Pau

Geography

Location

Pau is 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the Atlantic Ocean and 50 km (31 miles) from the border with Spain on the Pyrenees. The frontier is crossed by the col du Somport (1,631 metres (5,351 feet)) and the col du Pourtalet (1,794 m (5,886 ft)). Access to the crossings partly accounts for Pau's strategic importance.

Pau is located 200 km (124 mi) west of Toulouse, 30 km (19 mi) from Tarbes and Lourdes, 25 km (16 mi) from Oloron. The conglomeration of Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz is at 110 km (68 mi), Bordeaux 190 km (118 mi).

Communal boundaries

To the north: Buros, Montardon and Morlaàs

To the east: Bizanos and Idron

To the south: Gelos and Jurançon

To the west: Lons and Billère

Hydrography

The city, located at an average altitude of 200 metres (660 ft), is crossed by the Gave de Pau, where a ford gave passage to the Pyrenees. Gave is the name given to a torrent in the Pyrenees. The Gave de Pau, which becomes a torrent when mountain snow melts, takes its source in the Cirque de Gavarnie and is the main tributary of the Adour, into which it empties after 175 kilometres (109 mi). The crossing was used for pasturage for sheep in the high meadows. The old route is now a hiking path, GR 65, that runs 60 km (37 mi) south to the border.

The lands of the commune are also watered by the Luy de Béarn, a tributary the Luy, and by its tributaries, the Aïgue Longue and the Uzan, as well as the Soust, the Herrère, the Ousse and the Ousse des Bois, tributaries of the Gave de Pau. The Aygue Longue is in turn joined the territory of Pau by the Bruscos and the Lata streams, just as the Ousse is joined by the Merdé stream. The Lau Creek that feeds the Canal du Moulin, meanwhile is also present in the municipality.

Climate

Pau features wet mild winters, with warm, mild summers that are drier. Its geographical location, not far from the Pyrenees, gives the city a contrasting, warm oceanic climate. Temperatures colder than −10 °C (14.0 °F) are rare and those below −15 °C (5.0 °F) are exceptional. Temperatures reached lows of −15 °C (5.0 °F) in February 1956 and −17.5 °C (0.5 °F) in January 1985. Snow falls about 3 days per year (0.45 metres (18 in) in 1987), from November to March.

In summer, the maximum temperatures are of the order of 20 to 30 °C (68.0 to 86.0 °F), temperatures above 35 °C (95.0 °F) are often reached during summer heat waves. During some days of winter, the foehn, a warm wind, can raise the temperature over 20 °C (68.0 °F). As soon as the wind stops, snow can fall.

Rainfall is high, of the order of 1,100 millimetres (43 in) per year (compared to 650 millimetres (26 in) in Paris, 900 millimetres (35 in) in Bordeaux, and 650 millimetres (26 in) in Toulouse). Sunshine averages around 1850 hours per year, or a little less than its neighbour of the Hautes-Pyrénées, Tarbes, which averages 1940 hours of sunshine per year. Fog is infrequent and does not persist much beyond noon. The lack of wind especially characterizes the climate of the Pau region. Strong winds are very rare, in general, winds are very low or zero.

This climate has helped Pau to become, at the end of the 19th century, a winter resort spot popular with the English, Russian and Brazilian bourgeoisie. In 1842 a British doctor, Alexander Taylor, attributed healing 'sedative' virtues to the Pau climate.

This mild and rather wet climate, is also an enhancement to the gardens, parks and public spaces of the city, and for plants from more exotic regions such as Chinese windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), originating in the Chinese mountains, but also for giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and laurel magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) of American origin.

History

Toponymy

The origin of the name is uncertain. One tradition suggests it is a derivation of pal (fr. pieu), from the palisade around the original château. Another is that the name refers to a ford across the river administered by the church, the pious. According to Michel Grosclaude and other onomasticians, more recent research suggests the pre-Indo-European root for a rockface was *pal or *bal, and that the name refers to Pau's position at the foot of the mountains. The palisade or pal, from the Latin palum, also has the same ancient basis but it is not under this meaning that formed the name of Pau, this can be compared to the Col de Pau in the Aspe Valley (1,942 metres (6,371 ft), Lescun) which has nothing to do with the city. Its name in the Béarnese dialect is Pau.

The name of the town was recorded in the 12th century. The inhabitants of the city are known as paulins in Occitan, and palois in French. Their motto is Urbis palladium et gentis.

Origins

Before the 10th century, there are no traces to date of occupation of the site on which the city is now built. The city was built on a site with very special qualities. The Gave de Pau, which descends from the Pyrenees, was a river which was fairly difficult to cross, and for a distance of approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi), only three fords existed: from Nay to the east, from Orthez to the west and that of Pau, strategically located between the two. The northern extremity of a plateau, formed to a point, overlooks this ford of almost 80 metres (260 ft). In summary, it is an ideal natural location to control the passage and the arrivals from the Pyrenees, and a small monitoring station was built around the year 1000, a fort surrounded by a simple palisade.

The site was fortified in the 11th century to control the ford across the Gave de Pau. It was built on the north bank, equidistant from Lescar, seat of the bishops, and from Morlaàs.

Until the 12th century, this fort was consolidated and some houses were combined there, together, in a small hamlet. The lords of Béarn then granted the status of viguerie (a small administrative district in the Middle Ages) to this new village which continued to expand gently. In Bearnese, the palisade was called Paü. Historians agree to this being the origin of the name of the city.

In the 13th century, new recognition of the importance and the expansion of Pau, which had become the town of Castelnau, with a bailli appointed by the viscounts of Béarn.

Gaston Fébus (descendant of the counts of Foix and one of the first iconic figures of Béarn), who was very attached to the independence of his small country. He began his major work to reinforce the strongholds of Béarn, including the Château of Pau where he finally settled.

Pau was made the capital of Béarn in 1464, instead of Orthez. During the early 16th century, the Château de Pau became the residence of the Kings of Navarre, who were also viscounts of Béarn.

Pau is the only city in Europe in which two founders of royal dynasties were born: Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, born in 1553, and Charles XIV John of the Swedish House of Bernadotte, born in 1763.

History

Pau was a castelnau founded at an unknown date, in the second half of the 11th or the very beginning of the 12th century, to control a fording of the Gave de Pau which was used for the passage of the shepherds in transhumance between the mountains of Ossau and pasture of the plain of the Pont-Long. A castle was built, overlooking the north bank, at equal distance from Lescar, seat of the bishops, and from Morlaàs, capital of the Viscounts of Béarn.

In 1188, Gaston VI assembled his cour majour there, predecessor of the conseil souverain and roughly equivalent to the House of Lords. Gaston VII added a third tower in the 13th century. Gaston Fébus (Gaston III of Foix and Gaston X of Béarn) added a brick donjon (keep), known as la tour Billère [the Tower of Billère].

