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Chapelle de Saligos © JG65

Overview: The popular holiday destination of Pau is situated 50 miles (80km) inland, high above the Gave de Pau River, and is a good base from which to explore the Pyrénées and the picturesque little villages of the Bearn region. This year-round holiday resort was frequented by the English in the early 19th century (at one time 20 percent of the population was from England) and many customs were imported from across the Channel to become entrenched, including fox hunting and afternoon tea.

Pau is home to 85,000 people and is the most cosmopolitan city in the western Pyrénées. While on holiday, panoramic views can best be enjoyed when strolling along the Boulevard des Pyrénées. Worthy Pau sightseeing excursions include the 12th century Chateau de Pau, containing some interesting contemporary artefacts including a crib fashioned from a single tortoise shell.

The Musée des Beaux-Arts is worth a peek with a collection of European paintings by the likes of El Greco, Degas, Zurbaran and Boudin. The people of the Pau and Bearn region are very proud of their language (a variation of Occitan) and heritage and have indulged in friendly rivalry with the Basques of Bayonne for centuries.

Activities

Walking in the Pyrénées: The wild mountains of the Pyrénées stretch for 250 miles (402km) from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and have for many centuries formed a natural frontier: physical, climatic and linguistic, between France and Spain. Second only to the Alps among the great mountain ranges of Western Europe, the Pyrénées are much less frequented, and still offer an exciting combination of knife-edged summits, small glaciers, forested valleys, mountain tarns and little-trodden summer passes. Splendid trails lead to the magnificent cirques and lake-spangled basins of France's Pyrénées National Park. Over on the Spanish side paths lead through the spectacular canyons of the Ordesa-Monte Perdido National Park, one of Europe's oldest. In 1997, the United Nations inscribed a portion of the French and Spanish Pyrénées near the French village of Gavarnie and the Spanish village of Torla on its list of World Heritage Sites. Here, nature over the eons has carved three stupendous glacial cirques including the renowned Cirque de Gavarnie and a 3,000ft (914m) deep canyon called Ordesa - Spain's 'Grand Canyon.'