PAU and environs

FRANCE A LA CARTE have identified two perfect places for a golf or spa break within 60 minutes of Pau

	PAU (this page) Play the oldest course in continental Europe or relax in a luxury spa in Henri IV's capital.
	BAGNERES de BIGORRE Spa and golf package in a Pyrenean spa town at the foot of the Pic du Midi

PAU - the details

5 kms from Pau airport (10 mins)

150 from Biarritz

GOLF and SPA in PAU

Week-end Spa or Golf
Hotel Parc Beaumont**** Pau

3 nights in 4 star hotel

including car hire and green fees or spa pass

Pau, the elegant city of Henri IV in the foothills of the mighty Pyrenees mountains, is located in a zone with an extraordinary micro-climate giving mild winters and coolish summers and means it is surrounded by vineyards (Jurançon, Madiran). It is the starting point for exploring the Pyrenean chain, whether for skiing, canyoning or simple walking holidays.

But it is a splendid town in its own right and well worth a few days visiting. We have created this short break so that you can sample the pleasures of Pau from a luxury base. Visits to the Castle built by troubador Gaston Fébus and re-decorated by Marguerite d'Angouleme in the Renaissance, the Art Museum with its subtle mixture of old and new works or just taking leisurely walkabouts on the tree-lined avenues and riversides will surprise and enchant you.

We are offering either a golf or spa orientation to this weekend package so that a couple may, if they wish, take up both options.

The spa is on site in the hotel grounds: the golf courses are Pau Golf course - in the city itself - and the 18-hole course at Artigulouves.

With its audacious design, the four-star hotel Parc Beaumont sits squarely in its own grounds next to the city's Beaumont Park. Built with local Pyrenean marble the designer has used leather and exotic wood to great effecy.
The 53 'park' rooms, face south with views over the Pyrenees and Beaumont Park. Furnished terrace, wooden floors, bathroom with two entrances, separated shower from the bathtub, dressing table, king-size beds or twins.

Restaurant "Le Jeu de Paume"
Christophe Canati, (Michelin starred in Saint-Emilion,) Chef of the 'Jeu de Paume' is always looking for new ways to amplify or fuse tastes or to rediscover forgotten flavours; but as precise and refined as his preparations are, he puts the product in pride of place.

The Pau golf course

A quirk of history meant that some of Wellington's officers, stationed in Pau after the Battle of Orthez in 1814, had the time and inclination (they were Scots) to look around for somewhere to practice their golf. They found the perfect spot just on the outskirts of Pau ... and 20 years later they returned, as simple tourists, to build and found continental Europe's oldest golf course in 1856.

Artiguelouve golf course
18 holes par 70, 5839 m

Architect : Jean GARAIALDE in 1986

A flat easy-walking layout measuring 5839 metres, characterised by numerous dog-legs, water hazards and large greens, and divided into two distinct parts. The first 6 holes, cut through the woods of La Saligue, are tight and demand accuracy. The following 12 holes occupy La Plaine, where wide fairways are an invitation to open your shoulders and unleash your biggest drives.

Splendid views of the Pyrenees and some palm-lined fairways!

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