In 1464, Gaston IV of Foix-Béarn, after he married the Infanta Eleanor of Aragon, transferred his Court of Orthez to Pau. Pau thus became the fourth historic capital of Béarn, after Lescar, Morlaàs and Orthez. The city had a municipal charter; fairs took place, like the Béarn states. He transformed the curtain walls of his castle home.

In 1512, it became the capital of the Kings of Navarre, who were refugees north of the Pyrenees, after the capture of Pamplona by the Spaniards. In 1520, it had a sovereign council and a chamber of accounts.

In 1527, Henri d'Albret, King of Navarre and sovereign viscountcy of Béarn, married Marguerite of Angoulême, sister of Francis I of France: She transformed the château in the Renaissance style and created its gardens.

In 1553, his daughter, Jeanne d'Albret, gave birth to Henry III of Navarre by singing a song of Béarn to the Virgin Mary, so that the future Henry IV was "neither fearful nor balked." She had crossed into France to ensure her son would be born there. The baby's lips were moistened with the local Jurançon wine and rubbed with garlic shortly after birth. When Henry IV left Pau to become King of France, he remarked to local notables that he was not giving Béarn to France, but giving France to Béarn.

The troops of Charles IX took the city, but d'Albret took over in 1569. Catherine of Bourbon, sister of Henri IV, governed Béarn in his place.

Politics and administration

Fourth city in Nouvelle-Aquitaine (after Bordeaux, Limoges and Poitiers), Pau is the prefecture of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the chief town of four cantons:

Canton of Pau-1, formed from part of Pau

Canton of Pau-2, formed from part of Pau and the commune of Idron

Canton of Pau-3, formed from part of Pau and the communes of Bizanos and Mazères-Lezons

Canton of Pau-4, formed from part of Pau and the commune of Gelos

Municipal administration

Below is the sharing of seats on the Pau City Council:

Political trends and results

2014 municipal elections in Pyrénées-Atlantiques

List of mayors

List of mayors of Pau

André Labarrère died of cancer on 16 May 2006. He was succeeded by Yves Urieta, elected by the municipal council on 30 May 2006. In the meantime, the interim was ensured by Martine Lignières-Cassou, first assistant and deputy of the First Constituency of Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

Intercommunality

The town of Pau is part of five intercommunal structures:

The Communauté d'agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées

The Union of the Ousse basin water development

The Trade Union of Energy of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques

The Intercommunal Association of the recreation centres of Narcastet

The Intercommunal Association of Defence against flooding of the Gave de Pau

Pau hosts the headquarters of ten intercommunal groups:

Public local management agency

The Communauté d'agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées

The Trade Union of energy of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques

The Intercommunity Association of defence against flooding of the Gave de Pau

The Aeropolis Joint Union

The Joint Union of Studies of the Pau-Oloron road link

The Joint Union of Pau Urban Transport – doors of the Pyrenees

The Joint Union of the basin of the Gave de Pau

The Joint Union of Greater Pau

The Joint Union for the treatment of household and similar waste of the east basin

International relations

Pau is twinned with:

Population and society

Demographics

The communal population of Pau amounts to 80,441 inhabitants, as of 2023. The Communauté d'agglomération of Pau Béarn Pyrénées has 166,794 inhabitants, and the urban unit of Pau had 206,230 inhabitants in 2022. Pau is the most populous city of the Department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and the fourth of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region after Bordeaux, Limoges and Poitiers.

The towns of Billère, Lons and Lescar are the first three communes in the agglomeration after Pau (they have approximately 35,000 inhabitants combined).

Education

Kindergartens and primary schools

Public school groups

Legend: K: Kindergarten / P: Primary school

Secondary

Legend: S: Secondary College / T: Technical college

Legend: G: General education high school / V: Vocational high school

Higher education

The city of Pau has a long academic tradition, as a university was established in Pau in 1722. Pau now has the second largest student population in Aquitaine. The city has 17,000 students and 3,900 researchers. It has a multidisciplinary university (law, economics, sciences, social sciences and humanities), an IUT, an IAE, several engineering schools, business schools and art schools.

The University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour (UPPA) had 11,200 students, in May 2012, spread across five sites: Pau, Anglet, Bayonne, Mont-de-Marsan (Landes) and Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées). Its location exceeds the strict framework of the Academy of Bordeaux and overlaps somewhat with that of the Academy of Toulouse. The University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour had 25 laboratories and 650 researchers in 2007.

The university group and Pyrénées Oceanes Research Campus unites the Groupe ESC Pau, five schools of engineers (ENIT Tarbes, ENSGTI, CY Tech, ESTIA Bidart-Bayonne, ISA BTP), the Institute of Business Administration (IAE) and the University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour (UPPA), with 15,000 students. The Pyrénées Oceanes Campus takes a European dimension and will soon join the University of Aragon, the University of Pamplona and several Spanish business and engineering schools. Philippe Lafontaine, Director of the ESC Pau is the University President.

École nationale supérieure en génie des technologies industrielles (ENSGTI): School of Engineering University of Pau, it is located north of campus and offers training in engineering processes and in chemical engineering, research masters and doctorates.

CY Tech, formerly EISTI : School of engineering in computer science, the CY Tech grew around the PBC (Pau Broadband Country).

École nationale supérieure of oil and engines (ENSPM-IFP) office of Pau.

École des mines d'Alès (EMA, laboratory).

Groupe ESC Pau: School of Management created in 1962, the Groupe ESC Pau has 1,400 students and 4,700 former students. In addition to Pau, it is present in Paris, in India (Bangalore, MATS School campus) and has offices in Brazil (Recife), and in the United States in Washington. Group ESC Pau is part of the Conférence des Grandes écoles and shapes future executives and business leaders. The diploma of the ESC Pau is of master grade (BAC+5) and recognized by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. Group ESC Pau is AFAQ ISO 9001 certified and accredited EPAS (international accreditation of the EFMD) since 2006.

Health

Hospitals

The Centre Hospitalier de Pau is composed of three home centres arranged as follows:

The François Mitterrand Hospital

The Hauterive Centre, including the functional rehabilitation service, care and medical rehabilitation unit and the nuclear medicine service, among others

The Jean-Vignalou Centre, intended for Gerontology

A specialised facility, Centre Hospitalier des Pyrénées, situated on Avenue du Général-Leclerc, is a public establishment of mental health.

