Salies-de-Béarn is positioned between the Pau and Oloron rivers in the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
The town has a great deal of character, with its old stone steep-roofed houses and its narrow and picturesque streets which are full of flowers. Its name and reputation comes from its saltwater springs which were already known in the 11th century.
www.salies-de-bearn
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In Salies de Béarn (a salt town and thermal bath resort), the Salt and Béarnaise Traditions Museum recounts the history and mining of salt, the birth and development of the town and local traditions. There is an exhibition of traditional tools and models.
The Salt Festival is an animated show using natural sound and light. It is unique and can be discovered every year in September.
www.tourisme-bearn-gave.com
You will hear the strange story of a wild boar which was tracked and then injured during a hunting expedition. The boar managed to drag itself to the marshlands to die. When its body was found, its hairs were covered in salt and, according to legend, the animal spoke to the men and declared “if I hadn’t been killed, nobody would have lived.”
In Navarrenx, the model of the fortified town presents the town’s history and that of 100% French Navarre cigars.
www.tourisme-bearn-gaves.com
www.cigare-navarre.com
In Orthez, Moncade Château bears testimony to the splendours of the court of Gaston Fébus www.routes-historiques.com (the route of the Lords of Béarn and the Basque Country) / a presentation of 4 centuries of history in Béarn at Jeanne d’Albret museum.
In Sauveterre de Béarn, multimedia animation and a scale model of the medieval town presents the town in the middle ages.
www.tourisme-bearn-gaves.com
You can also discover Laàs Chateau, Chrestia House, Candau Mill and the church of Saint-Blaise hospital, an exceptional monument (UNESCO World Heritage).
www.hopital-saint-blaise.fr
