PAU
Tour of Giants
Characteristics: For several summers now, the city of Henri IV has also been the city of the Tour des Géants, statues honouring the winners of the Tour de France. Each of these totems features the name and photo of the winner of each individual year, as well as a text written by French writer Christian Laborde. The totems, which are nearly two metres high, form a permanent monument set in the green surroundings of Bois Louis, near the Philippe Tissié Stadium. The site, laid out in a spiral shape, welcomes a new sculpture every year. Each aluminium and glass effigy (three of which are made of bronze) displays the name and photo of the winner of the year, the number of kilometres covered, their average speed and photos or drawings, accompanied by a dynamic and original text. A QR code is affixed to each structure; by scanning it, visitors can listen to the text translated into several languages.
Boulevard des Pyrénées
Completed: 1900
Characteristics: Offers an exceptional panorama of nearly 150 km of the Pyrenees mountain range. Its 850-metre-long balustrade serves as a guide rail. Jean-Charles Alphand envisioned the project, stating: "Pau needs a Promenade des Anglais like in Nice". The boulevard was therefore designed as a mountain replica of the Nice thoroughfare, a privileged place to "see and be seen". This promenade on the edge of a steep, completely artificial balcony is a technical and aesthetic feat, structuring urban development since its creation.
Park and Palais Beaumont
Construction: 1900
Style: Neoclassical
Architect: Émile Bertrand
Characteristics: Built to accommodate wealthy holidaymakers, the Winter Palace, known as Palais Beaumont, now houses a casino and a conference centre. The site is located in the heart of a park with remarkable trees and an outdoor theatre. The Tour de France starting village has often been set up here.
National Museum of Château de Pau
Construction: 12th to 19th centuries
Style: Medieval and composite
History: Standing on a rock overlooking a ford on the Gave river, the foundations of Château de Pau date back to the early Middle Ages. Henri IV was born there on 13 December 1553. Restored under Louis-Philippe, the château became a museum in 1926.
Characteristics: It has a very irregular polygonal layout, at the top of two embankments surrounded by the first and second enclosure. Inside the second enclosure, the castle follows the same polygonal plan. Today, it is flanked by six towers, while a seventh, the Monnaie tower, is part of the first enclosure. The towers are rectangular and connected by a thick wall against which the residential buildings are built.
Current use: A prestigious residence for centuries, the castle became a national museum dedicated to Henri IV in 1926.
Listed as: Historic Monument since 1840
Website
The banks of the Gave
Characteristics: This 250-hectare park is crossed by 13 km along the banks of the Gave. Remarkable for its natural heritage, the park aims to allow everyone to enjoy a natural space in the city. Facilities include benches, picnic tables, and a whitewater stadium, as well as a Blue Way for sporting and aquatic activities such as canoeing or rafting.
Domaine de Sers
Characteristics: Domaine de Sers (Sers Estate), a newly inaugurated 25-hectare green space, prioritises local residents. In addition to the municipal greenhouses, it is home to the Maison du Jardinier (House of the Gardener), offering information, advice and activities related to sustainable gardening. It also supports citizens in projects to green public spaces.
GAVARNIE-GÈDRE
Cirque de Gavarnie
Characteristics: The Cirque de Gavarnie is a natural glacial cirque, part of the Pyrenees National Park and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 as part of the Pyrenees-Mont Perdu complex. The grey, ochre and pink limestone terrain rises to 3,000 metres. Quaternary glaciers have shaped the Pragnères, Gèdre and Gavarnie basins, creating "narrows," including the Saint-Sauveur gorge. In the middle of the cirque, slightly on its eastern slope, stands the 422-metre-high Gavarnie waterfall, source of the Gave de Gavarnie, feeding into the Gave de Pau. Several relict glaciers remain: Brèche, Casque, Épaule, Cascade, and western Marboré glaciers. The cirque is accessible from the village of Gavarnie or via the Sarradets ladder. It is considered a natural wonder and one of the most visited sites in the Pyrenees.
Listed as: UNESCO World Heritage Site, 1997.
Gavarnie Festival
Created: 1985 (no longer organised since 2023)
History: A theatre festival held at the Cirque de Gavarnie. Classical or contemporary plays were performed in the open air in summer. Created by François Joxe with his Parisian theatre company Chantier-Théâtre, it combined artistic creation and nature in the first twenty editions. The festival resumed in 2006 with the theatre company Il est une fois and was later managed by Théâtre Fébus. Weather in 2023 prevented the festival from taking place, and its future is uncertain.
Special feature: Held on the Courade plain at 1,450 metres altitude, making it the highest festival in Europe, about half an hour's walk from the village.
Notre-Dame du Bon-Port Church
Construction: 12th to 19th century
Style: Romanesque
History: Originating from the monks of St John of Jerusalem (hospice mentioned in 1257). Enlarged in the 14th century, major works were carried out in the 19th century. The church collapsed in 1820 and was rebuilt from 1851 to 1878. Stained-glass windows by Louis-Victor Gesta were installed in 1910.
Characteristics: Broken barrel vault and gallery with side galleries, mostly from the early 19th century. Some 14th-century remains remain in the north chapel, and the base of the old square tower supporting the bell tower is still visible.
Listed as: Part of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route, World Heritage Site since 1998.
Gavarnie Cemetery (Pyrenean mountaineers' cemetery)
Characteristics: Features the "Pyrenean mountaineers' square," dedicated to guides and mountaineers who died pursuing their passion. Burials include Henri and Célestin Passet, François Bernat-Salles (1855–1934), Georges Ledormeur (1867–1952), Ludovic Gaurier (1875–1931), Jean Arlaud (1896–1938), Georges Adagas (1920–1987), Raymond d’Espouy (1892–1955), Jean Prunet, and Diego Calvet (1898–1922).
Listed as: Listed building since 1998.
Statue of Count Henry Russell
Construction: 1952 (copy of 1911 bronze by Gaston Leroux)
History and characteristics: Located on the road to Gavarnie near Pont de Cumia. Original 1911 bronze melted during the war; new statue unveiled on 20 July 1952. Russell was a Franco-British explorer who made around thirty "first ascents" in the Pyrenees between 1858 and 1885. He was known for his eccentric, contemplative character and romantic approach to mountaineering. Pic Russell (3,206 m) is named after him.
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