Paramedical training institutes

The Institute of training of health (IFCS) provides the training of healthcare managers, nursing sector

Training in nursing Institute (IFSI) and the Institute for training of the caregivers (IFAS)

The centre for continuing education of health professionals (CFCPS)

Private clinics and centres

The Centre Hospitalier de Pau has contributed to the establishment of an important centre of health by enabling the consolidation of different private institutions close to the hospital area:

The Jeunes Chênes [Young Oaks]: establishment of care and rehabilitation (access from the Boulevard de l'Europe)

The Polyclinic of Navarre, Boulevard Hauterive

The Princess Clinic, Boulevard Hauterive

The Béarnais Nest, Boulevard Hauterive

It also hosts the site of the French Establishment of Blood (145, Avenue de Buros).

The Marzet Polyclinic, situated on Boulevard Alsace-Lorraine, was bought by the Polyclinic of Navarre in 2013. The new arrangement has 400 beds and employs nearly 700 people.

Gastronomy

Pau, became the historic capital of Béarn in 1464, offering the gastronomic specialities of the southwest and typical Béarnese or Palois dishes:

Garbure, a comforting soup made from cabbage, beans, confit of goose, ham or bacon

The confit, breast and other dishes derived from duck or goose

The ventrèche, slice of dried pork belly, eaten plain or accompanied by a fried egg

The broye, thick and salty boiled maize flour, with added whey or goose fat, consumed as fried slices from the pan, or cubes with coffee with milk

The trinxat, a local mountain dish consisting of mashed cabbage and potatoes mixed in smoked bacon, which is fried

The palombe, regional name for wood pigeon, a migratory bird that crosses the southwest region, cooked in a sauce or roasted

The poule au pot, a sort of stew in which a stuffed chicken is boiled

Ham known as "de Bayonne" is in fact a Béarnese ham, made from the pigs of the Aspe and Ossau Valleys. This ham was historically salted at Salies-de-Béarn then exported via the Adour River from the port of Bayonne, from where the incorrect name of jambon de Bayonne [Bayonne ham] arose. Today, the bulk of Bayonne ham is made in Bearn. Pork, and in particular the black pig, was introduced in the Basque country in the 1960s to deal with a serious agricultural crisis

The Pyrenean Cheese, the mountain sheep's milk, whom the best known is the Ossau-Iraty (AOC). This cheese can be enjoyed especially with cherry jam, which is the renowned black cherry jam from Itxassou

Restaurants and bars

Pau has more than 160 restaurants, found in the historic city center (Château, Hédas), and beyond. The Béarnaise capital has several quarters which are particularly animated at night, including the quarters of the triangle, the Boulevard des Pyrénées and also Rue des Orphelines.

Culture

The town of Pau is marked by a strong cultural identity, with the presence of a French-Occitan bilingual school (calandreta Paulina) (90 students) in Pau and one in the metropolitan area in Lescar (60 students), by a living practice of Béarnese and the success of the Occitan cultural groups. The city has, however, received foreign influences of major importance (English, Spanish, Russian, Brazilian) and remains very open to the outside with a large English student community, along with the presence of Dutch, Portuguese, Spaniards and Moroccans. Near Dax, Bayonne and Biarritz, the Pau people have a love of city ferias. The bandas, bodegas (drinking places with typical animation) and Béarnese singing groups are numerous including Nadau, Lo Cèu de Pau and Balaguera. Since 2005, the city hosts the festival Hestiv'oc which is the grand festival of Occitania. The University of Pau, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, also often hosts concerts and cultural events.

The Association of the Palois and Béarnese in Paris, La Garbure, was founded around 1890 by a Béarnese pharmacist who went to the capital to open a shop on Boulevard Haussmann. The history of this association, which has never had official status, is transmitted only orally. However, the original spirit remains the same. The "expatriates" meet two or three times a year in a friendly atmosphere to speak of the country around a good meal. Without issue, and without political dimension, although politicians like Louis Barthou, François Bayrou and others have never neglected this "sounding board" which also brings together celebrities from entertainment, from information and from gastronomy.

Language

The Béarnese state language, before 1789, was a Gascon dialect of Occitan. For the anecdote, there is an English-Béarnese dictionary for the use of the British who were vacationing in Pau. One theory of the origin of the word caddie was that it was formed at Pau Golf Club (Billère) from the Béarnese capdèth.

The Ostau Bearnés is a Pau organization bringing together all who practice or teach the language.

Centres and cultural facilities

The Zénith: Very modern with a capacity of 6,800 (or up to 4,500 seats), it hosts national and international artists in operas, concerts, cabarets, shows and circus on ice. It is located near the Palais des Sports, on Boulevard Cami Salié.

The André Labarrère Intercommunal Library, on Place Marguerite Laborde, is the work of architect Daniel Rubin, and opened its doors in June 2012. It was intended as the bridgehead of a network of ten libraries in the Pau-Pyrenees agglomeration. A sober architecture, block compact glass and steel and occupying less than 2,000 square metres (22,000 sq ft), the ground space revolves around a huge interior with a 17 metres (56 ft)-high atrium serving 3 floors: 5,400 square metres (58,000 sq ft), 184,000 documents (including 14,000 CDs and 7,000 DVDs) and 400 titles of journals are thus made available to all. A 120-seat auditorium, an exhibition hall of 198 square metres (2,130 sq ft), the news space or Interlude Space has also been built within the structure. Originally laid down on a section of Beaumont Park as part of a project by architect Zaha Hadid (Priktzer 2004 Award winner), financial and technical constraints changed the views of the mayor in early 2007 and finally brought the media library to a part of the site occupied by the Henry-IV School.

The Palais Beaumont, auditorium, home of the Symphony Orchestra of Pau-Pays de Béarn. The congress centre is part of the grouping of the HCCE (Historic Conference Centres of Europe).

The Parc des expositions de Pau: Located to the west of the city, straddling Pau and Billère, it welcomes 450,000 visitors and 200 events per year.

The Méga CGR Cinema located next to the university is equipped with 12 digital and 3D screens. The multiplex offers a large and public programming.

The CGR Saint-Louis Cinema in the city centre is equipped with 7 digital rooms. Renovated in October 2012, it offers intermediate programming between arthouse and trials and commercial movies, including several movies per week operated both in VF (French version) and OVFST (original version subtitled French).

Museums

National Museum of the Château de Pau: created in 1929 and housed in the castle in which was born the future Henry IV on 13 December 1553. Not only a genuine medieval fortress, but also a Renaissance palace and Royal residence, this museum located in the center of the city is one of the most visited national museums of France (average of 100,000 visitors per year). Successive conservators are keen to bring together paintings, art objects and documents relating to the time of Henry IV. Inside, simple and warm decor with wood-panelled walls, enhanced with threads of gold, coffered ceilings and Gobelins tapestries, houses one of the collections of France.

