Pau Hotels

Pau is a city of southwestern France, prefecture (capital) of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques department. Population (1999): 78,732. Pau was the capital of the former province of Bearn. It was the birthplace of Henry IV of France (1553-1610) and of Charles XIV of Sweden 1763 - 1844. The town was fortified in the 11th century, and the château de Pau was the birth place of Henri IV of France. Pau has a population of around 85,000. Pau is inland in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of Aquitaine, about an hour north of the mountains and an hour from the Atlantic coast. Go to Pau on a sunny day and you will be absolutely spellbound by the view from the Boulevard des Pyrenees. The green lower hills of the Pyrenees are across from your raised vantage point on the Boulevard and the snow-capped mountains lie behind. In your immediate fore-front you have the palm trees contrasting dramatically with the mountainous landscape beyond. This is why people come to Pau, and this combined with a magnificent castle, some wonderful architecture in the town, good shopping, excellent golf and some English style gardens make the town worth a visit. Beamont Palace at the other end of the Rue des Boulevards from the castle was built as a winter palace in 1900 at the request of foreign wealthy holiday-home owners. It is now a casino and conference centre. The building is a large neo-classical building and a large pond has been built in front of it by the architect Francois Lombard, which reflects the façade in the water.