The Paris of the Pyrenees: A Centuries-Old Expat Secret

Pau, France—located near the Spanish border and two hours south of Toulouse—escapes most travelers’ attention. Including, until recently, mine.

When I wrote a mystery series set in the Renaissance-era Pyrenees, the city of Pau was a key location. Back then, Pau was a cosmopolitan trading city in the region of Béarn. Pau’s river ferried goods to the Atlantic, and pilgrims stopped on their trek to the great cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

In my novels, Pau beckons to my fictional characters with the promise of refuge and answers to long-held mysteries. When I finally experienced this small city myself, nestled at the base of the Pyrenees, I too fell under its spell.

Pau has it all: proximity to mountains and beaches, affordable living, a pleasant climate, friendly locals, great food. The city’s gorgeous heart includes the medieval Château de Pau, the seat of the Navarran kingdom from 1512 to 1620 and now beautifully restored for history buffs.

Pau is also a jumping-off point for outdoor enthusiasts who can’t get enough of the mountains. And as the home of the University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour (with more than 13,000 students), it has all the benefits of a thriving university town, including myriad cultural offerings.

Pau doesn’t exude a provincial attitude the way some small cities do (its population is a mere 75,000). That’s because it’s long been attracting foreign visitors and residents. The architect Adolphe Alphand (a collaborator of Paris’s famed Baron Haussman) created the Boulevard des Pyrénées, a mile-long promenade stretching from the château to the lush Parc Beaumont. Lined with hotels and restaurants on one side and snow-capped peaks on the other, the boulevard offers an ideal location for flâneurs to stroll at their leisure.

Retired historic preservation professor Kate Dimon and her husband, David, live steps from this iconic boulevard in a three-bedroom apartment ($1,300 a month) overlooking the Place Royal in Pau’s city center. They live car-free and within walking distance of restaurants, stores, and the post office. A free local minibus circles the city center; Kate uses it regularly to get errands done.

Determined to retire in Europe when the US political situation became untenable to them, the Dimons left the Pacific Northwest and scouted locations in southwestern France. They bypassed drier, hotter Carcassonne and the more isolated Dordogne region.

"When we got to Pau, we just knew," Kate says. They settled here in 2022.

Elizabeth Marshall and her husband, Charlie Mead, took a different path to Pau. In 2006, they traded Northern California for Paris, which became their home base for the next 15 years. Avid cyclists, they followed the suggestion of a friend to try bike tours in the Pau area. They fell in love with a century-old two-bedroom, two-bath farmhouse on 2.5 acres, only a few miles from Pau. They purchased it for $430,000 in 2021.

The couple had already reached permanent resident status after their first five years in France, renewing their one-year visas annually until that point.

"Entry into France is pretty standard, but there’s lots of red tape," Elizabeth says. "The only way to start is with a one-year visa. We had to find out the documents required, get an appointment at our US embassy, and start the process. We had to have a bank account that supports [the visa application] and prove we’re not here to take somebody’s job."

The Dimons, meanwhile, are two years into this process and will renew annually until they reach the five-year mark and can become permanent residents. (Their recommendation: Start the paperwork a year in advance.)

"We never really had a social life in Paris," Elizabeth tells me. "But we’ve met wonderful people in Pau, mostly British. I really feel at home here now, and it’s thanks to the friends I’ve made. We’ve met some wonderful French people as well, in particular our neighbors. They’re super supportive of the new Americans."

Social by nature, Elizabeth joined a weekly hiking group organized by the Anglophones Pau Pyrénées (APP), a 150-member organization founded for English-speakers. Once an enthusiastic member, she’s now the organization’s president.

Where to Eat Like a Parisian at Pau Prices

One of Pau’s stand-out delights is Les Halles de Pau, a gleaming market on Rue de la République. Les palois (residents of Pau) flock here to pick up favorite regional specialties and meet friends for meals.

Kate tells me expats love the food mecca as much as the French do. "God and country go up to Les Halles," she says with a laugh. "On Friday morning I walk there to get vegetables, visit the butcher, the fishmonger—I get everything we need for the weekend."

Kate says expats gather regularly for meals in Pau’s city center at haunts like Café du Palais and Le Café du Passage. "Two-hour lunches give you room to talk, enjoy the sun-spilled tables out front, or stop for a glace (ice cream) or crêpe."

For their part, Elizabeth and Charlie enjoy trying different restaurants’ formule lunch menus in Pau after workouts at a fitness center.

Among the restaurants Kate recommends: Le Poulet À 3 Pattes on Boulevard des Pyrénées and Henri IV on the Place Royale (King Henry IV of France was born in Pau’s chateau and crowned at Chartres in 1594).

