Pau

Pau is a city of southwestern France, préfecture (capital) of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département. Population (1999): 78,732.

Geography

Pau was the capital of the former province of Béarn. The site, on a slight elevation overlooking the valley of the mountain river called the Gave de Pau, where it was crossed by a ford, controlled access to an easy passage into the Pyrenees, used annually for the seasonal pasturage of flocks of sheep in the high meadows (now represented by a hiking footpath GR65 that runs about 60 km south to the Spanish border). Access to the pass partly accounts for Pau's strategic importance.

Related Topics:
Province - Béarn - Gave de Pau - Pyrenees

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