Pau, France

Pau is a commune in southwestern France, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is the prefecture (capital) of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. It is also the capital of 6 cantons in the department: Jurançon, Pau-Centre, Pau-Est, Pau-Nord, Pau-Ouest and Pau-Sud.

Pau is the second city of Aquitaine, after Bordeaux. Pau was also the capital of the old historical province of Béarn.

Geography
Pau is at about 190 km from Bordeaux and from Toulouse, on a 200 m elevation overlooking the valley of a mountain river called the Gave de Pau, and at 100 km from the Atlantic Ocean and at 50 km from the Pyrenees.

It has an area of 31.51 km2 and its average altitude is 205 m; at the city hall, the altitude is 210 m.

Pau is surrounded by the communes Buros, Montardon, Morlaàs, Bizanos, Idron, Gelos, Jurançon,Lons and Billère.

Climate
The climate of Pau is Marine West Coast Climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with mild winters and warm summers.

The average temperature for the year in Pau is 13.5°C (56.3°F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 20.7°C (69.3°F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 6.6°C (43.9°F).

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Pau is 1051.6 mm. The month with the most precipitation on average is December with 104.1 mm of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of 73.7 mm.

Population
With a population of 77,575, Pau has a population density of inhabitants/km2.

The inhabitants of Pau are known, in French, as Paulois (women: Pauloises).

Administration
Pau is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department since 1796. It is also the capital of four Cantons:
 * 1) Pau-1, formed with a part of Pau
 * 2) Pau-2, formed with a part of Pau and the commune Idron
 * 3) Pau-3, formed with a part of Pau and the communes of Bizanos and Mazères-Lezons
 * 4) Pau-4, formed with a part of Pau and the commune Gelos

Twin towns
Pau is twinned with:

Related pages

 * Arrondissement of Pau
 * Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department

Other websites

 * Ville de Pau - Official site
 * General Council of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
 * Prefecture official website
 * Région Aquitaine
 * Grand Pau