A Haven for the Outdoorsy

Discover the joys of outdoor living along the Gave de Pau river. |©iStock/saiko3p

Outdoor enthusiasts find much to love about this area. The Gave de Pau river is a point of recreation for locals. The Aquasports Park, which links an artificial river to the waterway, offers rafting, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding.

In all, Pau boasts 1,900 acres of artfully tended parkland. While strolling through the château grounds, my husband and I spied a flock of sheep munching on the grass—perhaps a sustainable alternative to mowing?

Meanwhile, a greenway trail (Le Parc des Rives du Gave) offers pedestrians and bicyclists 2,000 acres of riverside trails from Pau to the medieval seaside city of Bayonne. Cycling enthusiasts come here each year in anticipation of La Tour de France, which passes through Pau en route to a grueling ride over the mountains.

"Because there are so many cyclists in the area, motorists are more courteous to us in the Pyrenees than they were in Paris," Elizabeth tells me. "We ride three times a week between April and October." She’s now organizing an expat group to ride together every Sunday.

As a university town, it’s no surprise Pau also offers plentiful conferences, lectures, festivals, sporting events, and other events each year. "We enjoy the conservatory of music in Pau," Elizabeth says. "We love jazz, and there are several good jazz festivals in the area, Jazz in Marciac being one of them."

Kate too delights in the many cultural events around Pau, such as the annual winter carnival featuring lots of live music, and the Night of the Bears, a madcap local tradition that includes chasing people in bear costumes through the streets and dancing in the Place Royale.

"It’s great to be centrally located," Elizabeth adds. She and Charlie enjoy taking visitors on weekend trips to destinations such as Biarritz (a one-hour drive), San Sébastian (just under two hours), and Bilbao (just under three hours).

Learning Béarnese and Other Adjustments

Elizabeth and Charlie got by with little French in Paris. But in rural France, English is rarely spoken. "We look up vocabulary before going to medical appointments, home renovation stores, and so on."

Kate faced a similar challenge when she arrived in Pau. While her husband had studied French in school, she was starting from scratch. She’s taken classes, has a tutor, and finds that the locals are forgiving when she struggles to communicate. "The people in Béarn don’t speak ‘Parisian’ French; they speak ‘Béarnais,’ so that is a learning curve. But the palois are friendly. They appreciate that you’re making the effort. It shows you’ve got respect for their language."

Pau’s location presents a challenge to expats who regularly return to the US. "The distance from a major airport is inconvenient," Elizabeth explains. "Mostly we take the five-hour train up to Paris, spend the night, and go to the States on an early morning flight."

Kate misses the flexibility of owning a car. For weekend trips, she and David sometimes rent one. Long-term car rental in France is expensive and requires getting a French driver’s license (a process conducted entirely in French).

Elizabeth says, "No place is perfect, and France certainly has its problems, but we feel it’s the best non-perfect place for us."

A Lovely French Life for Less Than You’d Think

Despite all its amenities, Pau’s cost of living remains reasonable. An expat couple could live on $4,000 a month, depending on their housing costs.

Two-bedroom apartments rent for anywhere from $900 to $1,500, depending on proximity to the city center, views, terraces, parking, and high-end upgrades.

Kate cautions, though, that rental rules are different in France. For example, if an appliance such as a hot water heater must be replaced, renters are typically liable for the cost.

Meanwhile, multi-bedroom apartments in the city center sell for the high $100,000s while homes further away—but still within a ten-minute drive—start around $270,000.

Other daily costs also depend on lifestyle. Public transit is clean, safe, and reliable, with discounts for those over 65. Farmers markets offer great value on in-season produce and other staples. And expats with long-stay visas can join the affordable French healthcare system after three months in the country.

Kate broke her arm a week after moving to Pau. Her arm surgery cost $1,400 (some of which was reimbursed through the national healthcare plan), and her monthly prescriptions (nearly $400 in the US) are just $14 in Pau.

The Allure of Pau’s Enduring Charms

On a warm fall evening at the Boulevard des Pyrénées’ newly revamped L’Aragon brasserie, my husband and I took in views of the granite peaks to the south.

I loved the full-circle impact of the moment. The magnetism of Pau that I’d conjured for my novels was no longer the stuff of fiction. This small city overlooking the Pyrenees has rich history, a welcoming ambiance, and endless opportunities for recreation—a magic all its own.

As Kate told me, "Pau’s got everything we need."

Editor's Note: This article first appeared in International Living magazine, a monthly publication that showcases the best destinations around the world to live, invest, travel, and retire well… for less. With correspondents based all over the planet, we bring you on-the-ground insights and expert recommendations you won’t find anywhere else--about real estate, health insurance, retirement planning, earning abroad, investing outside the dollar, taxes, visas and second passports, overseas home rentals, and more. Subscribe today with a special offer, here.