Musée des Beaux-Arts de Pau

Béarn (US: ; French: [beaʁn]; Occitan: Bearn [beˈaɾ] or Biarn; Basque: Bearno or Biarno; Latin: Benearnia or Bearnia) is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre and Labourd, the Principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony, it forms the current Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. The capitals of Béarn were successively Beneharnum (until 841), Morlaàs (from c. 1100), Orthez (from the second half of the 13th century) and then Pau (beginning in the mid-15th century).Béarn is bordered by the Basque provinces of Soule and Lower Navarre to the west, Gascony (Landes and Armagnac) to the north, Bigorre to the east, in addition to Spain (Aragon) to the south. Today, the mainstays of the Béarn area are the petroleum industry, the aerospace industry through the helicopter turboshaft engine manufacturer Turbomeca, tourism and agriculture (much of which involves maize (corn) grown for seed). Pau was the birthplace of Elf Aquitaine, which has now become a part of the Total S.A. petroleum company. In Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers series, the protagonist d'Artagnan came from Béarn; he mentions having attended his father's funeral there in the second book, Twenty Years After. In the first book of the series, upon meeting the Cardinal, it is also noted that d'Artagnan comes from Béarn. That d'Artagnan is usually referred to as a Gascon is neither surprising nor incorrect, as Béarn forms part of Gascony. In the eastern part of the province are two small exclaves belonging to Bigorre. They are the result of how early Béarn grew to its traditional boundaries: some old lesser viscounties were added by marriage, and absorbed into Béarn: Oloron to the south/southwest ca. 1050, Montanérès in the east in 1085, and Dax in the west in 1194. When Montanérès was added, five communities or parishes (Villenave-près-Béarn, Escaunets, Séron, Gardères, and Luquet) did not form part of the dowry; they remained, or became, part of Bigorre. Their attachment to Bigorre continues to the present, as they followed it into Hautes-Pyrénées, rather than being incorporated into the surrounding Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

The Pau Grand Prix (French: Grand Prix de Pau) is a motor race held in Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of southwestern France. The French Grand Prix was held at Pau in 1930, leading to the annual Pau Grand Prix being inaugurated in 1933. It was not run during World War II and in 2020–2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race takes place around the centre of the city, where public roads are closed to form a street circuit, and over the years the event has variously conformed to the rules of Grand Prix racing, Formula One, Formula Two, Formula 3000, Formula Three, Formula Libre, sports car racing, and touring car racing. In 2021, Autocar included the Pau Grand Prix in its list of "The 10 best street circuits in the world".

Pau (French pronunciation: [po], Occitan pronunciation: [paw]) is a commune overlooking the Pyrenees, and prefecture of the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.The city is located in the heart of the former sovereign principality of Béarn, of which it was the capital from 1464. Pau lies on the Gave de Pau, and is located 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean and 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Spain. This position gives it a striking panorama across the mountain range of the Pyrenees, especially from its landmark "Boulevard des Pyrénées", as well as the hillsides of Jurançon. According to Alphonse de Lamartine, "Pau has the world's most beautiful view of the earth just as Naples has the most beautiful view of the sea." The site has been occupied since at least the Gallo-Roman era. However the first references to Pau as a settlement only occur in the first half of the 12th century. The town developed from the construction of its castle, likely from the 11th century by the Viscounts of Béarn, to protect the ford which was a strategic point providing access to the Bearn valleys and to Spain. The city takes its name from the stockade (pau in Béarnese) which surrounded the original castle. Pau became the capital of Béarn in 1464 and the seat of the Kings of Navarre in 1512 after the capture of Pamplona by the Kingdom of Castile. Pau became a leading political and intellectual centre under the reign of Henry d'Albret. With the end of Béarnaise independence in 1620, Pau lost its influence but remained at the head of a largely autonomous province. It was home to the Parliament of Navarre and Béarn during the Revolution, when it was dismantled to create the Department of Basses-Pyrénées. The Belle Époque marked a resurgence for the Béarnaise capital with a massive influx of wealthy foreign tourists, who came to spend the winter to take advantage of the benefits of Pau's climate. It was at this time that Pau became one of the world capitals of the nascent aerospace industry under the influence of the Wright brothers.With the decline of tourism during the 20th century, Pau's economy gradually shifted towards the aviation industry and then to petrochemicals with the discovery of the Lacq gas field in 1951. The Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, founded in 1972, accounts for a large student population. The city plays a leading role for Béarn but also for a wide segment of the Adour area. Pau's heritage extends over several centuries, its diversity and its quality allowed it to obtain the label of City of Art and History in 2011. The name of its people is Palois in French, and paulin in Occitan. The motto of Pau is in Latin: Urbis palladium et gentis ("protective of the city and its people").

