Visit Pau, capital of Bearn with a vtc driver Pau

Pau is a beautiful city. It is the capital of Bearn. It has everything to seduce you. It is not a coincidence that in the 19th century it became a popular holiday resort for the English. Beyond the Channel, Pau was considered the favorite destination. They established an international golf course, car races such as the Grand Prix de Pau and brought in their luggage the soul of the city of Pau, the rugby.

You may know the Bearnaise sauce but you don't know anything about Bearn. What a tragic omission! To visit Bearn, you can choose to stay in Pau and then travel around the Bearn. With my VTC, I propose you a whole panel of discoveries, tourist, gastronomic or simply let you subjugate by the natural beauty of Bearn. You can also choose to stay in Arudy or Oloron, two beautiful cities at the foot of the Pyrenees.

Pau is one hour from the surfing beaches of the Landes, Hossegor and Seignosse. One hour from Biarritz in the Basque country. I will tell you in the future on this blog about the numerous mountain excursions from Pau, often only 30 minutes away. Lakes and trout rivers abound in the area.
Skiing. From 30 minutes to an hour to reach the very big ski resorts of Cauterets, Gourette and Formigal. Of course, those who only want to ski will prefer to go directly to the heart of these resorts. I can drive you from Pau to these resorts and put your skis in my roof box.

I can also make myself available to you for the entire day of skiing, arriving when you want and leaving when you want. Contact me for this.

Béarn, a land of delight, I weigh my words.

Béarn begins near Pau, in a large and peaceful plain, crossed by a proud and proud Gave. The Pyrenees mountain range overlooks the city of King Henry. If you arrive in Pau by plane, a few minutes before landing, the Pyrenean mountains spread out before you, often draped in snow. Already conquered and subjugated, you discover that Béarn is much more than its beautiful mountains. It's a land, the Jurançon wine estates that stretch across the piedmont. Béarn has its roots in a colorful protestant history. The epic tale of the Vert Galant, Henri IV, this Huguenot king who became a Catholic to conquer France is crisp. His mother Jeanne d'Albret deserves to be known. She was the soul of this period. The visit of the castle of Henri IV, in Pau is really worth the detour.

The Jurançon wine domains

Sur la route des Vallées d’Ossau ou d’Aspe, un petit arrêt s’impose à Gan, en particulier à la Cave Coopérative des Vins du Jurançon. Je vous garantie une véritable surprise, une de ces rencontres qui vous marquent durablement. Le vin de Jurançon gagne à être découvert. Longtemps réservé aux seuls connaisseurs ou aux oenologues avertis, sa renommée franchit désormais les frontières du monde entier. Moins sucré que le Sauternes, le vin moelleux de Jurançon est une explosion d’arômes de fruits. Une fois que l’on en a goûté, on y revient toujours. Quelqu’un a justement décrit le Jurançon comme le “Bi de rey – Rey dous bis, Vin des rois et roi des vins”.

To tell the truth, as your driver, I will only be able to moisten my lips a little with this so good wine. However, don't worry, I'll make up for it later with the succulent sheep's milk cheeses... However, if you really want to enjoy this good wine a little more, there is nothing to stop you from using my services.

The Ossau Valley, heart of Bearn.

After leaving Pau, Bearn becomes bolder and rises along one of its mythical valleys, the beautiful Ossau Valley. The many Pyrenean villages that line the beginning of the route along this valley are all very colorful. The Ossau valley takes you to the Spanish border. The further into the Pyrenees you go, the more mountainous the atmosphere becomes.

First sensation after Arudy, you will literally have the impression of being surrounded by bodyguards. These "bodygards" on your right and left are the first Pyrenean summits, watched and scrutinized by many vultures.

Then, here you are in Laruns, the city of the 5 valleys.

• Tasting and sale of sheep cheese,
• clothing made of sheep's wool,
• Bearn berets in cafés
• Pyrenean specialties
• Sale of bells

you are well in Béarn.

On August 15, Laruns, metamorphoses for its festival with traditional colors.

After Laruns, the landscape becomes steeper, narrower and thinner. The slopes of the Pyrenees close in on you. After many twists and turns, you pass through an almost ghostly spa village. This spa, Les Eaux Chaudes, was popular with Napoleon III but is too sunny to appeal to today's public. Nevertheless, a short stop for lunch on the terraces of La Caverne is a good idea.

And here, a little further on, you reach Gabas, the most Pyrenean of all Pyrenean villages. Here you can find Pyrenean cheese, a few patous, the huge white dogs of the Pyrenees, and a small 11th century chapel that is still open. If you pass by in spring or autumn, you are likely to be stopped by one of the many flocks of sheep whose bells will ring in your ears for a long time. At the beginning of the summer, people come from far and wide to participate in the great transhumance marches, which are very popular. This beautiful festival of the herds starts from the village of Bielle down in the valley to the pastures of Bious-Artigues.

A few bends further on, it is the dam and the lake of Artouste

Artouste, small resort at the foot of the Pic du Midi d'Ossau (2884m). It is a real starting point for many excursions to climb between 2000 and 3000 meters of altitude, with or without the cable car cabins. Many lakes are scattered in the mountains of the Ossau valley. There are the lakes of Aule, Artouste and Anglas, right at the foot of the peaks and breathtaking landscapes. We are in the Pyrenees Natural Park.

Artouste, it's also the tourist train !

Just incredible, in the middle of the mountains, at 2000m of altitude, is the highest tourist train in Europe. The round trip lasts an hour and a half of pure pleasure for the eyes and the scents of the mountains. Very often, a marmot proudly looks down on you, perched proudly on its rock. This open-air train goes along the steep mountain side to the beautiful lake of Artouste. The train is reached by gondola and people who are not used to skiing in winter will have their share of vertiginous emotions and precipices. A great appointment!

The apotheosis!

The Ossau valley ends in a real apotheosis with the plateau of Anéou. On this extraordinary high plateau, starting point of innumerable excursions, clusters of tourists and herds of sheep and cows meet. Too bad, the presence of our four-legged friends, even if they are on a leash, is forbidden in the Natural Park. A magical moment takes place in the evening, after sunset, when the waves of tourists have joined the plain. With a bit of luck you will see the isards, the Pyrenean chamois that come down to drink. It is the apotheosis for the vtc Pau driver that I am.

In the end

A few more bends after the plateau of Anéou, we reach the Spanish border, the Mecca of ventas and tapas. I cannot recommend enough to stop at Sancho's, whose founding grandfather was a mix between a smuggler and a brilliant businessman. Unforgettable valley of Ossau, mythical, it is absolutely worth a visit. I put my VTC at your service for that, choose and make your own program. Anyway, if you can't do everything, you will come back again and again...