Gascony - A Personal View

We live in the Gers, a beautiful department in the middle of the ancient region of Gascony. From the middle of the twelfth century, Gascony was owned by Britain for nearly 300 years and we think it is time for the Britons to revisit!

The Gers is still principally an agricultural area although a decline in both agriculture and population has seen government efforts to encourage diversification. Tourism is an obvious example. It is likely that the Gers will benefit from the improved transport links brought about by the development of the Airbus at Toulouse, and generally from the increase in the size of Toulouse. It is one of France’s fastest growing cities.

If you are interested in history you can see how the Romans and the Hundred Years’ war have left their mark on the area. You can visit a large number of ‘Bastides’, fortified towns and villages developed in the Middle Ages to protect people and property from attack.

If food and drink are your priorities then Gascony is a place for gluttons! Local delicacies such as foie gras, confit de canard and cassoulet co-exist with both the more Mediterranean influences of olives, pasta and pizzas and the Basque-Iberian specialities of paella, chorizo and salt cod. Moving onto drinks, you have to try Floc, Pousse Rapière, Armagnac and the local wines, Buzet, Madiran and Côtes de Saint Mont. Most local restaurants offer a fixed price menu, so that at lunchtime one can eat a three-four course meal, including wine and coffee for 11-12€ a head. The weekly markets are excellent for picking up local produce for example, asparagus in spring, melons in summer, and cêpes in autumn.

Music and art in all forms are well represented here. The main music festivals in the area are Jazz at Marciac, Country and Western festival in Mirande and Salsa in Vic Fezensac. There are also thriving orchestras, choirs and theatre groups as well as painting, sculpture and pottery exhibitions to satisfy most tastes!

There is no need to worry if your French is a bit rusty. There are a variety of organisations that teach French as a foreign language, informal or formal at very reasonable prices. There are also a lot of French people who are quite willing to set up personal conversation groups in return for practicing their English!

Sports fans are all well catered for. Rugby is very popular here as is football. Walking and cycling are popular, many communes organise rambles at weekends, the Tour de France comes through every year and two of the Pilgrims’ routes to Compostela go through the Gers. Judo, yoga, fishing, swimming, tennis, horse riding and golf are also well represented at a very local level. Naturally, there is also a boules patch in every village. Going further afield, there is the Pyrenees. We are 90 minutes away from the ski lifts and it is cheaper than the Alps. It is easily possible to visit the Atlantic or the Mediterranean for the weekend, not forgetting trips to Spain and Andorra. The place is pretty perfect in fact!