3 Best Sights in The Pyrenees, Spain

The 45-minute train ride from the town of Ribes de Freser up to Núria provides one of Catalonia's most eclectic excursions—in few other places in Spain does a train make such a precipitous ascent. The cogwheel train, nicknamed La Cremallera ("The Zipper" in English), was completed in 1931 to connect Ribes with the Santuari de la Mare de Déu de Núria (Mother of God of Núria) and with hiking trails and ski runs.

In July and August, a guided train tour departs from the Jaca RENFE station, heading to the valley and Canfranc's magnificent Belle Époque train station, which has a bewitching history and was used as a location in the 1965 film Doctor Zhivago. At the time of writing the summer guided tour had not been announced, but a non-tourist train runs year-round between Jaca and Canfranc. The Canfranc station, right at the border of France, had been famously abandoned since 1970 and was slowly falling to pieces until the Barceló group opened a 104-room luxury five-star hotel in the building early this year. Unfortunately, many of the areas are now restricted to hotel guests. If you're staying elsewhere, the Canfranc tourism office also offers guided tours of some areas to visitors. 

Affectionately called le petit train jaune ("the little yellow train"), this line runs from Bourg-Madame and La Tour de Querol, both easy hikes over the border into France from Puigcerdà (Bourg-Madame is the closest). The border at La Tour, a pretty hour-long hike from Puigcerdà, is marked by a stone painted with the Spanish and French flags. The carrilet (narrow-gauge railway) is the last in the Pyrenees and is used for tours as well as transportation; it winds slowly through La Cerdanya to the medieval walled town of Villefranche-de-Conflent, where it can also be picked up. The 63-km (39-mile) tour can take most of the day, especially if you stop to browse in Mont-Louis or Villefranche. The last section, between La Cabanasse and Villefranche, is the most picturesque. In low season the trains have infrequent and unpredictable timetables.