Tarbes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre. It was known as Turba or Tarba in Roman times. Tarbes is part of the historical region of Gascony.

Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Department	Hautes-Pyrénées
Canton	3 cantons
Government
Mayor (2020–2026)	Gérard Trémège
Area1	15.33 km2 (5.92 sq mi)
Population (2017-01-01)	41,518
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)

Economy

Being farther away from Toulouse than other cities of Occitanie, Tarbes may appear to display greater economic independence. It maintains close relations with Nouvelle-Aquitaine and, in particular, with Pau, a nearby town of the Pre-Pyrenees.

Industry

Tarbes is the second industrial city of the region. This is particularly illustrated in the field of railway construction and aeronautics with the presence of nearby companies such as Alstom and Daher. Daher-Socata manufactures business and tourism aircraft there. Its headquarters and its main industrial site are located on the outskirts of the Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport in the canton of Ossun, south of Grand Tarbes.

Ossun, a neighbouring commune of the agglomeration, is also home to TARMAC, a company dedicated to the dismantling of aircraft for which it was necessary to construct an imposing building. The platform is, again, installed on the Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées airport area, and revolves around the three activities of storage, maintenance and deconstruction. 

Zones of activity

In addition to the Aerospace Valley involving DeciElec, Socata/Daher, Pearl and Tarmac, Tarbes is developing several business parks.

• The Park of the Pyrenees, located in Ibos, is equipped to host craft, industrial activities, services and offices.
• The Bastillac University Park is dedicated to technological research. The Park of the Adour, in Semeac, is for industrial, commercial and the tertiary sector.
• Cognac Park, on the road to Pau, is devoted to the craft and the tertiary sector.
• The Ecoparck of Bordères-sur-Echez is the subject of projects regarding energy production (biogas plant project, produced from biomass), the cold-intensive businesses (Pyrenean curing and the planned cooling platform of Dominque Sallaberry Logistics).

Tourism

The Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport is still the second of the Midi-Pyrénées. Also in the town centre, the Rex Hotel, a designer hotel addressing a rather affluent clientele, and the arrival of brands such as H&M and new places of leisure seem to attest to the attractiveness of the town.

Agriculture

Often presented as a “market town”, Tarbes is home to important halls and market squares, allowing opportunities for local agriculture. Symbol of the local food industry, a Cooperative of tarbais beans including emerged at the heart of the Bastillac zone.

Transport

Air

The small Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport is situated 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the town centre. This airport is served by HOP! which provides three daily and two weekend air services to Paris-Orly.  Ryanair serves London Stansted, Dublin, Lisbon and Milan Bergamo, with two and three flights a week, respectively. Meridiana connects to Rome and finally Air Nostrum (Iberia Regional) offers two flights per week to Madrid Barajas. The airport also offers seasonal charter flights to and from the largest European cities.

Rail

The Gare de Tarbes railway station offers direct connections with Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Bayonne and several regional destinations.

Public transport

The communes of Grand Tarbes are served by a bus network called Alezan. An electric shuttle for the town centre. Finally, it is possible to rent cycles in the Place du Foirail, under the Vél’en Ville system.

Health

The city has also a medical centre spread over three sites that make up the Intercommunal Hospital Centre of Tarbes – Vic-en-Bigorre (CHIC-TV). On 6 June 2003, the institution changed its name and became the Hospital Centre of Bigorre (CHB). The Ormeau Polyclinic in collaboration with the Pyrenees-Bigorre Clinic is the second centre of health in Tarbes. Every year in October, are organised the Pyrenean Days of Gynecology, of worldwide recognition.

Higher education institutions – University Center 

Tarbes has an important university center . In addition to the many offers leading to a higher technician’s certificate (BTS), and preparatory classes for grandes écoles (CPGE) offered by public and private high schools, Tarbes hosts several higher education establishments, most of which are located on the campus. facing the Pyrenees. Given its geographical location, on the border of two regions, the Tarbes university center is linked, at the same time, to the Bordeaux academy because it is an integral part of the University of Pau and the Adour countries , and at the Toulouse academy since it also includes establishments attached to universities: Toulouse-II-Jean-Jaurès (Formerly Toulouse-Mirail) and Toulouse-III-Paul-Sabatier .

