Perpendicular to a central street, the beautiful building has the charm of a large family home. Past the gate, in the small courtyard where palm trees, jasmines and roses keep the majestic lime tree company, it is easy to understand why Lucas Marquand Perrier and Philippe Rey fell in love immediately.
Navigating until then between London and Paris in the fashion and luxury sectors (respectively as audiovisual producer and interior designer), they wanted to create together a unique place. In less than two years, they have made the place, a hotel establishment since 1903, a bubble of charm in the heart of the city. Historical research on the building (which was in the 19the century the residence of the chaplain of the Fathers of Betharram) went hand in hand with renovation work.
On the program: enhancement of the charm of the existing building and addition of original works as well as furniture, objects or materials found or purchased in galleries (notably at the Galerie Muscari, located not far from there). In the living room on the ground floor, under the exceptional original moldings that play with the motif of the vine, two sofas designed in the 1970s by Dino Gavina for the prefecture of Bologna stand alongside a very large photographic portrait from the beginning of the last century.
Here, ancient and contemporary mingle happily. The four levels have 21 rooms in which the touch of the masters of the house is essential. Room 405, like the four others on the top floor, offers, in addition to generous volumes, an unobstructed panorama over the roofs of the city and, in the background, the majestic chain of the Pyrenees.
Double room from €79. hotelbristol-pau.com
80 meters away: savor a loquacious cuisine
In her restaurant, Les Pipelettes, located in the middle of the pedestrian street, Laetitia Sarthou offers market cuisine that is both intuitive and inspired. For lunch and dinner, she imagines a unique menu with fresh, quality products, in close collaboration with around thirty producers in the region. From the field to the plate, passing of course through her open kitchen, where she officiates alone, the chef places herself as close as possible to her raw materials.
3, rue Valéry-Meunier. From Wednesday lunchtime to Saturday evening and Sunday lunchtime depending on the season. Lunch menu at €22. lespipelettes-pau.fr
At 280 meters: revise your classics
From Greco to Vasarely, via Rubens, Morisot, Rodin or Corot: the rich collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Pau is displayed in a beautiful Art Deco building. Centerpiece: the fascinating Cotton Office in New Orleans (1873), by Degas, group portrait of part of the painter’s maternal family. Not far from there, the very charming Lunch in the greenhouse (1877), large format signed Louise Abbéma takes the visitor into Sarah Bernhardt’s winter garden.
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