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Musée Bernadotte

The Pyrenees

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This townhouse is the birthplace of one of Napoléon’s favourite generals, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (nicknamed ‘Sergent belle-jambe’, on account of his shapely legs). Now a museum, the house explores the strange story of how Bernadotte came to be crowned king of Sweden and Norway in 1810, when the Swedish parliament reckoned that the only way out of the country’s dynastic and political crisis was to stick a foreigner on the throne.

The present king of Sweden, Carl Gustaf, is the seventh in the Bernadotte dynasty, while several other European royal families (including Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium and Denmark) are all ruled by Bernadotte’s descendants.

Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¼´Ê±¿ª½±'s must-see attractions

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    In 1857 Bernadette Soubirous’ family fell on hard times and were forced to move to this dingy former prison, where they lived communally in a room…

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Nearby The Pyrenees attractions

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Take a stroll along this revitalised lane for a look at green spaces by day and light installations by night.

2. Château de Pau

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3. Musée des Beaux-Arts

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4. ¸éé²úé²Ô²¹³¦±ç

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¸éé²úé²Ô²¹³¦±ç is one of the few bastides (fortified towns) of the Pyrenees, built in 1347 by a lieutenant of Gaston Fébus, the 11th Count of Foix. Like all…

5. Castet

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Perched precariously on a glacial outcrop, this hilltop village boasts a 12th-century keep and a truly magnificent valley view. From the belvédère …

6. Grottes de Bétharram

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Grottes de Bétharram is a network of subterranean caverns that has been carved out from the limestone, glittering with impressive formations of…

7. Bielle

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The former ‘capital’ of the valley, Bielle is a beautiful village with many fine 15th- and 16th-century houses, linked together via a guided walk.

8. Falaise aux Vautours

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