# Pau

Pau is a city in Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

## Understand

The town was fortified in the 11th century, and the château de Pau was the birthplace of Henri IV of France. Pau has a population of around 85,000.
Pau is the capital of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques and encompasses the Basque and the Bearn people. It is a perfect base to explore Southwest France and the Pyrenees mountains.

## Get in
### By train

There is a train station very near the centre. Outside, there is a funicular railway, which will carry you and your luggage to the main area, which is higher than the station. If you arrive or depart very early or late, the funicular will probably not be open. There are a couple hundred stairs instead; an excellent mountaineering challenge with cases! Alternatively, taxis are available. Trains come and go from the destinations you would expect, Paris, Bordeaux, Bayonne, etc.
In addition to the local trains, Pau is a stop on the TGV (high speed train) service to Paris with stops in Bordeaux. It takes approximately 5 hours to go from Paris to Pau on the TGV.

### By plane

* 43.38-0.4186111 Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF ) (10 km north-west of Pau, in Uzein). The airport offers one-stop flights to worldwide destinations of Air France (updated Feb 2025)
There are direct buses from the Pau airport to the town of Pau.
Alternative airports are the ones of Biarritz, Lourdes/Tarbes and Toulouse.
From Biarritz airport take a bus to the train station of Bayonne. From there take a train to Pau. Otherwise for an airport transfer, taxi, bus or coach from Biarritz Airport to Pau use Biarritz Airport Transfers
From the airport of Lourdes/Tarbes, take a bus to Lourdes and from there a train to Pau.
From the Toulouse airport take a bus to the city of Toulouse. From there take a train or intercity bus to Pau.

## See

* 43.294722-0.3751 Château de Pau (Pau Castle). The birthplace of Henri IV of France. Beautiful architecture. It can only be seen on hourly guided tours which are only given in French. It is free on the first Sunday of every month. Guided tours are usually very informative and well planned, the permanent collection and the château being in constant renovation. Unlike many French Chateaux, the Chateau de Pau is fully furnished.

## Do

* Rugby: Section-Paloise play rugby union (15-a-side) in Top 14, the French top tier. Their home ground Stade du Hameau (capacity 14,500) is 3 km northeast of city centre.
* Football: Pau FC play soccer in Ligue 2, the second tier in France. Their home ground Nouste Camp (capacity 4000) is 3 km northeast of city centre.

## Buy

There are many large chain stores in the centre at Place Clemenceau- H&M, Fnac, Quiksilver/Roxy, Galeries Lafayette, etc. There are also smaller shops in the streets surrounding it. There is a large market, typical of French towns, in a hall somewhere near the centre called "les halles"(sure, you can find out when you get there). In it you can buy a lot of fresh foods.

## Eat

Just opposite the main gate of the chateau there is a creperie with outside tables. It is an excellent place to soak up the sun and admire the architecture.
The brasserie 'Le Berry' on rue Gachet offers a variety of French and regional fare in gigantic portions for unbelievably low prices. The steak tartare, magret de canard, fish, and salads are especially good. Be sure to order half portions as these are generally larger than the normal-sized portions at other restaurants. This is always packed with locals so you may be forced to wait a few minutes for a table.
The restaurant 'Le Goxoki' is a basque restaurant and offers several local dishes such as 'La poule au pot'. The portions are large enough to fill a rugbyman's appetite (there are lots of rugby-based items in the restaurant).

## Drink

Le Garage is a British-themed bar rather near the centre of town. It has decent 'pub-grub' food, but the reason to go is to meet French university students with an interest in meeting English speakers.