Le Jardin des Bains

Le Jardin des Bains is a bathing and wellness centre in Argelès-Gazost, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, built in 2011 as an extension of the town's historic Thermes d'Argelès-Gazost building. The bathing area has three zones. La Forêt d'Emeraude is a rotunda styled like a tropical greenhouse, with pools offering bubble beds, jacuzzi, massage jets, bubbling baths, counter-current channels, cascades and swan-neck fountains, kept at 29 degrees air and 34 degrees water. La Ziggourat, the hanging gardens of Babylon, houses what the operator calls the only Turkish bath in the Hautes-Pyrénées, a cold-water well, a hammam, a scented bath with essential oils that change with the season, and a music bath. The third zone is a walking circuit of three successive pools of varying depth and temperature, leading to an open-air jacuzzi. Children from 6 months to 9 years may only use the Forêt d'Emeraude pool; juniors aged 10-15 can use all pools except the hammam and Turkish bath. The complex also runs a separate sports section with a gym, aquagym and aquatapis classes, and a spa institute offering massages and facials.