Pau Attractions 
Pau (alt. 207 m/680ft; pop. 82,300), chief town of the département of Pyrénées- Atlantiques, is magnificently situated on a plateau above the valley of the Gave de Pau. It is a climatic resort popular in both summer and winter as well as an important economic center.
Originally a village which grew up round a hunting lodge of the Counts of Béarn, it developed into a town which became the capital of Béarn in 1464. It was the residence of Jeanne d'Albret, queen of Navarre and a convert to Protestantism, whose son became king of France as Henry IV. The town, which had barely 8,000 inhabitants at the end of the 18th C., was "discovered" by British visitors in the 1820s and thereafter developed rapidly.
Originally a village which grew up round a hunting lodge of the Counts of Béarn, it developed into a town which became the capital of Béarn in 1464. It was the residence of Jeanne d'Albret, queen of Navarre and a convert to Protestantism, whose son became king of France as Henry IV. The town, which had barely 8,000 inhabitants at the end of the 18th C., was "discovered" by British visitors in the 1820s and thereafter developed rapidly.
Musée des Beaux-Arts
The Pau Musée des Beaux-Arts is of more than regional importance, with pictures by Tintoretto, El Greco, Rubens and Degas.
Hours
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 10:00 | Closed | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | |
| Open | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | |
| Close | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 |
Always closed on:
New Year's Day (January 1)
1945 Victory Day (May 8)
May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Bastille Day - France (July 14)
Assumption Day - Christian (August 15)
All Saints' Day - Christian (November 1)
Remembrance Day / 1918 Armistice Day (November 11)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Pentecost Monday (Whit Monday) - Christian (May 28)
Ascension Thursday - Christian (May 17)
1945 Victory Day (May 8)
May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Bastille Day - France (July 14)
Assumption Day - Christian (August 15)
All Saints' Day - Christian (November 1)
Remembrance Day / 1918 Armistice Day (November 11)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Pentecost Monday (Whit Monday) - Christian (May 28)
Ascension Thursday - Christian (May 17)
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Lescar, France
(Near Pau)
8km/5mi north of Pau is the little town of Lescar, situated above the Gave de Pau valley. The former cathedral of Notre-Dame (12th C., with much later alteration) has a beautiful interior.
Musée Bernadotte
In Pau, the Bernadotte Museum is devoted to Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, later king of Sweden, who was a native of Pau.
Hours
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Closed | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | |
| Open | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | |
| Close | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 |
Parc Beaumont
The Parc Beaumont in Pau contains the remnants of the gardens which surrounded the Château in the 16th C.
