Ax les Thermes, my short cure, a tailor-made wellness break for friends

I decided to organise a relaxing break for my friends: Cloé, Valérie and Christine, with a change of scenery close to home…

I’ve found the perfect place: Ax-les-Thermes, 1? hours from Toulouse in the heart of the Ariege Pyrenees. I don’t yet know whether we’ll be taking the car or the train, but I’ve seen that the station is close to the town centre and that there are several services a day.

My plan is simple: “to share a great time with my girlfriends”: cocooning accommodation with mountain views, peace and quiet with plenty of time for laughter and, above all, treatments to ‘re-energise’ us and ‘reconnect’ us to life.

Ax-les-Thermes, the hottest waters in the Pyrenees, is not fiction but reality! As you arrive, you can see that the town is “smoking”. Here, not only are the fountains made of hot water, but they also smell of sulphur.

Our objective was simple: “a tailor-made wellness break”. I found the solution and took my girlfriends to the pleasures of a “ short cure ” at the ACQS Modèle d’Ax thermal baths. You could also call it a mini spa treatment. Three to six days of spa treatments designed to meet our specific needs.

Cloé and Valérie went for the ” Aqua Boost Cure ” programme, with a focus on vitality and energy. Christine and I went for the ” Aqua Détox Cure ” aimed at purification and detoxification.

3 days of treatments at 159 euros, we’re well within budget.

Outside the medical circuit, the short course of treatment is not the result of chance, but is based on a personalised scientific approach.

First of all, a diagnosis is made…

This is the time for theMASAK (Mental And Stress Assessment Kit), a scientific tool developed by Prof. Christophe Hausswirth which analyses your physical and mental state to perfectly adapt your treatment programme and maximise results.

Result: Vaporarium, steam shower, steam room, baths with immersion showers and drainage are all on the programme!

Maybe I’ll try Milo, the robot masseur, an innovative, high-tech experience that seems incredibly precise!

Our programme included 4 thermal treatments of one hour per day for 3 days.

That leaves us plenty of time to discover Ax-les-Thermes and, above all, its green and fresh mountain environment!

Sylvie, at theTouristOffice, has suggested several circuits…. I’d imagined setting off to conquer the surrounding peaks, but Cloé doesn’t like walking! She persuaded us to follow her on the Boucle Bleue to Orgeix, which lasts two hours and has a 200m ascent!

I’ve noted that this summer, we’ll be able to take the cable car up to theAx3 Domaines resort at 1400m, but we’ll also be able to go up to 2000m altitude at Le Saquet for an exceptional breath of fresh air!

So that all four of us could get away with it, we opted for a non-weekend break from Monday to Wednesday.

In Ax-les-Thermes, there are two markets a week: one on Saturday and one on Tuesday – what a pleasant surprise!

After our baths in the thermal baths, the programme was already written! After-care coffees on the terrace, discovering localcrafts and products at the market and the icing on the cake: two small, very friendly clothes shops!

Our evenings were spent trying out the town’s various restaurants and playing the various games at the Casino in the evenings. We had so much fun! And just as well, that was the point!

To get a panoramic view, Valérie wanted to climb the Rocher de la Vierge, a 15-minute ascent that took in incredible scenery. It makes you want to explore the streets of this village more closely!

We visited the spa town of Ax thanks to the discovery itinerary we picked up at the Tourist Office. Hidden heritage, architecture that blends mountain resorts and health resorts, parks with gigantic sequoia trees and a few small hanging gardens in the heart of the town, all these ingredients combined to enchant our stay.

Before leaving, we packed a few souvenirs and local produce.

We couldn’t resist the tradition of dipping our feet in the town’s various ponds, from the oldest, the Bassin des Ladres, to the most recent, theBassin de l’Axéenne, which is great for posting on Insta!

In Ax-les-Thermes, your all-inclusive wellness break

We’re going home with lots of images in our heads, refreshed and relaxed, so we’ve achieved our objective!