Travel France: Béarn
Tucked away on the eastern side of Pyrénées-Atlantiques is a land of contrasts. Steeped in tradition, this once-independent land clings proudly to its heritage like the villages that perch picturesque on the mountain ridges of its southern reaches.
But Béarn hasn’t been weighed down by its past either. Instead, it has embraced the future with vision and the result is a charming mixture of old and new, traditional and modern – with a new surprise around every turn.
For the visitor, the choice is endless. As well as the beautiful old towns, the traditional villages, the artisan craftspeople and the rugged, unspoilt scenery, you can play golf in the elegant town of Pau – where the first golf course in continental Europe was built – or ride the rapids of the mountain rivers, or gaves, which criss-cross this fertile land. And in Navarrenx, you will stumble across the unexpected sight of local women rolling hand-made cigars from tobacco leaves grown in the fields around the town.
Between Pau and Biarritz lies the area known as Béarn-des-Gaves. Caught between sea and mountain this area comprises the towns of Navarrenx, Orthez, Salies-de-Béarn and Sauveterre-de-Béarn as well as a host of villages in between.
Our first overnight stop was at the charming Domaine de Bétouzet, just outside Sauveterre-de-Béarn. This maison d’hôte is owned by the charming Florence Verspieren, an interior designer who has turned her back on her chic Parisian lifestyle to live and work in the pays of her ancestors. Florence’s eighteenth-century property is a typical Béarnaise house with mansard roof and a Louis XV façade, set in 27 acres.
Retaining the property’s traditional feel, Florence has infused the house with her own sprit and eye for design. Each room is sumptuously decorated in French country style with quirky touches here and there. My favourite room was the dining room, dedicated to the drama and passion of the bullfight, complete with a crimson toreador’s cape and a magnificent cast-iron sculpture of a bull in the huge fireplace.
As well as providing bed and breakfast, Florence offers table d’hôte so guests can enjoy an evening meal. It was attempting offer and so in the cool evening air we sat outside on the terrace and enjoyed tasty local lamb and fresh vegetables, and I secretly wished I could stay forever in this wonderful welcoming house.
Salies-de-Béarn is pretty, with many pleasing sixteenth- and seventeenth-century half-timbered buildings. As its name suggests, the town has a salty secret: beneath the town’s streets flows a body of water that contains 250g of salt per litre, which has been exploited by man for more than 4,000 years. From the Middle Ages until the Revolution, the central square of the town was open, like a pool, so that the townsfolk could help themselves. In 1587 a formal law was passed, which meant anyone who had lived in the town before then automatically became a part-prenant, which meant they had the droit du sel or right to take salt from the source. This right was passed down through families, with the eldest daughter inheriting the privilege if there were no sons. Each holder of the right also had the right to vote, which considering some of the holders were women, was extremely forward thinking. Many of the impressive buildings in the town were built with the proceeds of the salt industry.
Chocolate maker
The town became a station thermale in the nineteenth century where the wealthy came to be cured by the mineral-rich waters. The spa, built in 1857, is still going today and uses the majority of the salt water drawn from beneath the town. With such a proliferation of luxury spa resorts today I was delighted to see that this one, which is a classified monument historique, has retained a rather Victorian feel inside too: pristine white-tiled corridors lead to rooms containing thick rubber hoses and curious contraptions that promise to resuscitate and restore with the powers of salt water. Although the salt water swimming pool looked extremely inviting, I didn’t hang around too long in case a strict matronly figure came along and jostled me into a bathrobe before I could protest.
Another way to sample the salt is to visit see Anne Sclafer at her home and workshop Eclats de Sel, where she uses it in her chocolate making. Anne’s father was a chocolate maker and although she is not a local, she was drawn here because of the therapeutic qualities of the salt and it seemed right to combine her knowledge with the local product. Anne explained that the saltiness complements the sweetness of the chocolate and on sampling some I had to agree.
