La Bastide-Clairence (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Bastidots or Bastidotes. The village is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ("The most beautiful villages of France") association. Geography La Bastide-Clairence is located in the former province of Lower Navarre some 20 km east by south-east of Bayonne and 5 km north-east of Hasparren. Access to the commune is by the D10 road which branches from the D936 north of the commune and comes south to the village continuing south to join the D251 just west of Ayherre. Part of the D510 forms the western border of the commune as it goes south to join the D10 near Hasparren. The D123 goes east from the village through the length of the commune to Amorots-Succos to the south-east. The D610 connects the D510 to the D10 in the commune. The commune is mostly farmland interspersed with forest. La Joyeuse stream flows from the south through the village and continues north to become the Aran which joins the Adour at Urt. The Arbéroue stream flows from the south-east northwards through the eastern part of the commune to join the Lihoury north-east of the commune. Places and hamlets le Bourg la Côte la Chapelle Pessarou Toponymy The commune name in Basque is Bastida or Bastida Arberoa and in Gascon Occitan is La Bastida Clarença. The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune. Sources: Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. Origins: Camara: Titles of the Camara of Comptos Navarre: Titles of the Kingdom of Navarre Duchesne: Duchesne collection volume 114 Oloron: Notaries of Oloron Pamplona: Titles of Pamplona Register: Register of the States of Navarre Collations: Collations of the Diocese of Bayonne La Bastide-Clairence appears as LA BASTIDE Clerence on the 1750 Cassini Map and as LA BASTIDE on the 1790 version. History A Navarrese fortified village was founded in 1288 by Claire de Rabastens on a hillside next to the Aran river hence its Gascon name Bastida Clarença. 800 refugees, mainly from Bigorre, were granted a charter in July 1312 by Louis I of Navarre, the future Louis X of France. The birth of the village corresponds to a need for Navarre to