The National Engineering School of Tarbes 

The national engineering school of Tarbes (ENIT) is associated with the national polytechnic institute of Toulouse . Its educational project aims to train versatile engineers, from mechanical engineering to industrial engineering, with a strong culture and openness, capable of designing, implementing and managing industrial systems and production equipment, while respecting the environment. and security.

Other:

• The school management and trade Tarbes 
• University of Toulouse III Paul Sabatier 
• Tarbes University Institute of Technology
• The College of the teaching and education 
• The University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour (UPPA) 
• The college of art in the Pyrenees – Tarbes 
• The training institute in music pedagogy (IFPM) and Kaddouch & Music School 

Outstanding public buildings and places

Public buildings

The city hall and the courthouse, classical buildings of the 19th century, adjoin the Rue Maréchal-Foch. Built in 1907, it is denoted by its candid monumentality. It is surmounted by a bell tower and faces the Place Jean-Jaurès enthroned with a statue of Danton. On the façade, one can read the motto “Concord, liberty, equality, fraternity, labour.”

Not far away, the Police headquarters occupies two mansions built on the north walls filled in the 18th century to give birth to the current Rue Georges-Clemenceau. The Academy of Inspection of Hautes-Pyrénées occupies a former school, built at the end of the 19th century.

Three places are devoted to the markets: The market hall and the Place Marcadieu, Brauhauban market hall and the Place du Foirail. Near the Brauhauban market hall is an Italian theatre, known as the Théâtre des Nouveautés, which was built in 1885.

Fountains and squares

The city has many fountains. The Place Marcadieu and Place Verdun reproduce the same pattern: They each have two fountains spread at either ends and not in the middle. Félicitée Duvignau initiated this peculiarity, in Place Marcadieu, by bequest wishing for the building of fountains at each end of this vast esplanade.

Inaugurated in 1897, the monumental fountain of the Quatre-Vallées, combining cast iron and sculpture, figures the valleys of Bagnères, Aure, Argelès and the plain of Tarbes. At the other end of the square, the more modest “Source de l’amour” [Source of love], presents an echo of the style.

The Montaut fountain is set at the centre of this public space and was moved close to the square of the same name. Named after its donor, it is carved in stone by Nelli of the Pyrenees and was first erected in 1874.

Other:

• The Grande Fontaine
• Droits de l’Enfant  fountain,
• The Alhambra fountain,
• The Fontaine de l’Inondation [Fountain of the Flood]
• The Cours Reffye,
• The one in Place Saint-Jean and
• That of La Gespe in the Place André-Guerlain.

Industrial remains

The former site of the Arsenal has been renovated to accommodate shops, places of leisure (cinema, a second bowling facility, laser quest, restaurants, etc.), municipal or community buildings (archives, maison des associations, business, etc.) and companies.

Green spaces

The Massey Garden houses a museum, the cloister of the Abbey of Saint-Sever-de-Rustan, the Higher School of Art of Tarbes, an orangerie, a wildlife park, a bandstand. Depending on the season, it is possible to visit by horse-drawn carriage and small train. It is thus a privileged relaxation area near to the Carmel exhibition hall, the Louis Aragon media library and the Berrens Park tennis courts.

At the centre of the Bel Air Park, sits the old Château Delong better known today as the Villa Bel Air which has become a children’s recreation centre. The Sellerie Park, with a more urban aspect, is backed by a separate road.

Other:

• The Chastellain Park,
• The Échez Park,
• Within the Laubadère quarter, Bois Blancs [White Woods] Park,
• The path of the banks of the Adour, also called Camin Adour, is equipped with a fitness trail and is a landscaped walking space.