Musée des beaux-arts de Pau: Inaugurated in 1864 under the initiative of Société béarnaise des amis des arts [Béarnaise society of friends of arts], this museum only housed a collection of twenty-five pieces, completed in 1872 by the donation of the Béarnais collector Louis La Caze. It was the first museum in 1878 to show a significant work by Degas, Le bureau du coton à la Nouvelle-Orléans [The cotton office in New Orleans]. It presents ancient and contemporary works from the 15th to the 20th century, with paintings of Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, English, French and Italian schools: Brueghel, Degas, El Greco, Guillaumin, Jordaens, Lhote, Morisot, Nattier, Ribera, Rubens, Van Loo, Zurbarán and regional artists Eugène Devéria (1805–1865) and Victor Galos (1828–1879). There is a large collection of sculptures of the 19th century, with works by Arp, Glioli and Lasserre. Of many fine art prints relating to the region, including the watercolour by Gustave Doré Cirque de Gavarnie, as well as contemporary works by Soto, Vasarely and the hyperrealistic Pau school artists, which complete the picture.

Musée Bernadotte: The modest home of a cooper that saw the birth and growth of Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, who became Marshal of France and King of Sweden in 1818 and founder of the current ruling family of that country. It contains a collection of works and objects relating to the history of this Béarnese person, it also has a realisation of classical living conditions of a family of the 18th century in Pau.

The Béarnese Museum: Its reopening to the public is not currently scheduled. There were collections of popular arts and traditional objects of Béarn: Fauna, flora, costumes, furniture and crafts (manufacture of the beret, sneakers and clogs, weaving, quarry).

Museum of paratroopers

Exhibition spaces

The Palais Beaumont

The Pavillon des Arts

The peristyle of the Hôtel de Ville

The André-Labarrère media library

The Nouste-Henric Hall

The Chapel of the Perseverance

The Cité des Pyrénées

The department hall

Theatres and orchestral formations

The Orchestra of Pau Pays de Béarn (OPPB), was conducted from 2002 by Fayçal Karoui. This symphonic orchestra sits in the Alfred de Vigny Auditorium of the Palais Beaumont, but also in France and abroad (Zaragoza, Nantes for La Folle Journée, Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron, Ravenna, Venice, Paris for the Festival Présences). In 2012 the orchestra moved to Nantes, Bilbao, and Tokyo for "Les Folles Journées" of these three cities.

Two amateur orchestras: The Ossau and the EOP (Orchestral Ensemble of Pau)

The Théâtre Saint-Louis, historic theatre of Pau near the Place Royale and the city hall

The Saragosse Theatre, a subsidised dance-theatre Pau/Béarn with plural spaces in the Saragosse Quarter

The Tam-Tam Theatre

The Artscène Theatre

The Théâtre du Monte-Charge

The Bourbaki Theatre (it closed its doors in 2014)

The Comédie des Mutins in Lescar, in the Pau agglomeration, can be added to this list.

Festivals

The city of Pau is home to many festivals throughout the year, including:

Carnival Biarnés

Festival Hestiv'Oc, a "festival of music and culture of the south" established in 2005

Festival CulturAmerica

Ciné Cité

L'Été à Pau [The summer in Pau]

Festival accès)s(, created in 2000 (electronic culture)

Festival Amplitudes

Festival Beta Project

Festival Bulles d'Afrique

Festival de danses plurielles

Festival of the Caribbean

Festival of Portuguese-language Cinema

Gay and lesbian film festival

Board Game Festival of Pau

Images Mountain Festival

Festival HIP HOP NON STOP (organised by the Gare-urbaine association)

Festival Regarder sur les Côtés [Look on the Sides]

Festival Le Brésil frappe à ta porte

Festival Mosaïka

Festival Pau ville Russe

Urban Session Festival

Media

Print

The region is covered by three local newspapers dependent on Groupe Sud Ouest:

Sud Ouest, Béarn and Soule edition

La République des Pyrénées, (the number one daily of the Béarn)

L'Éclair des Pyrénées

Television

France 3 Aquitaine and its regional variation as France 3 Pau Sud-Aquitaine

Radio

France Bleu Béarn, which provides a national joint programme that reflects local programs of the stations in the regions

NRJ Pyrenees, national music radio with a time slot reserved for local programming (4pm to 8 pm) as well as flashes of morning information

Virgin Radio Pyrenees, national music radio with a time slot reserved for local programming (4pm to 8 pm) as well as flashes of morning information

RFM Béarn, national music radio with a time slot reserved for local programming (1pm to 5 pm) as well as flashes of morning information

Atomic, pop, rock and dance music programming (from September)

100% Radio, general music programming and local information

Radio Inside, pop, rock and dance music programming.

RPO (Radio Pau Ousse)

Ràdio País, community radio station dedicated to the Occitan culture

IMETS (Euro Info Pyrénées Métropole), community radio station dedicated to jazz music

Sport

Pau has many sports facilities and several high level sport clubs.

Clubs

Basketball: The professional club Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez accounts for nine titles as Champion of France (1986, 1987, 1992, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004), six Cups of France (1991, 1992, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2007), three Tournament of "A"s (1991, 1992, 1993), a week of "A"s (1993) and a title of winner of the Korać Cup in 1984 (European Cup). In 2007, the club climbed into the European top 16. Its results at the end of the 2008–2009 season demoted it Pro B. After a reorganization of its capital, the club changed its name and became the Élan béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez (ÉBPLO). The following 2009–2010 season was totally successful with a first place in the regular season (meaning an immediate promotion to Pro-A) and a title of Champion of France of Pro-B won at Paris Bercy against CSP Limoges. Pau-Orthez play its home matches at the Palais des Sports de Pau and former players include Boris Diaw, Mickaël Piétrus and Johan Petro.

Rugby union: the Section Paloise, club created in 1902 is one of the oldest French rugby clubs. Pau has won three titles of Champion of France (1928, 1946 and 1964), three Cups of France (1939, 1952, 1997) and a European Challenge Cup (2000). Recently, the club participated in two semi-finals of the French Championship (1996, 2000) and a semi-final of the Heineken Cup (1998). The club appeared in the elite Top 16 which became the Top 14, until 2006. It is now in Pro D2, and reached the finals of accession for the Top 14 in 2012 and 2013. Two current French International players, Imanol Harinordoquy and Pau native Damien Traille, once played for the team.

Canoe-kayak: The Palois university club Pyrénées-Eaux-Vives (CUPPEV) has four champions of very high level: Patrice Estanguet, bronze medalist at the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, Tony Estanguet, the younger brother of Patrice, triple Olympic champion in 2000, 2004 and 2012 and triple champion of the world (2006, 2009 and 2010), Fabien Lefèvre, double champion of the world (2002 and 2003) and twice medalist at the summer Olympics (2004 and 2008) and Julien Billaut champion of the world in 2006.

