The Navarre Parliament

The Parliament of Navarre, in Pau

The Parliament of Navarre is a fine historic building of Pau, a witness of the past of capital of a kingdom. The Pau audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this building, which recalls the autonomy of the past and today shelters the departmental council.

The building of the former kingdom of Navarre

The white building that stands on the square tells a whole chapter of the history of Pau. It today shelters the departmental council of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, but it was, originally, the seat of the Parliament of Navarre. Pau was indeed the capital of Béarn and of the kingdom of Navarre, a territory that enjoyed a great autonomy and its own institutions, with its laws, its customs and its sovereign parliament. This assembly rendered justice and watched over the privileges of the province, testifying to the independence and the pride of this country at the foot of the Pyrenees, homeland of Henri IV. The elegant building, with classical architecture, today perpetuates an administrative vocation. The Parliament of Navarre is a major witness of the glorious and singular past of Pau.

What to see

You admire the fine white building with classical architecture, the former seat of the sovereign parliament of the kingdom of Navarre, which rendered justice and watched over the privileges of the province of which Pau was the capital, today sheltering the departmental council. The Parliament of Navarre testifies to the glorious past of Pau. It is a stop for those curious about history, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Parliament of Navarre lies on a square in the heart of Pau, reachable on foot. You mainly admire its façade from the square; it is today an administrative building whose access follows its own uses. You discover it during a walk in the centre.

What was the Parliament of Navarre in Pau?

The seat of the sovereign parliament of the kingdom of Navarre, of which Pau was the capital; this assembly rendered justice and watched over the privileges of the province, which enjoyed a great autonomy. The building today shelters the departmental council.

Where is the Parliament of Navarre in Pau?

On a square in the heart of Pau, in France.