A word to the wise: on Place de la Libération, La Cave du Palais is Pau’s #1 wine spot that you don’t want to miss! Running things is Thomas Buisson, a former musician turned sommelier, and Florent Foury, who got mixed up in the wine world as a kid. The two of them and their passionate team offer up bottles for every palate. Filling the shelves and boxes that crowd the space, you’ll find local gems and bottles from further away: a Tarn pet’ nat’ white from the Domaine Le Chapitre (€17.30), an Aude Carignan-Marselan blend from the Ledogar brothers (€12), a Tuscan red from Podere Luisa (€9.90)… For connoisseurs, the wine shop offers up “free palate” (€35 monthly) or “fine palate” (€60) subscriptions, which guarantee you a pack of three hand-selected bottles every month, along with explanatory sheets. // Ana Kirpad 

The bullet-proof bottle: Ixilune, a Béarn combo of petit Manseng and petit Courbu produced by Imanol Garay (€35).