THE PYRENEES sillon, thenfinallydipintotheMediterranean. vegetation pricklier,squatter andmore abundantasthemountainstaperdownintoRous- revered pilgrimagesites. sitsLourdes,oneofChristianity’smost the sheergrandeurofmountains. Tothenorth basessuchasCauterets andsummerwalking resorts and Bagnèresski deLuchon defer to andtarnsfedclimb toshimmeringlakes byswiftmountainstreams. Small-scale winter Vallée d’Ossau,cutlaterally intothe centralPyrenees, steepening andnarrowingasthey one ofthePyrenees’ few brownbears. Pastoral valleys,suchastheVallée d’Aspe andthe marmots,izards(cousintothechamois)and,perhaps, days andspotonlyotherwalkers, ows thefrontierforabout100km.Youcandisappearintotheseprotected mountainsfor and precarious colsfallwithinthenarrowstripofParc National desPyrénéesthatshad- the mountains’largest andmoststylishtown,Pau. zones.distinct Banyuls besidetheMediterranean Sea–butyou’llprobablyhave fromitsthree toselect twists fromHendayebesidetheBayofBiscayonFrance’sAtlantic Coastallthewayto natural, 430km-longboundarybetweenFranceandSpain. Snow-capped formuchoftheyear,jaggedpeaksPyrenees (lesPyrénées)forma The Pyrenees 708 © LonelyPlanetPublications Eastwards, inthePyrénéesOrientales,climate becomeswarmeranddrier,the The Hautes Pyrénées,thefocusofthischapter, are wilderandhigher. Their ruggedridges steadilyRising fromtheAtlantic throughmistandcloud,thePyrénées-Atlantiques cradle trailthatbucksand With sufficienttimeandenergy, youcouldfollowtheGR10walking

HIGHLIGHTS

POPULATION: 3,050,000 Watchgriffonvultures nest,hatch,feed andglidein Learn traditionalPyrenean tomake dishesata Immerseyourself inanicy stationofCirque Swooshdowntheslopesfromski thecentury-old,timber-seated Ride funiculartothe sanctuary inLourdessanctuary Aste-Béon the skies abovethe skies of St-Savin class cooking by du Lys,linked panoramic ( p727) bddesPyrénées ( p720 ) inthestorybook-pretty village La Falaise auxVautours télécabine bath (cablecar)to ( opposite ) inPau ( p715 ) atthespiritual 75) in (p725) Cauterets AREA : 8400 SQKM

Aste-Béon Pau St-Savin Lourdes Cauterets THE PYRENEES 709 was was Tour de la Tour de la History & details the names 05 59 82 38 02; www % 05 59 27 78 75; 14 rue 05 59 27 (

for DIY walking tours 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 9.30am- 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, % ( h 05 59 27 27 08; www.tourisme05 59 27 27 08; château (21 cours Bosquet)

05 59 83 90 51; 81 rue Castetnau ) 05 59 83 orientation table 9.30am-12.15pm & 1.30-5.45pm mid-Jun– 9.30am-12.15pm & 1.30-5.45pm % ( % ( h

Parks & Gardens & Parks below the main château, a modern below the main château, and Within the brick-and-stone one- Admission includes an obligatory The painstakingly restored château holds château The painstakingly restored Dangers & Annoyances Annoyances Dangers & noon & 2-6pm Sun, closed Sun afternoonnoon & 2-6pm Sun, Stacks Sep-Jun) the city and surrounds, of information on booklets in English: of free including a pair Heritage around town. PYRENEES PANORAMA PANORAMA PYRENEES Pyrenean the A mesmerising panorama of bd des summits unfolds from the majestic Pyrénées. An the peaks. For information on the funicular, of see p714 . one of Europe’s richest collections of 16th- to collections of Europe’s richest one of tapestries18th-century Gobelins and some porcelain. These apart, most items fine Sèvres includ- the ornamentation and furniture, of ing an oak dining table that can seat 100, intervention. from Louis-Philippe’s dates In IV was born is the Henri the room where tortoise-shell cradle. Monnaie hauls you from place de la Monnaie lift (free) the ramparts. up to (de- French hour guided tour in rapid-fire but you can pick parting every 15 minutes), guide sheet at the up an English-language reception desk. pau.com; place Royale; pau.com; place can be dodgy both day Lawrence, which and night. Sights CHÂTEAU of monarchs the of Originally the residence Pau’s Navarre, .musee-chateau-pau.fr, 18yr adult/18-25yr/under in French; €5/3.50/free; mid-Sep, 9.30-11.45am & 2-5pm mid-Sep–mid-Jun) amid transformed into a Renaissance château d’Angoulême gardens by Marguerite lavish grand- in the 16th century. Marguerite’s – IV, was born here Henri son, the future cradled, so the story goes, an upturned in tortoise shell. Laundrette Librairie des Pyrénées Main Post Office Tourist Office itselfParc poses no problems, but avoid Pau St-Louis) Sells an excellent selection of walking maps. St-Louis) Sells selection an excellent of walking THE TOWNS •• Pau 05 59 82 89 40; 20 rue Lamothe; per hr % (

10am-2am Mon-Fri, 2pm-2am Sat & Sun) One

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In recent years the city has owed its pros- years In recent Outside of the towns there are limited bus limited are the towns there Outside of

Getting There & Away Away There & Getting €4.50; around town. of over a dozen internet cafés C Cyber Café Separating the latter two is the main square, Separating main square, two is the the latter place Clemenceau. Information its crest stretches bd des Pyrénées, a wide stretches its crest of panoramic views promenade offering the mountains. town’s east–west axis The Bosquet, rue cours of is the thoroughfare Joffre. and rue Maréchal Foch Maréchal The town centre sits on a small hill with the The town centre base. at its Along Pau) (River de Pau Gave Orientation Orientation retains the elegance and style of its past, bol- the elegance and style of retains student population. by an energetic stered plants, at nearby Lacq. It’s also at the cutting it Yet technology. communications of edge perity to a high-tech industrial base industrial perity to a high-tech and a field, plus spin-off chemical natural-gas huge and promenades with dizzying vistas of the and promenades with dizzying vistas of snow-dusted peaks. and Americans, who left behind grand vil- and Americans, who left behind public parks las, English-style flower-filled mountainous region, but its chief city, Pau city, Pau but its chief mountainous region, (rhymes with ‘so’), has long been famed for In the 19th century it was a its mild climate. English spot for wealthy wintering favourite pop 80,600 might seem place in this trees out of Palm THE TOWNS THE TOWNS PAU raising as other precipitous regions such as the such regions raising as other precipitous around with you can get Alps. Alternatively, a healthy amount of good hiking boots and lung power. own wheels. Drivers needn’t worry – the roads own wheels. Drivers near as hair- well maintained and nowhere are servicesyou’ll need your explore but to really handles charter flights, scheduled but also has handles charter to Paris. services the UK and Belgium,the UK and France has do- while Air mestic services, Pau connects Transavia and Lourdes’ airport primarily with Amsterdam. The two main towns, Pau and Lourdes, are are and Lourdes, Pau main towns, The two well served airports. rail. Both also have by is servedPau by Ryanair flights to and from lonelyplanet.com