Villefranche les Conflents can be reached in under the hour by train or bus. From there you have two things both well worth doing, though they should have separate days. The first is to take the bus up to Vernet les Bains, a much underrated village and enjoy one of the walks fromthe booklet provided at the tourist office, See http://www.ot-vernet-les-bains.fr/public/pages/gb/accueil/page001.php

The other is to take the Petit Train Jaune at least as far as Mont Louis. This is a very scenic route and narrow gauge track.