Jumping from the diving board of the outdoor swimming pool in Auch and breathing in the scents of the surrounding countryside leaves an exhilarating memory. Just like climbing the monumental staircase of Auch and immersing yourself in the narrow streets of its restored historic center, where the cathedral and its pretty square stand out.
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“And then going down the monumental staircase, we come across d’Artagnan as a statue, smiles Sabine Darrieutort, manager at the city’s tourist office. He was born 30 minutes from Auch, in Lupiac. And there, we reach the lower town. And between the upper town and the lower town flows the Gers, a tributary of the Garonne.
There is a super nice walk to do, by bike or on foot, along the river, which gives us a superb panorama of the cathedral and the historic center. When the weather is nice, from one of its bridges, you can see the Pyrenees, it’s just magnificent and pleasant, that’s also Auch: a country town and a nature town.”
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Auch is also home to an extraordinary museum
the “museum of the americas – Auch”, is its name, allows you to discover the second collection of pre-Columbian art in France – the first being in Paris at the musée du quai Branly. The museum is even a “reference natural center” on this theme.
“We have very rare, precious works, in particular paintings of feathers, comments Sabine Darrieutort. With children, it’s great, there are booklets available by age group, and events and conferences throughout the year. May through June is Latin America Week.”
This place is also devoted to the arts and traditions of Gascony, Antiquity and the Fine Arts.
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About fifteen minutes from Auch by car, in the heart of the Gers valley, we join the donkeys of the Hitton farm, in Biran. Donkeys from the Pyrenees are raised there.
“Cécile and Manu, the owners are helping to save this breed. And from the milk of the donkeys they raise, they make organic cosmetics that smell good and are gentle on the skin. Cécile talks about raising donkeys, that’s where you can approach them.”
This summer, the owners will open a gîte and two lodges. On site, you can participate in the manufacture of your own soap.
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Like that of Herrebouc, around which you can go canoeing. And we ride the electric scooter especially in Pavia, in the leisure park Green in the air. “It looks a bit like a bicycle but without a pedal. We have the drums on our back, and we walk the steepest paths in the Gers countryside.”
And of course, we take advantage of the markets and the local gastronomy. On the menu: duck breast and for dessert Gascon pastis, a puff pastry with an apple-Armagnac garnish, if possible flambéed with Armagnac!
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