Page 440 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

The fortress gate
concealing the fortified
village of Larressingle

difference between the
brandy of Armagnac and
Cognac really is.
EXPERIENCE The Dordogne =" ⌂ 2 rue Jules Ferry

Musée de l’Armagnac
§ 05 62 28 47 21 # Apr–Oct:
Wed–Mon ¢ Jan, public hols

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town centre. Notable among
! D6 ⌂ Gers £ @ n 1 rue
Larressingle The river Baïse skirts the Auch
Condom’s fine 17th­ to 18th­
century mansions is the Hôtel Dessoles; www.auch-
! D6 ⌂ Gers @ To Condom tourisme.com
n Larressingle; www. de Cugnac on rue Jean­Jaurès,
tourisme-condom.com with its ancient chai (wine The ancient capital of the Gers
and spirit storehouse) and department, Auch (said
With its ramparts, ruined distillery. On the other side “Ohsh”) has a rich heritage. It
donjon (defence tower) and of the town centre, the Musée has long been a sleepy place
fortress gate, Larressingle de l’Armagnac is the place to which comes alive on market
is a particularly interesting, find out, finally, what the days. The new town by the
though rather tiny, fortified station is not a place that
village in the middle of the encourages you to linger.
Gascon country side. It dates
from the 13th century, and is
one of the last remaining The interior and
Gascon villages with its walls faÇade (inset) of
still intact. The state of pres­ Cathédrale Ste-
ervation is unique, and gives Marie d’Auch
an idea of what life must have
been like for the small, embat­
tled local com munities who
had to live for decades under
conditions of perpetual war­
fare in the medieval period.
o
Condom
! D6 ⌂ Gers @ n 5 pl
St-Pierre; www.tourisme-
condom.com
Long a centre for the Armagnac
trade, Condom is a market
town built around the late­
Gothic Cathédrale St­Pierre.
In 1569 during the Wars of
Religion, the Huguenot
(French Protestant) army
threatened to demolish the
cathedral, but Condom’s
citizens averted this by
paying a huge ransom.
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