VillageBearn / Basque Country65 km to Saint Jean Pied de Port

Navarrenx

A fortified town with remarkably well-preserved 16th-century ramparts, making it one of the earliest examples of Italian-style bastioned fortification in France. Has gites and full services.

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About Navarrenx

Navarrenx is a fortified town with remarkably well-preserved 16th-century ramparts, one of the earliest examples of Italian-style bastioned fortification in France. The town sits on the Gave d'Oloron river and retains its complete circuit of walls.

Pilgrims will find gites, hotels, restaurants, cafes, a supermarket, ATMs, and a pharmacy. The town is one of the better-serviced stops in the Bearn section.

The ramparts offer a pleasant walk around the perimeter of the town with river views. Navarrenx is also known for its salmon fishing on the Gave d'Oloron.

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Explore Navarrenx

The Camino through town, with prices where the beds are. Amber is the route; each pin is a place to stay.

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Things to do

Things to do in Navarrenx

5 things

SightWalk the RampartsThe 16th-century Renaissance ramparts are the finest example of Italian-style military fortification in France. The massive walls, star-shaped bastions, and monumental gates were built to withstand cannon fire and represent a revolution in military architecture. Walking the circuit of the walls takes about 30 minutes and offers views over the Gave d'Oloron, the bridge, and the surrounding countryside. The fortifications are in excellent condition and give Navarrenx a sense…

SightCross the Bridge Over the Gave d'OloronThe bridge across the Gave d'Oloron is one of the landmarks of Navarrenx. The river runs fast and clear beneath the arches, coming down from the high Pyrenees. The Gave is famous for its Atlantic salmon, and in season you may see fishermen on the banks. The sound of the rushing water, after days of walking through quiet farmland, is invigorating. The bridge also marks the traditional boundary between the Bearn and the Basque Country, though the cultural transition happens…

Camino MomentEnter the BearnNavarrenx is the gateway to the Bearn, a historic region in the western Pyrenees. The landscape, the architecture, and the food change from here. The flat vineyards and sunflower fields of Gascony give way to green hills, rushing rivers, and white-painted houses with red shutters. The cuisine shifts too: garbure (the thick Bearnaise soup), poule au pot (chicken in the pot, the dish Henri IV wanted every family to eat on Sundays), and the cheeses of the Pyrenees. You are now…

FoodEat Poule au PotHenri IV, born in nearby Pau, reportedly wished that every French peasant could eat poule au pot (chicken simmered with vegetables) every Sunday. The dish remains a staple of Bearnaise cuisine and is served in the restaurants of Navarrenx. It is simple, comforting, and deeply satisfying after a day of walking. The local cheeses, particularly the Ossau-Iraty (a sheep's milk cheese from the Pyrenean pastures), are excellent. The wines of Jurancon, from vineyards near Pau, are…

Camino MomentThree Routes ConvergeAfter Navarrenx, the GR65 passes through Aroue and reaches Ostabat-Asme, the place where three of the four historic French pilgrimage routes to Santiago converge: the Via Podiensis (your route, from Le Puy), the Via Turonensis (from Tours/Paris), and the Via Lemovicensis (from Vezelay). From Ostabat, all three routes continue together to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. If you have been walking the Chemin du Puy in relative solitude, the trail becomes noticeably busier from this…

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Places to stay in Navarrenx

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