Pau Sights and Landmarks Guide, France

Filled with history and luxurious vegetation, Pau is indeed a city to visit during your stay in France.

Pau Sights-Le château de Pau.

This superb royal demure is the native castle of Henri IV, the King of France and Navarre. It perpetuates the homage and the legend of the first king of the Bourbons dynasty. Classified as a national museum it present eight hundred years of history and offers the visitors rich ornamental outfits as well as one of the most beautiful collections of tapestry work in Europe. This castle, surrounded by parks and gardens is situated at the doors of the old city and next to the most ancient golf course of the continent.

Pau Sights-The Lescar Cathedral.

This Roman edifice dates from the beginning of the 12th century, from 1120. Surrounded by city walls of historical interest, the cathedral is an important building in the region of Aquitaine. You’ll be impressed by the 13th century mosaic and the richness of the carved capitals. You can also get the chance to see the tombs of the great Navarre kings. Near the Tourists’ Office, guided visits are also organized.

Pau Sights-Le Musée du Foie Gras.

If you are hun gry why not go to a quite unusual museum, Le Musée du Foie Gras. It is an ideal place for joining pleasure and discovery of this jewel of French cuisine. You’ll get the chance to take a bite of many selections of the regional foie gras. Visits are available all year round from 9 am to 7 pm.

In case you want to get in touch with the local flavor and authenticity, perhaps it is best to go and see what’s going on in the Les Halles de Pau – the covered market of the city. Opened from 6 am to 1 pm, daily, except on Sundays, it is the place where the local peasants bring their products – foie gras, honey, cured ham, donuts, confit of duck, traditional wines and many more that will make your mouth water.

Pau is said to be the green city or the garden city. The experts from the Botanical Gardens Conservatoire of Bordeaux qualify some trees as « remarkable » considering their size, age and rarity. The city of Pau offers its locals and many visitors flowery spaces, very elegantly fitted out. Here are some of them, if you really want to be astonished by the beauty of nature: The National Domain of the Castle, the small public garden of Saint Martin Church, the contemporary gardens of the Town Hall, the Pyrénées Boulevard, the Joantho Gardens, Beaumont and Lawrence parks and Besson public garden.