Fencing: Section Paloise is one of the most prestigious clubs in France. Since its creation, in the Quartier du Hédas, many Olympic and world champions are from the club. Since 1959, the Section ensures the continuity of this Olympic discipline with its assets, three global medals, several places of finalists in the World Cup and 26 titles of Champion of France. Fencers are taught the six disciplines of épée, foil and sabre for men and for women, under the leadership of the fencing masters Alain Coicaud, Laurent Vicenty and Michel Salesse. The Section is classified first in clubs of the Southwest in all three weapons and among the best French clubs. The 2005–2006 season was an exceptional year which had several Pau competitors, led by Julien Médard, Gavin Lallement and Romain Miramon, winning national and international individual and team titles.

Facilities

The Stade du Hameau [Hamlet Stadium], a 13,966-seat stadium located to the east of the city, home to Section Paloise rugby and Pau PC. The stadium has two covered grandstands, a fitness room and a club house.

The Palais des Sports de Pau: With 7,856 seats, it is the 2nd largest hall in France after Bercy. The Élan Béarnais home, it has also served in Davis Cup events, at the handball World Championships, the official 1999 European Basketball Championship and the gymnastics Championship of France.

The Circuit de Pau-Ville, is a temporary motor racing circuit in the streets of the city and which hosts the Pau Grand Prix.

The whitewater stadium of Pau-Pyrénées opened in 2008. It is a man-made basin fed by the Gave de Pau. It welcomes in particular elite division of the team of France of kayak and the centre of hopefuls. It hosted a round of the World Cup in 2009 and 2012. It will host the canoe-kayak 2017 World Championships.

The water stadium: This outdoor pool is housed two basins, which is "almost Olympic" (it lacked only a tiny centimetre to be approved), and a diving pool.

The rugby stadium of the Croix du Prince, historic seat of Section Paloise, in which the youth teams play again today.

The equestrian field of Sers and the Pont-Long Racecourse: It is the second equestrian centre of France, behind Chantilly and before Maisons-Laffitte for steeplechase. It holds twenty-eight meetings of steeplechase and flat per year. The steeplechase course is one of the most formidable in Europe. The Sers training centre houses six hundred horses.

The Basque pelota Complex, inaugurated in 2006, is for Jai alai, a mur à gauche, a trinquet and an open place fronton. It is the largest Basque pelota facility in Europe (2,600 seats). This facility is known to be underemployed. The Amateur World Championships of Basque pelota (Basque sport) should have taken place there in 2006 and were held in 2010. Since May 2007, the converted trinquet has reopened to its original sport, real tennis, on Sundays.

Events

Since 1930, Pau has become a mainstay of the Tour de France cycling race, thanks both to its geographical location and to its marvelous infrastructure. Pau hosted its 63rd stage in 2010, and only one other city besides Paris has done better. The 2010 Tour visited Pau on three occasions: First as a passing town, second time as a finish, and the third time as a departure town on the way to the Col du Tourmalet. Pau is behind Bordeaux as the town of the province to have had most stages in the history of the Tour. Pau will receive the Tour for the 75th time in 2024.

Perhaps the highest-profile sporting event is the Étoiles de Pau ("Stars of Pau"). Held annually in October, it is one of only six annual competitions in eventing that receive the highest rating of CCI**** from equestrianism's world governing body, the FEI. It's also the only event of this level in France.

In 2008, between 11 and 23 August, Pau hosted the 83rd French Chess Championship. The men's event was won by Étienne Bacrot, on tie-break from Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, while the women's event resulted in a victory for Sophie Milliet. Thirty-six players took part. Pau was previously the Championship venue in 1943 and 1969.

Other events include:

Stages of France's canoeing Championships.

Marathon de Pau, whose departure takes place every year from the Palais Beaumont.

The Féminine de Pau, walking race held twice per year from 2012.

International meeting of capoeira.

Dance international meetings organized by the Rezodanse association.

Frequent events such as the Davis Cup of tennis (four times), every November tennis ATP Challenger Tour, the World Championship of handball, the Championship of European nations of basketball, France's Gymnastics Championships, the Championships of France of parachute jumping.

Economy

From the 1950s to the 1990s Pau depended on the production of natural gas and sulphur which were discovered nearby at Lacq. In the 21st century, the mainstays of the Béarn area are the oil business, the aerospace industry through the helicopter turboshaft engines manufacturer Turbomeca, tourism and agriculture. Pau was the birthplace of Elf Aquitaine, which has now become a part of TotalEnergies. Halliburton has an office in Pau.

Pau is the second economic hub of Aquitaine, after Bordeaux. A university city, it has concentrated several industrial centres and centres of important research in the fields of petroleum engineering and geosciences, petrochemistry and chemistry, food, automotive, aeronautics and computer science.

Pau benefits from its central location in the region of the Pays de l'Adour and its location between two major areas of population: Bayonne/Anglet/Biarritz (160,000 inhabitants) and the area of Tarbes/Lourdes (110,000 inhabitants) and secondary, more diffuse, areas: South of Landes/Dax (90,000 inhabitants) and the areas of Auch (40,000 inhabitants), Orthez/Lacq (30,000 inhabitants) and Oloron (20,000 inhabitants).

The municipality is partially within the Ossau-Iraty AOC area.

Tertiary functions: administrative (prefecture, general council, etc.), cultural (university), judicial ( Court of Appeal), commercial.

Science Centre and technology Jean-Feger, of the oil group TotalEnergies (formerly Elf Aquitaine).

The Euralis Research Centre.

The Technopoles of Hélioparc, Pau Cité Multimédia and Pole E-Business southern Aquitaine (PEBA).

Aeronautical and space industry.

Electrical industry.

Food and wine industries.

Industry

Pau experienced an important economic boom based on the discovery of the giant deposit of natural gas in Lacq. Discovered in the 1950s (by engineer Jean Féger), it was then the largest terrestrial deposit of gas in Europe and helped France to be self-sufficient in gas for almost thirty years. The Société Nationale des Pétroles d'Aquitaine (SNPA) was born at Lacq in 1941, after merger with ELF in 1976 it became part of the Elf Aquitaine group, then Total during its integration into the Group TotalFinaElf (in Lacq, known now the SNEAP, Société Nationale Elf Aquitaine Production). Oil and focussed businesses (Total Exploration Production France, TotalEnergies, Total infrastructure Gaz France (TIGF), Schlumberger, Halliburton) and chemical (Arkema, Air Liquide) settled in Pau or the surrounding area (in Lacq at the Chemparc chemical park but also in Pardies and Artix).

The scientific centre of Total in Pau is one research centre for exploration and production of gas and oil in Europe, more than 2,000 people, including 900 doctors and engineers in the geosciences, resulting from the merger of ELF Aquitaine and Total. Research in the geosciences is also based on university partnerships/companies notably with the Federation of research applied to petroleum engineering (IPRA), consisting of teams of research CNRS/University of Pau and the Pays de l'Adour (UPPA) and Total (the IPRA represents 130 teachers, researchers and beneficiaries, an annual budget of 1.5 million euros and six scientific Masters). Research and engineering in the geosciences are also present through specialised companies (CGG, Paradigm Geophysical, TTI, VERITAS, etc.) implanted, for the most part, on the site of the Hélioparc technopole and specialised training centres (IFP Training, NExT-Schlumberger, Wellstaff, Baker Hughes, etc.).

The area of Pau-Lacq is also geared towards fine chemicals (Acetex, now closed) and new materials. High-tech composite materials and nanomaterials have gradually been developed in Béarn with the Carbon Fibre Company (SOFICAR) and the GRL (Group of research of Lacq), one of the main centres of research of ARKEMA.

Industry has also developed recently around new energy investments and other energies: Bio-fuels (manufacturing site of bioethanol from the AB Bioenergy France Company, €150M investment), biomass (cellulose) and the production of electricity from gas (production site of SNET, investment of €400M). One driver of uptake and CO2 sequestration process is also underway (industrial investment of €100M).

Services

Pau also concentrates the regional headquarters of many service companies as capital of the Pays de l'Adour region: The banking sector (CA Pyrénées Gascogne, Banque Pouyanne), insurance (MIF, MSA), construction (Groupe MAS, Cance) and business services (APR, YSA, Vitalicom).

ICT businesses have experienced an important development with the deployment of optical fibre in the agglomeration and the implantation of companies specialising in information technology, networks and image processing. The technopoles [technological hubs] of Helioparc (close to the university, 1,000 jobs), Pau Cité Multimédia (north of the town, 700 jobs) and the @LLEES (Villa Ridgway built in 1905, former headquarters of Elf) concentrate a large number of systems integration and computer engineering information technology consulting schools. Pau should, ultimately, be fully connected to a fibre optic network (Pau Broadband Country) of the agglomeration of Pau-Pyrénées communities which will allow a data transfer rate of 10 to 100 megabits per second (and 1 gigabit per second for some companies) and applications of types such as VoIP, online services and webTV. Pau is the third city in Europe, after Stockholm and Milan, to have developed a very high-speed fibre optic network. The project has cost 30 million euros and has been spread over five years. This network has encouraged the location of French and foreign companies to Pau, which are specialised in imaging, services or design online.

Pau combines all the functions and administrative headquarters of a regional agglomeration: General Council of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Court of Appeal for the departments under the purview of Pau (Pyrenees Atlantiques, Landes and Gers), the regional hospital, Chamber of commerce and industry of Pau Béarn, Chamber of Trade of Pyrénées Atlantiques, Chamber of Agriculture of Pyrénées Atlantiques, SDIS 64, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour. The Chamber of commerce and industry of Pau Béarn manages the Pau-Pyrénées airport, the Groupe ESC Pau, the consular hotel, the CNPC and the IPC de Pau.

In 2006, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Pau Béarn had 11,000 industrial and commercial companies registered as headquartered in Pau.

Pau is also a city of congress, symposia and business travelers with infrastructure allowing it to host national and international events. The Palais Beaumont Congress Centre, a casino, a park of exhibitions and 4-star hotels (Parc Beaumont Hotel, Villa Navarre Hotel) all help to provide this infrastructure.

Tourism

The town of Pau is located 45 minutes from the Pyrenees and its ski resorts. It is a holiday resort for tourists to the Pyrenees (hiking, climbing, skiing) and Spain. Located near the Basque and Landes coasts (an hour's drive), it is possible to practice water sports (surfing, diving, sailing, etc.).

Pau is the gateway to the five Béarnese valleys (the Ossau Valley, Vallée d'Aspe, Vallée de Barétous, the Vallée de l'Ouzom and Vath-Vielha) that receives winter sports tourists (the ski resorts of Gourette, Artouste, Le Somport and La Pierre Saint-Martin), spas (Eaux-Bonnes and Eaux-Chaudes) and green tourism (white-water sports, cultural and gastronomic tourism).

Its location at the foot of the Pyrenees gives Pau an exceptional panorama of the chain of the Pyrenees, in particular from the Boulevard des Pyrénées which is a long avenue of 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi), facing the Pyrenees mountain range.

Pau, a former royal town and capital of Béarn, is also a city of cultural tourism and important business (Congress, conferences, notably in the Palais Beaumont). The city, a former climatic health resort, also hosts a casino (the Casino de Pau).

The city is historically closely linked to the United Kingdom and remains popular with the British on holiday. The British discovered Pau and its climate, and left their imprint when Wellington left a garrison there in 1814. He defeated Marshal Soult at Orthez (some 40 km (25 mi) to the north-west) on his way into France from Spain towards the end of the Peninsular War. Vacationing British began arriving before the railway established the Boulevard des Pyrenées. The first full 18-hole golf course in Europe, created by people from Scotland, and in fact located at Billère, was laid out in 1856–1860 and is still in existence, and also a real tennis court. Spanish people are also very present in the city, as well as Portuguese and Moroccans (consulates of Spain and Portugal). The Germans and Dutch, attracted by the climate of Pau and its heritage, are also more and more numerous.

Transportation

Train

The railway station Gare de Pau offers connections to Bordeaux, Bayonne, Toulouse and Paris, and several regional destinations.

The TGV linking Paris-Montparnasse to Tarbes with Pau at 5hrs 10 m – 5hrs 30 m from Paris.

Intercités linking Bordeaux-Saint-Jean to Tarbes and Hendaye/Irun (Spain) to Toulouse-Matabiau.

The night Intercités linking Paris-Austerlitz to Tarbes or Hendaye/Irun to Geneva-Cornavin (Switzerland).

Two railway construction projects are under consideration: the extension and renovation of the line rail network France current online high-speed TGV from Bordeaux to Spain via the east of Landes (which would put Pau at about three hours from Paris) and the reopening of the cross-border link Pau-Canfranc (Spain) linking Pau to Zaragoza. La Croix du Prince station in the southern part of the town has rail connections to Oloron-Sainte-Marie and Bedous.

Airport

The international airport of Pau-Pyrénées, located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to the north-west in the commune of Uzein, is connected directly to Paris Charles-de-Gaulle and Paris-Orly, as well as airports in Marseille, Lyon, London, Southampton and Amsterdam, among other destinations. In 2009, it recorded 690,000 passengers, a decrease of more than 15%, making it the third busiest airport in Aquitaine after Bordeaux and Biarritz airports.

Motorways

The A64 (European route E80) called la Pyrénéenne, joins Toulouse to the east in 2hrs 5 m, and Bayonne in 1hr 17 m to the west.

The A65 (European route E07) called A'Liénor – autoroute de Gascogne connects Pau to Bordeaux in 2hrs 21 m via the A62 between Bordeaux and Langon, a point of connection of two motorways. Its inauguration took place on 16 December 2010. The A65 autoroute is the most expensive in France, with a toll of 14.67 cents/km (April 2015).

Funicular

The Funiculaire de Pau, opened in 1908, provides, free of charge, a link between the city centre and Boulevard des Pyrénées to the railway station in the valley. After a year of refurbishment to standard, service resumed on 25 November 2006. It carries an average of 500,000 passengers per year. It works every day and its hours are Monday to Saturday, from 6:45 am to 9:40 pm and Sunday from 1:30 pm to 8:50 pm.

Bus

The Société des Transports de agglomération Paloise (STAP) or IDELIS bus network, operates 13 urban bus routes, serving Pau and the adjoining communes of Billère, Jurançon, Gelos, Mazères-Lezons, Lescar, Lons, Bizanos, Gan, Ousse, Sendets, Lée, Idron, Artigueloutan, Uzein, Morlaàs, Serres-Castet and Aressy. A free shuttle bus service, Coxitis, circles the city centre at brief intervals from early morning to early evening.

The main stops are at Pôle Bosquet and also at the markets, the Place de Verdun, the SNCF railway station and the Auchan shopping centre.

The connections between the departmental and regional routes are at the Pôle Bosquet, since August 2006:

Rue Mathieu-Lalanne

Boulevard Joseph-Barbanègre

The city is engaged in a Bus à haut niveau de service [Bus to high level of service] (BHNS) project for a first route, the railway station to the hospital. Work started towards the end of 2014.

Heritage

Pau has a heritage which stretches from the 12th to the 21st century, which is represented through numerous sites and monuments, including the castle of Henri IV.

Religious monuments

The Church of Saint-Martin is situated in the centre of the old town, on Rue Henri IV. It was designed according to the plans of the architect Émile Boeswillwald. The construction of the church, of neo-Gothic influence, began in the 1860s. Every Sunday, the automatic carillon of St. Martin peals the notes of Eine kleine Nachtmusik and the Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman", by Mozart.

The Church of Saint-Jacques, also of Gothic influence, regained its two spires in 2012. Following the ancient chapel of the convent of the Cordeliers, it was completed in 1867. Its spires had been removed in 2001, due to being weakened by a storm in 1999.

The Notre-Dame Church is capped by a monumental statue of the Virgin and child of Art Deco inspiration. The church was built in the first half of the 20th century, in continuity with the ancient church dedicated to the pilgrimage which came before.

The Church of Saint-Joseph was designed by the architect Jacques Laffillée. It was built in 1935. Neo-Byzantine style, it is recognizable because of its domes and its bell tower, which is 50 metres (160 ft) high and of reinforced cement.

St Peter's Church was built in 1970. It was designed by the Prix de Rome architect André Remondet. Largely covered with slates, it has married its modern structure with concrete buildings which surround it.

The former Convent of the Réparatrices, an imposing chapel, now houses the National School of Music and Dance and combines ancient and contemporary architecture.

The Chapel of Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, classic architecture, accompanied by the establishment of a college of Jesuits (current Lycée Louis-Barthou). Begun in the 1660s, it was not completed until 1851.

The Chapel of Notre-Dame-du-bout-du-Pont, the former place of worship of the Ursulines de Pau, was built in 1872 and relocated in 1932. The Ursuline convent was, in fact, demolished to give space to the Palais des Pyrénées on the current Place Clemenceau. The chapel was dismantled stone by stone (each being numbered) and then rebuilt at its present location across the Gave de Pau.

Civil monuments

The Château de Pau dominates the Gave de Pau. Its two oldest towers date from the 12th century. The quadrangular tower of brick was raised by Sicard de Lordat in the 14th century. Thus constituted fortress was turned into a Renaissance palace by Marguerite d'Angoulême and then restored under Louis-Philippe and Napoleon III. In summary, the castle was fortress of the Viscounts of Béarn, Castle of Fébus, birthplace of the good King Henry IV (Nouste Enric) and royal residence in the Renaissance.

A first defensive tower desired below the castle by Gaston Fébus, then called the "Tour du Moulin" [tower of the mill] for a time, was built along a water channel operating the mill of the castle as early as the 15th century. The Tour de la Monnaie [Money Tower] was named according to Henri d'Albret who, in 1554, used it as a mint. Today containing a lift within, it was used for the coinage of money until the French Revolution.

Its small garden was tended by Marie Antoinette when she spent her summers in the city. Napoleon used it as a holiday home during his period in power. The château has been designated as a French historical monument and holds a collection of tapestries.

Close to the castle, the Parlement de Navarre [Parliament of Navarre], so named, saw its origins in the annexation of Béarn to the Crown of France under Louis XIII in 1620. Though, in fact, he established himself in a very old courthouse that had been built as early as 1585 in place of the house of the Bishop of Lescar. Burned down in 1716, it was rebuilt but quickly abandoned in favour of the current courthouse. The General Council settled there and it still holds its sessions.

Lycée Louis Barthou, originally a Jesuit college, was built in Louis XIII's appeal, probably between 1622 and 1645, for the restoration of Catholicism. It has illustrious alumni such as Lautréamont, Louis Barthou, Saint-John Perse, Pierre Bourdieu, Daniel Balavoine and Henri Emmanuelli.

The Birthplace of Bernadotte Museum is today of particular interest to Swedish tourists, it dates from the 18th century. Bernadotte was a French non-commissioned officer who was born in Pau and became a general of Napoleon and then King of Sweden under the name Charles XIV John.

Outstanding built-up areas

Place Clémenceau and the Palais des Pyrénées, the market square and centre commercial-street. In the heart of the downtown area, this is the site of many public festivals, shopping, and a fountain.

Place d'Espagne [Spain Square]: Containing buildings of contemporary architecture as well as the Bosquet commercial centre

Place des sept cantons [Seven Cantons Square]: This square is joined to not seven but six streets

Place des États [States Square]: The crossroads of transhumance until the Renaissance era, in the area of the Château de Pau

Place Gramont: An architectural ensemble from the 18th century, with many summer terraces

Place Reine-Marguerite [Queen Marguerite Square]: bordered by arcades with pebbled arches, it once was the marketplace, and a gallows and wheel for executions once stood here

Place Royale: Created by Louis XIV, it was built in its present form with a statue of Henry IV during the reign of Louis Philippe. It includes the Pau Town Hall

Place de Verdun: A large square today occupied by ample free parking and bordered to the west by the Bernadotte military barracks

Place de la Libération: The Palace of Justice and the Santiago Church are in this square

The Boulevard des Pyrénées, created on the initiative of Napoleon I as a continuation of the Place Royale, is 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) long. The panoramic view from the boulevard extends beyond the hills of Gelos and Jurançon to include the Pic d'Anie at 2,504 metres (8,215 ft), the Pic du Midi de Bigorre at 2,865 metres (9,400 ft) which is topped with an astronomical observatory known worldwide for the quality of its solar and planetary photographs (NASA used it to prepare for the Apollo missions), the Midi d'Ossau at 2,884 metres (9,462 ft) is of volcanic nature and of distinctive and symbolic shape, as well as Balaïtous at 3,146 metres (10,322 ft) and the Vignemale at 3,298 metres (10,820 ft), the highest peak in the French Pyrenees. One of the peculiarities of this avenue overlooking the Pyrenees is the presence of plates of orientation, allowing an alignment with a lightning rod on a factory chimney below, for recognizing the great peaks of the mountain range.

Environmental heritage

Pau is also a green city, having more than 750 hectares (1,900 acres) occupied by green areas, with many rare and exotic species. Pau has been classed "4 flowers" by the Competition of Flowery Cities and Villages. In some districts, for example Trespoey, the villas are bathed in vegetation. Pau is thus one of the European cities that have the most square meters of greenery per capita (80 square metres (860 sq ft) per capita):

Parc Beaumont with a lake, river and waterfall, many flower beds, a large rockery and a rose garden. The 12 hectares (30 acres) rugby ball-shaped park contains 110 species of trees. Some subjects are "notable" by their size, their age or their rarity such as Bald Cypress from Louisiana, Virginia persimmon and giant sequoia.

Parc Lawrence, a park with old trees, which is home to one of the many 19th century English villas of Pau.

The National Domain of the Château de Pau, composed of a Renaissance garden with medicinal plants and a park. The large park has walking trails and plenty of open space, for outdoor activities in the middle of the city.

The Sentiers du Roy, connecting the upper town to the lower town

Johanto Gardens, at the bottom of the Boulevard des Pyrénées, with its many and strong Palm trees

Contemporary gardens of the Hôtel du Département, in the lower town

The banks of the Gave de Pau, at Billère and Jurançon, downstream from the Pont d'Espagne [bridge of Spain] and the Whitewater Arena.

Besson Square, near the Conservatoire of music and dance with including Sequoia sempervirens

The Kōfu Garden, a Japanese garden opened in 2005 with plans provided by the gardeners of the city of Kōfu

Labels

City of Art and History from 2011

In his 2014 ranking the Conseil National des Villes et Villages Fleuris de France has assigned four flowers to the commune in the contest of flowery cities and villages (since 1983)

UNICEF child friendly city

TOP COM gold for its website in 2006, an award which annually recognizes the best communication actions

Notable people

People born in Pau

François Phébus (1467–1483), Count of Foix and Viscount of Béarn from 1479 to 1483

Gastón de Peralta, 3rd Marquis of Falces (1510–1587), viceroy of New Spain from 1566 to 1568

Jeanne d'Albret (1528–1572), Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572

Henry IV (1553–1610), King of France from 1589 to 1610 and Navarre from 1572 to 1610.

Porthos (1617), musketeer

Jean de Gassion (1609–1647), Marshal of France under Louis XIII and Louis XIV

Pierre Clément de Laussat (1756–1835), politician

Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte (1763–1844), Marshal of France and later King of Sweden and Norway as Charles XIV John of Sweden.

Guillaume Latrille de Lorencez (1772–1855), general of the armies of the Republic and the Empire

Charles-Denis Bourbaki (1816–1897), general of Greek descent.

Maurice de Mirecki (1845–1900) musician

Philippe Dauzon (1860–1918), politician, grandson of the hellenist Philippe Le Bas and great-grandson of the conventional Philippe Le Bas

Adrien Pozzi (1860–1939), politician and surgeon

Paul-Jean Toulet (1867–1920), poet and writer

Charles François-Saint-Maur (1869–1949), politician

People who died in Pau

Henry II of Navarre (1503–1555), nicknamed Sangüesino, the King of Navarre from 1517.

Guillaume Dauture (1770–1820), general of the armies of the Republic and the Empire

Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk FRS FRSE (1771–1820), a Scottish peer.

Jean-Jacques Ampère (1800–1864), philologist and man of letters.

Sir James Outram (1803–1863), British officer

Eugène Devéria (1805–1865), painter

Pierre Lanfrey (1828–1877), historian and politician.

Caroline Duprez (1832–1875), soprano

Nicolás Salmerón y Alonso (1838–1908), a Spanish politician, president of the First Spanish Republic.

Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre (1842–1909), occultist

Philippe Tissié (1852–1935), medical officer of health

Mrs. Patrick Campbell (1865–1940), English actress

Princess Zekiye Sultan (1872–1950), daughter of Ottoman sultan Abdulhamid II

Moncef Bey (1881–1948), former Bey of Tunis (1942–1943)

André Labarrère (1928–2006), politician

Geneviève Immè (1929–2012), Contemporary Latin poet, honored by the Académie Française as winner of the Prix Théophile-Gautier in 1992

Others

The emir Abd el-Kader (1808–1883), was imprisoned in the castle of Pau in 1848

Mary Todd Lincoln (1818–1882), lived in Pau between 1876 and 1880. She was the widow of American President Abraham Lincoln.

Henry Russell (1834–1909), buried there

Isidore Ducasse, Comte de Lautréamont (1846–1870), (author of Les Chants de Maldoror) studied there

Louis Guédy (1847–1926), French painter, settled here during the end of the 19th century

Louis Barthou (1862–1934), politician, lived in Pau

Saint-John Perse (1887–1975), real name Alexis Saint-Léger lived here from 1899 to 1906, where he was a student at Lycée Louis-Barthou

Dornford Yates (1885–1960), pseudonym of the British novelist, Cecil William Mercer lived here from 1922 to 1940

Joseph Peyré (1892–1968), winner of the Prix Goncourt in 1935, native of Aydie, educated at the Lycée de Pau (1900–1907), taught there, and was lawyer for a time at the bar of Pau

Hubert Dubedout (1922–1986), Mayor of Grenoble between 1965 and 1983, lived there

Pierre Bourdieu (1930–2002), sociologist, who studied there

Guy Debord (1931–1994), (author of The Society of the Spectacle) lived there in the 1940s

Djamila Boupacha (1938), FLN combatant, imprisoned there in 1962 shortly before Independence was reached in Algeria