Culture

Museums and exhibition spaces

The Massey Museum is best known for hosting the International Museum of the Hussars. However, it also presents a rich collection of fine arts. The building, located within the Massey Garden, is of Moorish style.

• Museums of Tarbes
• Carmel de Tarbes
• Carmel de Tarbes
• Massey Museum
• The Museum of Deportation and Resistance, inaugurated in 1989, was the brainchild of the associations of former deportees and former resistance fighters.
• The museum space of the House of the Pyrénées National Park evokes the local flora and fauna.
• The French national stud displays old saddles, carriages, a farrier‘s workshop, etc.

Theatres

In addition to the exhibition halls, the various stages and theatres of the city, including that of La Gespe devoted to contemporary music. La Pari, the performing arts stage, is still a place for contemporary creativity. The main theatre remains that of the Nouveautés but Le Parvis, a multidisciplinary cultural institution combining music, dance and cinema on the outskirts in the heart of the Le Meridien commercial centre, sees many pieces played within.

A cinema with eleven rooms “all-digital and 3D” opened its doors in 2010 in a former GIAT industrial building, renovated for the occasion.

Events 

Tarbes has a very dynamic associative life. Throughout the year, it offers various events organized mainly by local associations and / or the city.

Three events have acquired an international reputation:

• Equestria: festival of equestrian creation. It welcomes more than 50,000 festival-goers in July.
• Tarbes en Tango: international festival of Argentine tango . One of the biggest European events centered on Tango.
• Les Petits As – Le Mondial Lacoste: the most important tennis tournament in the world (unofficial world championship) for young girls and boys aged 12-14. 

Gastronomy 

Local products 

• The Tarbais bean. He needs a soil with well-defined criteria and a seed by a specific date. Picking is done exclusively by hand, pod by pod. 
• The cabbage soup, typical dish of Bigorre, is a refreshing vegetable soup and beans from Tarbes in which cooked confit and “camailhou” (country ham bone).
• The Madiran wine belongs to the mosaic of Southwest vineyards. Very rich in tannins, it is a full-bodied and structured red wine, harsh in its youth. After aging, its tannins soften and it develops finer aromas, where the scents of toast and spices mingle.
• The black pig of Bigorre. Very old breed saved from disappearance in 1981, this exceptional product requires outdoor breeding conditions that meet the requirements of this pure breed and is based on traditional know-how. After 14 months of careful care and a minimum natural ripening of 18 months , the Black Pork of Bigorre produces a ham of first choice.
• The Bayonne ham 
• The spit cake, Bigourdan cake par excellence
• Cheese from the Pyrenees, from goat, cow, sheep or mixed (cow-sheep). 
• The “de Barèges  ” sheep .

Markets 

• the “Grand Marché” takes place on Thursday mornings at Place Marcadieu; Marcadieu is the name which designates the very particular space of the “Grand Marché”, which has a regional dimension and its own personality.
• the food market takes place every morning at the Brauhauban market, it is a traditional market.
• the flower market takes place on Thursday mornings on the Place du Foirail, once the Mecca of cattle markets.
• the flea market is also held on Thursday mornings under the Marcadieu hall.

Sports 

Clubs 

Sports city, Tarbes is represented at high level by:

• Women’s basketball : Tarbes Gespe Bigorre ;
• Men’s basketball: Union Tarbes Lourdes Pyrénées Basket ;
• Rugby at XV  : Tarbes Pyrénées  evolving in National  ;
• Football  : Tarbes Pyrénées Football ;
• Fencing  : Amicale Tarbaise d’Escrime ;
• Canoeing  : Tarbes Auch Midi-Pyrénées ;

Equipment 

• Sports center on the Adour quay
• Maurice-Trélut Stadium
• Regional Fencing House
• House of Martial Arts
• Center Nautique Paul Boyrie, Michel Rauner and Tournesol swimming pools…

Sporting events

Among the many events and tournaments organized by local or regional clubs, the international tennis tournament: Les Petits As – Le Mondial Lacoste.