks and cookware.
Moments of exchange where we take the time
I’m a creature of habit and appreciate the confidential tips I’m given about how to cook a local leg of lamb with Tarbais beans, the market gardener who always makes me try his apples and always adds 2 or 3 of them to my basket, and the baker with his large round loaves of bread who cuts me a “troç” for the week. I alternate between the different cheese producers: goat, sheep, cow…
All these moments, these special encounters, perpetuate the enduring country spirit of our markets and I leave impatient to try the products that I’ve bought: pâtés, dried sausages and Noir de Bigorre pork, to name but a few.
It is late in the morning; a typical joyful hubbub settles in. It is great to listen to the local patois spoken by many of the locals.
The market of Bagnères-de-Bigorre also attracts loyal customers who come from all around the département, tourists and visitors to the spa.
It is also a standing appointment for a weekly meet-up with friends and family. The region is vast, and it is an opportunity to catch up with each other. Today I meet some friends, inside the Halles covered market which was designed by the architect Baltard. We get up to date on the latest local gossip while enjoying oysters and tapas with a glass of white wine;
And as gastronomy and the pleasure of being with your friends often involves singing, today the Eths Amics singers come to liven up this fun-filled occasion, creating a really festive atmosphere at Bagnères market!!!
See you next Saturday !
3 allée Tournefort 65200
Bagnères-de-Bigorre
05 62 95 50 71
info@tourmaletpicdumidi.fr
Bagnères-de-Bigorre 
, Antist, Argelès-Bagnères, Asté, Astugue, Banios, Beaudéan, Bettes, Campan 
, Cieutat, Gerde, Hauban, Hiis, Hitte, Labassère, Lies, Marsas, Mérilheu, Montgaillard, Neuilh, Ordizan, Orignac, Trébons, Pouzac, Uzer, La Mongie
