Barèges (French pronunciation: [baʁɛʒ]; Occitan: Varètja, [barˈεd͡ʒo], Barètja in the Gascon dialect) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, administrative region of Occitania, southwestern France.

The rest of the territory of the commune is mostly a vast plateau surrounded by several peaks that form most of its other borders with: The village sits on the D918 road, which to the west leads down the valley to Lourdes, Tarbes and Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport.

[4] The mountainous plateau that forms the largest area of the commune is dotted with small lakes that feed the streams flowing to the Bastan.

Hampered by the remains of the avalanche, the waters of the Bastan overflowed the road on the right bank, the Place de Barèges (Town Square), then the HLM parking, camping area, and seven houses but there were no injuries reported.

In the 7th century the people of Barèges Valley were subjected to women - there was a custom that men served their wives with all marks of respect.

The commune of Barèges was then created retaining the simple name popularized by Madame de Maintenon and the subsequent success of its thermal baths.

Following very heavy rain (with a red meteorological vigilance rating for Flood in the department) linked to late melting of most of the winter snow, the village of Barèges was seriously damaged on 18 and 19 June 2013.

In the early 1950s Électricité de France (EDF) implanted a huge construction site a little higher still (at 150 m below the top of the Ayré) to make an 11 km long tunnel to store water from the Néouvielle massif and from the Gavarnie for the Capdelong Dam and bring them through the mountains to the Pragnères hydroelectric plant.

When the piste which now descends to the refuge was established in the early 1980s, the cable car, which was no longer used for the transportation of engineers controlling the work (who were much less numerous than during construction) was downgraded.

The old Funicular of Ayré was also closed in 2000 due to aging structures and safety, despite the maintenance and modernization of buildings and equipment that had taken place over the decades.

The only vestige of the cable car is the departure station on the right bank of Bastan above Barèges in the Aygat locality which was also used for the Gondola lift going up to the plateau of Lienz.

In order to ski since 2002 the ascent has been by car or bus from the D918 road (along the Bastan) to the departure point for the lifts at Tournaboup which has been built with ample parking, ticketing, and an ESF office.

It is sometimes possible to access Super Barèges via the Col du Tourmalet (the road is often closed in winter or requires special equipment).

The pass road is dangerous and the small resort does not allow extended parking for numerous ski vehicles so this station has been closed to non-resident passenger vehicles which must remain parked at Tournaboup and reach Super Barèges by the Caoubère and Tourmalet chairlifts which connect Barèges to La Mongie.

[20] Barèges gowns are cited by Victor Hugo in Les Misérables, and in both Madame Bovary and Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert.