Walking Tour
Start your Walking tour at Point A on the map (Place Gramont). Take the street to the right out of the top of the square (rue Bordenave d’Abere) and then turn right again into the pedestrian street (rue du Chateau) to the Chateau. Before going through the gates, give them a few minutes for pictures and souvenirs, as you will not be coming back this way.
The oldest part of the Chateau is the brick tower or Donjon, built by Sicard de Lordat for Gaston de Febus, Viscount of Bearn, in the 14th Century. The castle was extended by his successors and in 1450 Pau succeeded Orthez as capital of the Bearn.
In 1527 the King of Navarre, Henri d’Albret, married the sister of Francois I, King of France. Bearn was part of the kingdom of Navarre, and the new queen Marguerite came often to Pau. She transformed the medieval castle into a “Chateau” in the Renaissance style.
However, the Chateau is most closely associated with her grandson King Henri IV, who was born here. His parents had become Protestants, which caused them no end of trouble with the French kings during the Wars of Religion. His mother, Jeanne d’Albret, ruled as queen after the death of her husband. This was the period when Catherine of Medici was desperately shoring up the declining powers of the Valois dynasty in her sons. In a demagogical move, which suited both women, a marriage was negotiated between Jeanne’s son Henri and Catherine’s daughter Marguerite de Valois.
Henri III, the last Valois king, nominated his cousin Henri de Navarre as his successor, on condition that he should become a Catholic. Henri complied, saying “Paris is worth a mass,” which must have pleased his new French subjects. The Bearnais were less delighted, however, and Henri had to assure them that he was giving Navarre to France and not the other way round. He styled himself Roi de France et de Navarre. Only in 1620, under Louis XIII, was Navarre finally incorporated into the kingdom of France.
Walk the group over the bridge, past the statue of Henri IV under the Renaissance loggia, and into the courtyard. Point out the Renaissance ornamentation on the facades. The H and M monogram refers to Henri IV’s grandparents, Henri d’Albret and Marguerite. The interior of the Chateau was heavily restored and modernised in the 19th Century by Louis Philippe and Napoleon III, who both stayed here frequently. You do not have time for an inside visit, but you can tell them about the most famous exhibit: the tortoise shell that served as a cradle for the newborn Henri IV. Before the baby was placed in it, however, his grandfather rubbed his lips with garlic and sprinkled him with the local Jurançon wine.
Get them to look down the impressively deep well before taking them out of the courtyard under the archway to your left. Walk to the edge of the terrace and look over the parapet to the small garden plots neatly planted with flowers and herbs. From this position it is very obvious that the castle was originally built as a fortress overlooking the river (the “Gave de Paul”). In fact, the name of the town comes from the word for a palisade in the Langue d’Oc. To your left, below the wall, is a fishpond or tank, which would have kept the castle supplied with carp and other fish for Fridays and fast days.
Go out through the gates and walk along the famous Boulevard des Pyrenees. (Public toilets on the left.) You pass the Parlement de Navarre that was created by Louis XIII in 1620 as a sweetener to the incorporation of Navarre into France and the solemn reestablishment of Catholicism.
Continue your walk past the Church of St Martin. Make a stop at the panoramic viewpoint, where you have a magnificent view of the Pyrenees (weather permitting). You are looking at the mountain border between France and Spain. The most striking peak, standing alone, is the Pic du Midi d’Ossau, which is in the middle of the National Park of the Pyrenees. This is the habitat of the last surviving colony of European brown bears. There are only 13 left and their existence is currently being put in jeopardy by a projected trans-Pyrenean Motorway. The Pyrenees are a relatively unspoiled paradise for hikers of every level.
In 1842 a Scottish doctor, Alexander Taylor, began to recommend a winter cure at Pau for his patients and the town soon became a fashionable English resort. Spas in the surrounding hill towns, which have been known since Roman times, joined in the boom. The English brought with them traditional sporting events such as steeple chasing and foxhunting and built the first golf course on the continent in 1856. They also introduced Rugby, which is still played with passionate fervour in the South West of France. France is the only European country where Rugby is taken seriously, the best teams being Bayonne, Pau and Beziers.
Before continuing along the Boulevard des Pyrenees, point out the charming little funiculaire (free) which links the railway station with the town. Turn left into the Boulevard Aragon and walk to the Place Clemenceau, the commercial centre of the town. The rest of your tour is simply a walk through the town, passing the shops of the rue Marechal Joffre and down the rue des Cordeliers (semi pedestrian), which crosses a viaduct above the lower town (pretty views of the Chateau).
To the left of the Church of St Jacques are the law courts. Turn left into the rue Bernadotte and make your way back to the Place de Verdun and the bus.