The original town at nearby Saint-Jean-le-Vieux was razed to the ground in 1177 by the troops of King Richard “Lionheart” after a siege. The Kings of Navarre had the town rebuilt on its present site shortly afterwards.
The town was once a part of the Spanish province of Navarre and the Basque language is still spoken on both sides of the border and they still share similar traditions.
The town has traditionally been an important point on the Way of St James, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, as it stands at the base of the Roncevaux Pass across the Pyrenees.
Pied-de-Port means ‘foot of the pass’ in Pyrenean French. The routes from Paris, Vézelay and Le Puy-en-Velay meet at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and it is the pilgrims’ last stop before the arduous mountain crossing.
In 1998, the Porte St-Jacques (city gate) was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the sites along the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France.
Le Petit train
La Citadelle
Rue de la Citadelle
Vue sur les rives de la Nive