Half an hour’s drive southwest of Salies-de-Béarn across rolling open countryside and past fields of Blonde d’Aquitaine cattle lies the petite cité of Navarrenx, which is protected by ramparts built a century before master military engineer Vauban began fortifying France. On arrival we parked in the Place des Casernes where the air carried a faint but distinct aroma of tobacco. With our noses in the air like the Bisto kids, we followed the scent to a sturdy sixteenth-century building that was once the home of Portros, one of the Four Musketeers.
One of the last things I expected to find in southwest France was the production of home-grown, hand-rolled cigars, but at the Comptoir du Tabac des Gaves et de l’Adour, the first 100 per cent-French cigars are being rolled up and rolled out. After touring the rooms where the tobacco leaves are dried, stretched out, rolled into cigars and stored, it dawned on me that France, with its history of wine making is a perfect place to produce fine cigars. I saw the same passion and careful treatment of the product here, the respect for the plant and its produce, the careful blending to achieve the perfect aroma, as takes place in the wine châteaux of Bordeaux.
It turns out that the soil and climate in Béarn are perfect for growing tobacco and two Cuban torcedoras (the name given in Cuba to women who roll the cigars, more exotic than the French equivalent rouleuses) have relocated here to teach locally employed workers how to roll cigars. Altogether there are 12 women in the workshop; and the French are quickly catching up with their more-experienced Cuban colleagues, who produce 120 perfectly rolled cigars a day. The cigars are sold throughout France for €11 (£7.50) a piece and, with the French propensity for choosing home-grown goods over foreign ones, the future looks bright for the Comptoir du Tabac.
Mountain villages
The town of Oleron-Ste-Marie was originally two towns, joined in 1858. With three historical parts, the Notre-Dame, Ste-Marie and Sainte-Croix quarters, it makes a pleasant stopover. The tourist office at Oleron has devised a scheme to make independent tours of the quartiers possible with the help of a watch-like device which they sell for €2.50 (£1.68) and which activates a series of terminals known as bornes dotted around the town. Simply point the watch at any terminal to trigger an explanation in your chosen language – ingenious. Proclaiming to be the gateway to the Pyrenees, the valley of the Gave d’Aspe and Gave d’Ossau leading to ski resorts and mountain villages are less than an hour from Oleron.
A steady supply of wool from the sheep that make the traditional move from the mountains to the lower pastures, known as transhumance, have led to a tradition of cloth production in the Béarn, the most famous result of which is the beret. Across the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, from the gift shops of St-Jean-de-Luz to the Béarn’s rustic restaurants, you’re bound to come across another local craft that has spread perhaps not as far as the beret but is certainly seen at (or on) the bon tables of Paris and beyond.
The Artiga family has been producing stripy Basque linen for nearly a century, evolving from a small family business to Tissages Lartigues, a company producing chic and stylish linen that is sold worldwide. Basque linen dates back to the fourteenth century and was used to cover cattle to protect them from the ravages of the sun and flies.
The original fabric was simply white with seven stripes, one for each of the Basque provinces. Eighteen years ago Philippe Artiga, the current owner, began working with designers to develop bolder, more contemporary patterns, but still retaining the traditional stripes although you can still buy the original, simple designs. This fabulous linen is still produced at Tissages Lartigues in the commune of Bidos in Oleron-Ste-Marie and – good news for bargain hunters – there’s a factory shop next door. I recommend that you pop in and pick up some of this beautiful striped linen as a souvenir.
The Béarn continues inspire those in the arts and crafts industries, such as the exuberant Josianne Delloule, whose produces quirky jackets and raincoats with a difference under her label L’anti-mites, which means mothballs. On visiting her atelier in a traditional farmhouse on the edge of Oleron, it seems she is inspired by just about everything except the latest trends (‘I aim for style rather than fashion’).
