PYRENEES ATLANTIQUE
Basses-Pyrénées was one of the original 83 Departments of France created during the French Revolution, on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Guyenne, Béarn, and Gascony and included the three traditional provinces of the northern Basque Country: Labourd, Soule and Basse-Navarre.
On October 10, 1969, Basses-Pyrénées was renamed Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Geography
Pyrénées-Atlantiques is part of the Aquitaine region of Southwest France. It is bordered by the Landes, Hautes-Pyrénées , Gers departments and the Bay of Biscay.
Principal settlements include Pau, Biarritz, Bayonne, Anglet, Urrugne and St-Jean-de-Luz.
Culture
The parts of the department that were part of Guyenne and Béarn have a culture heavily influenced by the Basques. Both the Gascon language and the Basque language are indigenous to the region here. Gascon is an Occitan language that is more closely related to Catalan than it is to French.
IN THIS DEPARTMENT
Click on the sectors below to explore
Pau
Secteur Garlin
Secteur Pau