1. Lot - 2. Dordogne - 3 Tarn - 4 Gascony - 5 Provence - 6 Haute Provence - 7 Pyrenees
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 4. GASCONY / PYRENEES REGION
La Maison des Arcades
Gascony region  -  Gascony cottage  -  Gascony village 
Gascony sightseeing  -  Gascony house-plans  - Gascony local region
 
 
Sightseeing in Gascony and Hautes Pyrenees regions
 
From this well placed cottage you can enjoy three regions - rural and lazy Gascony
- the spectacular Pyrenees - and also the Atlantic coast and Spain.
Drive south and take a picnic into spectacular Pyrenees mountains only about 50 kms away
and close to many of the ski resorts which are quite accessible from this cottage.
Magnificent vistas unfold with every bend in the road - yet the roads are excellent and driving is easy
Pyrenean Spar villages are completely different from those in warm and lazy Gascony.
Continue down via Lannemazan through the pass to have lunch in Spain - this is the Spanish village of Bielsa.
Another journey south into the Pyrenees to Lourdes - the pilgrimage place for invalids seeking a miracle cure
The Church with lines of pilgrims going to the sacred grotto beside the river - the invalids - the huge wheelchairs
- the great smoking candles and also unfortunately the many tourist shops displaying religious and secular things
you could never have imagined - but it is a great day out.
Above is one of the many charming Gascon Chateaux near Tillac.
Left - the landscape of the Gers region is fertile rolling countryside in a patchwork of food crops.
Right - another Chateau in a different style but still very Gascon.
Driving north 38 kms to Auch - capital of the Gers - the most attactive main square with the Cathedral
and many small streets curving down the hill with many restaurants and excellent shopping.  
 
Inside the Cathedral Ste-Marie in Auch - see the magnificent choir stalls
carved from heart-of-oak with 67 great figures on the stall backs dating from 1520.
On to the delightful small town of Condom - the capital of the Armagnac region -
Left - the vaulted cathedral here is magnificent.
Right - almost next door to the Museum of Armagnac showing manufacture thought the ages.
On the way home from Condom take a small diversion to see the perfect small fortified village of Larressingle 
- which has similar architecture to our own village of Tillac - but much more has been preserved -
- and only a few kms further is Fources - the only one of the bastides which is circular - 
and which is often regarded as the most beautiful - it was held by the English during the 100 Years War.
A little further towards the village of Montreal. Close by is the Villa
Gallo-Romaine-de-Séviac which has been very popular with may guests - especially the mosaic tiling.
A bit further away in the west you can visit the Atlantic Coast and the delightfully different villages
of the Pays Basque with its distinctive colours and architecture. Left - a typical Pays Basque cottage.
Right - the famous village of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the route to Compostella

One of our favourite places on the Atlantic coast -
the vibrant little harbour town of St-Jean-de-Luz - a great place for watching the world and the boats go by -

- and quite a few of our guests who stay a bit longer take a night away
and go that little bit further down into Spain to Bilbao to the amazing Guggenheim Art Museum.

Gascony region  -  Gascony cottage  -  Gascony village 
Gascony sightseeing  -  Gascony house-plans  - Gascony local region


Sight-seeing in the Gascony region
Auch - (pronounced Osh) - the main town and capital of the Gers 
Auch Cathedral-de-Ste-Marie and statue of D'Artagnan
Auch - Maison-de-Gascogne to taste 100 year old Armagnac and the aperitif Floc
Condom - a pleasant little town with a Museum of Armagnac. 
A circuit of abbeys and bastide villages - la Romieu, Flaren Abbey, Cassaigne, 
Larressingle and Fourcès - perhaps the prettiest of all the bastides.
 The Gallo-Roman villa of Séviac, Éauze, Plaisance, Castelnau-Barbarens, Loupiac and Aignan.
 
Hautes-Pyrenees region about an hour away
The Pyrenees mountains - spectacular for walking, sightseeing, skiing or picnics.
Lourdes - one of the greatest tourist and pilgrimage shrines in France. 
Pau - a handsome and lively university town with Belle Époque architecture - birthplace of Henri 1V.
St-Bertrand-de-Comminges - one of the most historic sites in southern France.
The Atlantic coast and Pays Basque - Bayonne, Biarritz and St-Jean-de-Luz.
 
Spain - it is not far to visit Spain by several routes - 
particularly the new, world famous Guggenheim Art Museum in Bilbao, not far from Biarritz.


1. Lot - 2. Dordogne - 3 Tarn - 4 Gascony - 5 Provence - 6 Haute Provence - 7 Pyrenees
Availability  -  Home  -  Rental costs  -  Locality Map
 
 
 
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