Pau Things to Do

4 more images

The greenery of the Pyrenees and the warm, quite humid climate of the area are ideal for keeping impressive gardens and parks. Add to that the desire (I assume) for royalty and local nobility to enjoy long walks through beautifully manicured lawns and hedges, and you have the perfect recipe for a city dominated by lush green spaces. Pau’s Parc du Château is one specific example of this, although there is no shortage of other areas to enjoy. It makes its way up the steep slope that leads from the newer parts of the city to the area below the Château, and make their way around the buildings of the Départmental administration. There are hedges and flowers, but, in truth, if you come to this park after you visit the one below the Boulevard des Pyrénées, you won’t be much impressed.

4 more images

The Parc Beaumont is in the more modern part of town, east of the Château and the Parlement de Navarre. Given that it is in newer developments, the Parc has been designed along more modern lines, with crushed gravel walkways, a large gazebo and plenty of benches for those who get tired or just want to read. There are lots of open spaces, so this Parc attracts many people who come with their dogs. There are also rose arbours and gardens, small streams and a few monuments with poetry in Latin. One word of warning, however, is that the gazebo and the open spaces attract those who sleep rough, and in the morning I found a small group getting ready to leave their makeshift camp in the gazebo, about 20 minutes before police were on their way into the park.

4 more images

The Jardin du Château (which should not be confused with the Parc du Château) is a beautifully manicured garden at the bottom of the castle and still within its walls. You have to follow a path that leads down from the inner court of the Castle into what you might think is the moat before you can walk through the well-maintained alleys. It has everything that you might expect from a royal garden – arbours and roses and flower beds. It is surprisingly small compared to the size of the Castle, but then again there are so many other gardens and parks in the town that perhaps the draw of this particular garden was privacy and not fauna.

3 more images

The Parlement du Navarre is an impressive yet somber building that faces the Château de Pau. It is a reminder of not only the Ancien Régime, when France was not structured along the lines of a rigidly centralized Republic, but of further in the past, when Pau was the capital of an independent Kingdom uniting Béarn and Navarre. The somber grey walls and rather plain and simple lines of the building contrast quite well with the Château, although it should be noted that this is the second building constructed on that spot – the first was destroyed by a fire in the 18th century. The Parlement du Navarre was originally constructed in the 1580s and used as a Palais de Justice. It was converted to a Parliament by Louis XIII when Navarre and Béarn were attached to France in 1620. I don’t know that you can actually enter the building and tour its rooms (I didn’t try) but I don’t imagine that there is a lot to see in any case. It is more interesting in the way that it completes the entire scene of the historic centre of Pau and its somber atmosphere contrasting the lush greenery of the gardens and the Pyrenees.

4 more images

The Château de Pau is perhaps one of the most recognizable sights offered by the city of Pau. It was built in the Middle Ages when Pau was the capital of an independent Béarn (which is today lumped together with the northern Basque Country in the Pyrénées-Atlantique department) and heavily fortified, with attached dungeons, by Gaston Phébus, who also enhanced the independence of Béarn vis-à-vis France and England (which controlled Aquitaine at the time). In the 16th century, 1512 to be exact, the Castle was given even more prominence when the Parlement de Navarre (see my tip on that) was installed in Pau. It reached the height of its importance when Henry of Navarre, who would become Henry IV of France, was born here in the 1550s. It was also the place where the treaty joining Navarre and Béarn to the Kingdom of France was signed by Louis XIII in 1620. The last of the heydays of the Castle were in the 1840s, when it served as a prison for the famous Algerian leader Abd el-Khadr. Today the Château de Pau is a great example of neo-Renaissance architecture and provides some wonderful pictures for visitors to the city. It is possible to visit the interior of the Castle, but you need quite a bit of time for that – not just because it is large, but because all visitors must take part in a guided tour, which occurs at specific times during the day (and in one language only, so make sure you join the tour that in a language you understand). Still, wandering about the exterior of the building can provide as much enjoyment as going in, especially if you have a nice day and a camera handy.

3 more images

The Musée des Beaux Arts, also known as the Musée Municipal, is actually quite a good one considering that most other tourist attractions in Pau are pretty unimpressive. Although the walls, at times, feel as if they are packed with artwork to the extent that you cannot really appreciate everything with the appropriate attention. The ground floor has a good representation of the various periods of French and European artwork, with a specific room dedicated to local artists. The centre room has the larger artwork (which needs to be displayed in a larger room) and the upper floor has more modern pieces and special exhibits. In all, it was interesting, although the museum does not, in fact, have any pieces that are world famous.

4 more images

If you should be driving across the foothills of the Pyrenees on the A64 autoroute look out for an Aire with a difference.

Between Pau and Tarbes, and about 10kms from the Tarbes exit, you will see the Aire du Pyrenees signposted ( it can also also be accessed if driving east to west from Tarbes).

As you approach the forecourt of the service station and cafe you will first be impressed by the attractive landscaping of the area.

Then the dramatic, gleaming stainless steel of the sculpted structure commemorating the passage over the Pyrenees of the Tour de France and the wearer of the Yellow Jersey will come into view.

Best seen on a bright sunny day as we did in April 2008, it makes for an enjoyable respite from the road.

There are good picnic areas well placed around the site, an orientation Table describing by name the peaks that can be seen , and a climbing structure for children made from huge stones.
The cafe is small but serves hot and cold snacks, soft drinks etc. -- and the loos are very clean!

4 more images

Coming from north with my bike I entered the village on this street (main picture), which was very quiet on this Sunday afternoon. The houses on the street are typical with the bearnese mansards on the roofs, the pebble walls and the porches; unusual are the painted walls in Bearn, but in this village it is common. On the second picture, is a wonderful bearnese house, with a long balcony located at the beginning of the village.
Walking in the village you discover hidden little gems like this door with a renaissance frame (picture3), or this nice little garden (picture4). Just walking makes discover lots of old farmhouses (some farms are still active) other houses and you can even see side streets in mirrors at the street crossings (picture 5).