Josianne’s designs include a raincoat trimmed with pieces of beret as well as a jacket that splits into two halves, inspired by the story of St-Martin, who cut his cloak in half to give to a beggar. Another garment I spied in the collection appeared to be uncharacteristically plain, until Josianne whipped the coat around to reveal a bold pattern on the back. ‘When you leave,’ she explained with a wink, ‘people will be happier than when you arrived.’
In contrast to Josianne’s coats, which loudly and proudly display the humour and spirit of their creator, the patience and skill of weavers Mayalen and Daniel Valotteau is gently woven into the beautifully crafted rugs, shawls and other woolly wonders on sale at their shop and workshop in the village of Ogeu-les-Bains, not far from Oleron-Ste-Marie. Seated at her loom, Mayalan explained that although she uses the same basic designs, the natural colours and textures of the wools mean that every finished product is unique.
Good hunting
Pau is the capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and, served by a daily Ryanair flight from London Stansted, for many is the gateway to the Béarn. Long before the low-cost airlines, however, this elegant town was a firm favourite with the British, who began arriving here in the early nineteenth-century to benefit from both the gentle climate and good hunting in the nearby forest. It’s said that at one time 15 per cent of the population was British, and this influence is visible both in the smart villas that are found in the town centre with their neatly manicured gardens and in surviving customs such as afternoon tea, which is still taken here.
Bearn’s most famous son is King Henri IV who was born in Pau and, according to legend, his mother sang in the local language of Béarn during her labour to soothe the child.
Pau’s microclimate makes it a very lush, verdant place; its inhabitants, the Palois, enjoy more green space per inhabitant than any other European city dwellers. Walking around the town, it’s not hard to imagine why it was such a draw for those first Victorians. As we strolled along the Boulevard des Pyrénées, with its elegant buildings and views of the Pyrenees, past squares with bandstands and with the faint whiff of mimosa in the air, I almost wished for a parasol and the attentions of a handsome top-hatted suitor.
Before leaving for the airport we lunched at the Villa Navarre, a former villa in the Trespoey district of Pau, where you’ll find many of town’s smart English-inspired homes. Now a smart place to eat or stay with oak paneled rooms and an English-manor-style ambience, it embodies the spirit of Pau, and indeed of the Béarn I’d experienced: a place that respects and retains tradition while embracing the modern to produce something very unique indeed.
Eleanor and Richard flew to Pau with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com). See the Vital Stats section for more information on getting to Pau
Places to stay
Domaine de Bétouzet, 64390 Andrein. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 59 38 91 40 Email: book@betouzet.com www.betouzet.com
Villa Navarre, 59 avenue Trespoey, 64000 Pau. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 59 14 65 65 www.villanavarre.fr
Hôtel Gramont, 3 pl Gramont, 64000 Pau. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 59 27 84 04
Where to eat
Arts et Delices, 13, place de la Cathédrale, 64400 Oloron-Ste-Marie. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 59 36 13 04 Tasty traditional Béarnaise food in the shadow of the cathedral. Also sells local food and wines
Villa Navarre, 59 avenue Trespoey, 64000 Pau. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 59 14 65 65 www.villanavarre.fr
Things to do/see
Comptoir du Tabac des Gaves et de l’Adour, Place des Casernes, Navarrenx. Tel: 00 33 (0) 05 59 66 22 22 The cigars can be bought in tabacs throughout France for €11 (£0.00)
Tissages Lartigue, 2 avenue Georges Messier, Bidos, 64400 Oloron-Ste-Marie. Rel: 00 33 (0)5 59 39 50 11 www.artiga.fr Visit the factory shop to pick up traditional Basque linen at bargain prices
L’anti-mites, Le Gabarn, Route de Pau, 64400 Oleron-Ste-Marie. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 59 39 55 78 www.anti-mites.com Reception by appointment. Josianne also hosts art exhibitions during July and August, ring for details
Atelier Mayalen, 5 rue du Bois, 64680 Ogeu-les-Bains. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 59 34 90 87. www.atelier-mayalen.com. Open every day