Today this marvel of 19th century engineering is a must-do amble with its mountain panorama and direct access into historic squares such as Place Royale , hub of the city since the 18th century , and Square Georges V , created in the 1920s and ‘ 30s . Hang over that famous balustrade to see a reminder of the French cyclists who have passed through Pau on the Tour de France ; their names and dates are painted on the tarmac of Avenue Napoléon Bonaparte beneath .
The upper and lower levels are linked by steps or a lift , but the most unusual transit is on board the free funicular . Installed in 1908 to link the town centre with the railway station on the banks of the Pau de Gave , it runs every three minutes from early morning to midevening , afternoons only on Sundays .
At the foot of the Funicular near what was once the city ’ s cycle race track , 104 bronze totems tell the story of the Tour de France with anecdotes and archive photos . Pau hosted the event for the 71st time in 2019 and every year , a new totem is added to Le Tour des Géants to celebrate the winner .
Castles , towers and legends
The Boulevard des Pyrénées comes to an end beneath Pau ’ s most emblematic monument , the gleaming white Château de Pau with its turrets , towers and balustrades . Significantly altered across the centuries , the castle saw the addition of a defensive brick keep by Gaston Fébus in the 14th century . But its current appearance is largely due to significant 19th-century restoration under Louis- Philippe .