Pau, the capital of the old province of Béarn in the Pyrénees-Atlantiques, is ideally located between the mountains and the sea: close enough to the Pyrenees to enjoy all mountain activities on offer there (skiing, hiking...) but also close to the landaise and basque coasts to appreciate the joys of the ocean (surfing, diving, sailing...) and also only 50 km from Spain
. Over the centuries, Pau has been marked by foreign influences (English, Spanish, Russian, Brazilian) and remains very open to the outside world. Not far from Dax, Biarritz and Bayonne, Pau is a town of 'ferias'- festivals.