The random dart for our autumn holiday has currently landed just outside Orthez…. Does anyone have knowledge of this area to share? We loved our holiday further into Basque country, but Bearn is a bit of an unknown - which of course is why we want to go there but not if it’s a metaphorical mud puddle.
Just down the road from us. What do you want to know ? X
Is it an area that would be worth spending 3 weeks discovering? We went further into the basque country last year which we loved, so curious whether would equally love round Orthez. Attractive landscape to walk in, pretty villages, nice towns that are alive, interesting local food, a bit of art and culture and we’re happy. Nice non-meat restaurants an optional extra.
What we don’t like is 100% tourist-ville as usually dead end Sept/early Oct which is when we take our holiday.
It depends how far you are happy to drive….I take it you are looking at Salies de B for the spa? (Spa nice, water qualities excellent, pretty town, very popular with British owners…)
Orthez is quite poor (kids used to go to the ortho there and I would shop at that Leclerc as significantly cheaper than Dax) - a few nice streets with some beautiful old buildings but not much in the way of culture. Lovely countryside if you go directly south and prettier villages if you head east. The villlages heading west from Orthez (Puyoo / Labatut etc) are all fairly dead and quite chavvy.
Pau on the other hand is fabulous ! Lots to see / do/ explore - fabulous restaurants and interesting individual shops. From Orthez you can also get to Dax quite easily and visit the famous hot fountain and then tick that off your list too!
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Stayed in and house hunted around Orthez before being drawn south. The Béarn does seem to be largely overlooked, bar Pau, Salies de Béarn, Oloron Sainte Marie and Navarrenx, and although there are no real big ticket draws, it gets its share of peak summer visitors because of the easy access to mountainous countryside, the Pyrénées, local attractions and children’s activities that can stray into the Pays Basque or Haute Pyrénées. Apart from those above, I don’t see another single place to merit a full day but many excursions coupling 2-3 targets for interesting days out. Unmissable places such as Pic du Midi or Lourdes need a full day but are not in the Béarn and over an hour by car from, say, Orthez.
If history is of interest, we hadn’t heard previously of Wellington’s Battle of Orthez or the Gurs internment camp just 10 minutes from Navarrenx, let alone that the now ruined monastery seen from our house welcomed Edward I and the full English Court at least once and possibly twice as he travelled to visit in-laws in Spanish Castile. It was a bit of a shock to discover that the Hammer of the Scots may have ridden on the ancient green lane at our front door or hunted acoss our garden! Monein’s fortified church is worth a stop, as are the town’s Jurançon vineyards. An octogenarian friend practices on the Church organ on Monday mornings. The 20th century highlighted the guardian roles of the Fort du Portalet (Resistance and later Vichy leaders were detained there) and of the Béarnese in assisting thousands of escapees from Hitler’s activities by way of the Pyrénéés. One child escapee has retired to our commune to view the snow-covered route that allowed their immédiate family avoid the gas chambers. Nip through the free Somport Tunnel direct to Canfranc Station to learn the Spanish side of the wartime activities and admire/question the huge refurbished station/hotel.
If history isn’t of great interest, there are many walking or climbing routes to be found and our son swears that last week he saw a bear moving fast after a deer halfway up the hill behind the village of Bedous on the RN134 in the Aspe Valley. Discretion took the better part of valour when there was no one else around! The pleasant bear park at Borce on the way to Portalet/Canfranc is open for a closer look and there are other small avian and animal parks but pre-checking opening times is vital. For free near Laruns, I had a vulture with a wingspan almost as wide as my car fly straight at us to land hidden by the car bonnet. It then strolled past to be shooed by villagers obviously used to it.
Every vegetarian we take to Chez Germaine at Geüs d’Oloron minutes from Gurs/Navarrenx is stunned by the flavours to be found in the chef’s off-the-cuff vegetarian dish of the day (€23) from available kitchen content. With one veggie present the table gets only meat-free appetisers. Even one English resident of 15 years standing in France declared it the best she had ever had in France on a recent first visit. The non-veggie menu from local suppliers is equally flavoursome. It is a two-star Logis hotel so sampling local wine/beers can be encouraged if an overnight room is booked.
Outside touristy Pau, more than a few restaurants and bars try to respond to veggie requests but our vegetarian daughter eats a lot of pizza, crêpes or further acceptable starters while visiting. Perhaps use Trip Advisor or The Fork websites to plan a day out. Lebanese (Pau) and Asian (Pau suburbs) self-service restaurants are usually helpful.
Local tourist offices are very supportive, particularly to check if caves or things like the open mine train ride at Artouste are still running. Random visits might include the Lindt chocolate factory outlet in Oloron Sainte Marie, Tour de France cycle challenges (pick a Col), pick a chateau, or for brocante and just ‘stuff’ the Père Emmaus branch (mainly staffed by ex-prisoners) on the northern rocade of Pau.
Autumn and spring are good visiting times weatherwise and you probably still get off-peak activities such as river rafting or even the autogyro trip over the Pyrénées I’ve noticed pass by in the last few weeks. The République des Pyrénées newspaper/website publishes some weekend activity suggestions towards the end of each week.
Apologies for going on so long but final tips to show you’re not Paris-oriented speechwise. Order a chocolatine not a pain chocolat at the boulangerie or breakfast, and always pronounce the -x in Navarrenx, Mourenx etc., except for Ledeuix (Ladoosh) for most locals at the popular restaurant.
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Really helpful thanks. We knew about the internment camp as we have walked France - Spain escape routes. But Wellington is a surprise. And will definitely head to the restaurant you rate. We can generally mange without big ticket tourist items, and definitely not river rafting! Having a dog a few hours are taken up each day with walking, then another few hours with eating, so only leaves time for one “thing” each day, which can be fairly small. Last year further into Basque we got completely absorbed by collecting and cooking chestnuts its in multiple new ways.
And no way we could be mistaken for Parisian with our weird Jura-English accents, rural clothes and dislike of chocolate + croissant whatever one calls it.
But thank you! Much appreciated.
their last post was 1 year ago.
Been busy ever since writing this post!
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