Place du Palais

The Place du Palais is the approach to the Château de Pau, the great fortress-palace that rises on a rocky spur over the river Gave de Pau, and it offers the first view of a building that tells the story of a small Pyrenean kingdom. Pau was the capital of Béarn and later of the kingdom of Navarre, whose rulers held their own court and spoke their own language, and the château was their principal seat. The name of Pau's most famous son, Henry IV, who was born in the castle in 1553 and became king of France, is linked to it, and the city still calls itself a royal city, twice over. The building has medieval origins, a Renaissance heart and nineteenth-century restoration, and standing in front of it gives a sense of that layering.

Inside the castle, now a national museum, visitors can explore state apartments, a long banqueting room known as the Salle des cent couverts and a collection of tapestries from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century that is among the best in France. The rooms are arranged to recall different eras, and the guides tell of the lives of Henry's mother, Jeanne d'Albret, his grandmother, Marguerite d'Angoulême, and the many other occupants. The square is the doorway to all of this.

The grounds are a major part of the experience. A large estate of about twenty hectares surrounds the château, with Renaissance-style gardens, a kitchen garden and a landscaped park that stretches along the edge of the plateau above the river. Paths lead through the trees, and the views open out across the valley to the Pyrenees, whose snowy ridges are visible on clear days. The park is a green lung for the city, and it is popular with joggers and families.

Pau has other pleasures close at hand. The Boulevard des Pyrénées, a long terrace along the edge of the old town, gives a broad panorama of the mountain range, with the peak of the Pic du Midi d'Ossau recognisable by its double summit, and a funicular links it with the lower town. The Parc Beaumont, the Cathédrale Saint-Louis, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Pau, the Musée du Vieux Pau and the Théâtre des Arts add culture, and the Gave de Pau riverbanks offer a quiet walk. Local specialities include the poule au pot, the chicken stew that Henry IV wanted every peasant to have on Sundays, and the wines of Jurançon from the nearby hills.

Allow one to two hours for the château. It suits history lovers and walkers. Check seasonal hours before you go.