The Viscounty, later Principality of Béarn (Gascon: Bearn or Biarn), was a medieval lordship in the far south of France, part of the Duchy of Gascony from the late ninth century. In 1347, the viscount declared Béarn an independent principality without feudal obligations. It later entered a personal union with the Kingdom of Navarre in 1479 and with France in 1589. In 1620, the prince (who was also the king) formally incorporated Béarn as a province of France.

The arrondissement of Pau (French: Distrito de Pau, Basque: Paueko barrutia) is an arrondissement of France in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It has 268 communes. Its population is 307,892 (2016), and its area is 2,548.9 km2 (984.1 sq mi).

The Boulevard des Pyrénées is a boulevard in the town of Pau in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of south-west France. With buildings on its northern side only, and a terrace overlooking the valley of the Gave de Pau to its south, the boulevard is notable for its panoramic view of the peaks of the Pyrenees some 50 km to the south.The boulevard was created at the suggestion of Napoleon I, and overlooks terraced gardens cascading down the valley side. In clear weather, especially early morning or late evening and in winter, the view stretches from the Pic du Midi de Bigorre to the Pic d'Anie, with the Pic du Midi d'Ossau standing out in the background. Along the railings on the terrace side of the boulevard are plaques pointing out and describing each mountain.The boulevard runs for some three-quarters of a kilometer, linking the Parc du Beaumont to the Château de Pau and forming the southern edge of the town centre. From its centre, adjacent to the Place Royale, the Funiculaire de Pau descends to the valley bottom, linking the town centre to Pau railway station.

The Hôtel de Ville (French pronunciation: [otɛl də vil], City Hall) is a municipal building in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, western France, standing on Place Royale. It was originally commissioned as a theatre, but was later remodeled internally to serve as a town hall as well. It was designated a monument historique by the French government in 2017.

The Funiculaire de Pau, or Pau Funicular, is a funicular railway in the city of Pau in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of southwestern France. It links the Boulevard des Pyrénées, on the level of the city centre and the Château de Pau, to Pau railway station in the valley of the Gave de Pau below.

The gare de Pau is a railway station in Pau, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The station is located on the Toulouse-Bayonne and Pau-Canfranc railway lines. The station is served by TGV (high speed trains), Intercités de Nuit (night trains), Intercités (long distance) and TER (local) services operated by the SNCF. The station is situated in the valley of the Gave de Pau, some 30 metres (98 ft) below the city centre. It is linked to the city centre by the Funiculaire de Pau, which climbs out of the valley to the Boulevard des Pyrénées and Place Royale. It is also served by buses and taxis.

The Ousse, is a right tributary of the Gave de Pau, in Béarn (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the southwest of France. It flows into the Gave at the foot of the Pau Castle. It is 42.4 km (26.3 mi) long.

The Parlement of Pau (French: "Parlement de Pau", alias "Parlement de Navarre et de Béarn", alias "Parlement de Navarre séant à Pau") was created in 1620 out of the merger of the Conseil Souverain of Béarn and the Chancery of Navarre, with its subordinated offices, by Louis XIII of France, following the incorporation of Béarn and Lower Navarre into the crown lands of France. It was composed of a first president (French: premier président) appointed by the king, seven présidents à mortier, forty-six counsellors (French: conseillers), two attorneys general (French: avocat général), one prosecutor general (French: procureur général). It was initially divided into three Chambres called the First Bureau (French: Premier Bureau), Second Bureau (French: Second Bureau) and the Tournelle.The Edict of 1691 further merged the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre and the subordinated Royal Mint of Navarre and Béarn, creating a fourth Chambre called the Chambre des Comptes. The same edict also folded in the Pays de Soule, previously under the Parliament of Guyenne in Bordeaux. The new entity was called the Cour de Parlement, Comptes, Aides et Finance de Navarre.The Parlement of Pau was politically and judicially responsible for five seneschals (French: sénéchaussées) in Béarn, Pau, Oloron, Orthez, Morlaàs and Sauveterre, as well as all of the merindad of Lower Navarre and the Pays de Soule.It was housed in Pau's old courthouse, the Palais de Justice, built in 1585 by order of Henry III of Navarre, on the prior location of the house of the Bishop of Lescar and St. Martin's Cemetery. The main building was destroyed by fire 1716. Despite a reconstruction project planned on the edge of the Place Royale, it was rebuilt on its original site in 1722. The Parlement of Pau was disbanded in 1789 as a result of the French Revolution.

The Château de Pau (English: Pau Castle, Basque: Paueko gaztelua) is a castle in the centre of the city of Pau, the capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Béarn. It dominates that quarter of the city. Henry IV of France and Navarre was born here on December 13, 1553, and it was once used by Napoleon as a holiday home during his period of power. The château has been classified as a Monument historique since 1840 by the French Ministry of Culture. Nowadays, as the Musée national du Château de Pau, it contains a collection of tapestries.