Photos

Castle, Pau
The site was fortified by the 11th century— "pau" means "palissade" in Occitan— the seat of the viscounts of Béarn. Pau was made the capital of Béarn in 1464. In the early 16th century the Château de Pau, made more habitable by Gaston Fébus, count of Foix, became the residence of the kings of Navarre, who were also counts of Béarn, and so it was the birthplace of Henry IV of France (1553–1610), though his mother, the redoubtable Jeanne d'Albret, had to cross the whole of France to ensure that her son was born at Pau. The baby's lips were moistened with the local wine and rubbed with garlic in his first moments. Charles XIV of Sweden was also born at the château, in 1763. The château now is considered a French historical monument and contains a nice collection of tapestry.

When Henri IV left Pau to become King of France, he remarked to the local notables that he was not giving Béarn to France, he was giving France to Béarn.

Château de Pau.

The English discovered the charms of Pau and its climate and left a decided imprint, before the French themselves did, partly because Wellington left a garrison at Pau on his way into Spain. The vacationing British, arriving before the railroad did, established the scenic promenade, the Boulevard des Pyrenées, the first full 18-hole golf course in Europe (laid out in 1856/1860, and still in existence), and a real tennis court (since converted into a trinquet).

Napoleon III refurbished the château, while Pau added streets of Belle Époque architecture, before fashion transferred to Biarritz. Pau is still a major centre for winter sports and for equestrian events, with a famous steeplechase.