At first glance, Pau is still a small provincial town in the south of France, in the Béarn region. So far from the French capital and so close to the Spanish border that even many of their northern compatriots would have a hard time locating it on a map. And yet, when discovered in first person, it turns out to be an unexpectedly cosmopolitan city, both in the present and in the past.
It began to forge its fame in the mid-19th century, when wealthy English travelers came here attracted by the phrase of Alexander Turner, a renowned Scottish doctor of the time, who stated that Pau had the best climate in the world. Obviously an exaggeration, but there is no doubt that the weather conditions are much more pleasant than in the humid Highlands of the United Kingdom.
In that century, the aristocrats and wealthy British bourgeois vacationed at ease in half of Europe, especially in Italy, Spain or the south of France. And if in places like Nice they promoted the most refined hotels on the Côte d'Azur and its elegant promenade is still called the Promenade des Anglais today, equally in Pau they built distinguished recreational villas and hotel establishments on what is known as Boulevard des Pyrénées, the most colorful avenue of the population.
But it is not the noblest walk through the historical buildings. Above all, it is due to the backdrop of the southern flank, where there is a wide view of the Pyrenean mountain range. An impressive panorama that, following the grandeur of the 19th century, the French poet and politician Alphonse de Lamartine immortalized as follows: “the most beautiful view in the world from the earth, just as Naples has the most beautiful view from the sea”.
Here everything smells like mountains. Cycling fans who watch Pau every year on TV know this well, since it is a fixed stage in the Pyrenean itineraries of the Tour de France. Just as lovers of hiking and adventure sports know, they find all kinds of services and accommodation in its streets to undertake mountain routes from here. Something very curious, since it is a city with an average altitude of less than 200 meters above sea level and the nearest summit is 50 kilometers away. Even so, Pau's links with the peaks and valleys of the Franco-Spanish border are undeniable.
For centuries, the church of Saint Jacques de Pau has been a place of prayer for pilgrims who came from the south-east of France to cross the Somport pass and head for Compostela. But the walkers were not only going south, there were those who made the journey in the opposite direction. That was the case of the Navarrese kings who, exiled from their lands in the 16th century, ended up settling in Pau, in whose castle their most famous descendant was born, the future Henry IV, first monarch of the Bourbon dynasty, which reigned in France for centuries.
The Castle of Pau, located at one end of the Boulevard des Pyrénées, is the great monumental claim of the city. A stone testimony to the French Renaissance that mixes the vigor of a fortress with the exquisiteness of a palace, something palpable both in the period furniture preserved inside and in the well-kept gardens that surround the building.
However, it is not the only building worth mentioning. Next to it is the Baroque architecture of the Parliament of Navarre which is still the seat of the General Council of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. And not far away is the Mansion Sully or at the other end of the boulevard-viewpoint stands the Palace of Beaumont. In this case, it originated between the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, years of the first great wave of foreign tourists to the city.
A few moments of splendor for Pau. It was when the church of San Martín was built or the Museum of Fine Arts was conceived, which exhibits works by El Greco, Rubens or Degas. And to ascend from the river area to the old quarter, a funicular was built in 1908, which continues to operate daily and free of charge, connecting the railway station with Place Royale, a large tree-lined room that becomes the most stately to enter the convoluted, but cozy old town.
It is a very manageable pedestrian street due to its small size, so it is best to let yourself be carried away by that peculiar mix of past and present, of the local and the foreign that characterizes Pau. That is what it feels like to see how a palace from the belle époque today is the headquarters of the Prefecture or that hotels like the Bristol are still maintained that take us to other times of tourism.
In fact, the city is enveloped by an atmosphere of yesteryear, when travelers discovered the world at a more leisurely pace. Taking your time to have an aperitif through the narrow streets that surround the castle. Or go shopping in Les Halles and the surroundings of Place Clemenceau, where the oldest businesses coexist, with the French icon Galeries Lafayette or any international franchise.
There it is possible to renew the wardrobe or buy something elegant to go one night to the San Luis theater. A historical stage integrated into the Pau City Hall, which was conceived not only as the seat of local government, but also as a cultural space for its citizens and visitors, with a theater, a concert hall or another to play billiards inside. , in addition to various rooms for civil society. Things from another era!
The aromas and flavors of distant times are kept in one of the most traditional places in Pau: the Brasserie Royale, located in the square of the same name. At the end of the 19th century, this establishment was called Café Champagne, and although its name has changed, its decoration has not changed much. Nor has its recipe book, essentially traditional, changed excessively. A restaurant that has been serving the best of Béarnaise and South-West French cuisine for decades. All the typical dishes, from the vegetable garbure to the foie gras tubs, are present on the menu. Hearty food that is much better savored with a glass of local wine, for example from the Jurançon or Madiran designations of origin.
