Tarbes is in southwest France, close to the border with Spain – the Pyrenees mountains are visible from the town. A legendary Ethiopian princess, Tarbis, so the story goes, had her declarations of love spurned by Moses, so went wandering and ended up in the area where a town that now bears her name was to develop. Attacked by the Vikings, subject to the changing fortunes of various members of the French nobility and having suffered the burning of its cathedral during the Wars of Religion, Tarbes has seen its share of history. After much civic building that took place during the 19th century, Tarbes is the place you find today; a university town and a centre for the aeronautical industry and railway building, with a growing agricultural sector. Tarbes also plays host to regiments from the French Paratroopers and Hussars. The area has an oceanic climate; warm, occasionally stormy summers and cool winters. Enterprise Rent-A-Car has a branch in Tarbes.