 Pau is the gateway to the five Béarnese valleys (the Ossau Valley, Vallée d'Aspe, , the and Vath-Vielha) that receives winter sports tourists (the ski resorts of Gourette, , and ), spas (Eaux-Bonnes and Eaux-Chaudes) and green tourism (white-water sports, cultural and gastronomic tourism).Its location at the foot of the Pyrenees gives Pau an exceptional panorama of the chain of the Pyrenees, in particular from the Boulevard des Pyrénées which is a long avenue of , facing the Pyrenees mountain range.Pau, a former royal town and capital of Béarn, is also a city of cultural tourism and important business (Congress, conferences, notably in the ).