Pau

The Boulevard des Pyrenees runs about eighteen hundred metres along the edge of a terrace above the Gave de Pau, laid out under Napoleon III with the whole range in front of it; plaques name the peaks, and on clear days the wall of mountains is complete from the Pic du Midi d'Ossau eastward. Henri IV was born in the castle in 1553 and, by the story, had his lips rubbed with garlic and Jurancon wine as a newborn; the tortoiseshell said to have served as his cradle is shown in the castle. British residents settled here in the nineteenth century for the climate and left golf, fox hunting and a racecourse behind them.

What you actually see

• The Boulevard des Pyrenees - a terrace walk facing the whole mountain range.
• The castle - Henri IV's birthplace with tapestries and the tortoiseshell cradle.
• The British legacy - one of the oldest golf courses on the continent.
• The funicular - a short free lift from the station to the boulevard.

When to go

April to June and September to October; the mountain view depends entirely on clear air, and winter days after rain are often the sharpest. Summer haze frequently hides the range.

Honest expectations

The famous view is absent on hazy or overcast days, which is often. The castle is visited by guided tour. The city is pleasant rather than remarkable outside the terrace.

Nearby

The Ossau valley lies south; Lourdes is southeast.