LE GR®65, VOIE DU PUY-EN-VELAY VERS COMPOSTELLE (DE ST ANTOINE A BARCELONNE DU GERS)

This "Chemin de grande randonnée" (GR®65), the path to Santiago de Compostela, enters the Gers at Saint-Antoine, a 12th century medieval town. Mural paintings from the 14th and 15th centuries have recently been discovered in the village church You will gain height by crossing Flamarens. This charming little village is distinguished by its castle classified as a historical monument. Built in the 13th century on a feudal mound, it is one of the most representative examples of Gascon architecture. Used as a fortress during the 100 years war, it is added in 1469 a main building and an enormous keep. In June 1943, a fire caused by lightning ruined the roofs. Since 1983, the current owner has undertaken to restore this monument. You will continue your journey via Miradoux where you can admire a magnificent panorama of the Gers countryside from the heights of the orientation table. In this ancient bastide founded in the 13th century, you will discover many heritage treasures such as the circular towers, the 16th century market hall, the 19th century Château de Fieux (Renaissance style) and the church classified as a historical monument. With a very southern plan, with a single nave vaulted with ogives and side chapels abutting the central vessel, this building is a good example of 16th century architecture where the gothic traditions of construction are preserved. The building was rebuilt in 1530 on the ruins of a Romanesque church and has magnificent stained glass windows. Its imposing Renaissance portal with carved shells reminds us that Miradoux is situated on the way to Santiago de Compostela. A silver shrine from the 18th century preserves the relics of Saint-Orens. Then it is Lectoure, a village labeled "Most beautiful detour of France" which will reveal itself to you. Perched on a promontory in the heart of the Lomagne gersoise, Lectoure is adorned with a belt of ramparts from which emerge beautiful stone houses, gardens, fountains, alleys, old mansions, thermal baths and imposing monuments. You will be able to appreciate the richness of the city's heritage: the heart of the city, the ramparts, the castle of the Counts of Armagnac and the Gothic cathedral of Saint-Gervais with the Episcopal Palace next to it. The Cathedral, built on the highest part of the city on a privileged place, imposes itself by its bell tower which dominates the city. The first floor of the bell tower houses a collection of religious objects, liturgical vestments and fragments of the building's decorations. From there, you will go to Marsolan, an ancient castelnau with a Mediterranean aspect and its sprawling houses. Built on the southern slope of the plateau, its belvedere will offer you a remarkable view. Let yourself be told the history of this village through its market hall, its church Notre Dame du Rosaire (16th century) with its classified garden and its renovated organ, a real jewel. The Roman fountain, also restored, invites you to rest and meditate in a green setting. Then, you will cross La Romieu where you will discover the legend of the Cats of Angeline. You will be able to observe the testimony of it on the arcaded square of the bastide decorated with many stone cats placed on the windows of the houses. Do not miss the collegiate complex of St Pierre, classified as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. This site is a must for tourism in the Gers. It was founded in the 14th century by Cardinal Arnaud d'Aux, an influential figure in the pontifical court of Clement V. The visit of this remarkable ensemble of southern architecture, will allow you to discover its church with a unique nave, its cloister and its two towers, one of which contains a secret passage with a double revolution staircase. You will also pass by the covered way, the gardens and the octagonal tower to see, in the detours of the floors, the frescos of the sacristy recently restored. On your way, you will discover the village of Castelnau-sur-l'Auvignon, a Mecca of the Gascony Resistance. As early as 1942, a senior officer of the British secret service came to organize the Resistance, to look for parachuting sites and to hide weapons and ammunition. The small village became a real hub and its activity attracted the Germans who surrounded the village in June 1944. After nearly 6 hours of fighting, Spanish guerrillas and French resistance fighters finally blew up the ammunition depot located in the seigneurial tower. The toll was heavy: 17 dead, 27 wounded and the village completely destroyed. For its spirit of resistance, the village was awarded the Croix de Guerre. A monument was erected in homage to the combatants. Condom, a town listed among the Great Sites of Occitania under the title "Armagnac Abbey and Cities", will take you back to the time when the town was a major centre of the Armagnac trade by discovering its numerous mansions in the classical style of the 17th and 18th centuries. You can stroll along the Baïse river or contemplate the Saint-Pierre Cathedral. Majestic building of the XIVth and XVIth century, its gothic architecture, as well as its spacious cloister and its elegant episcopal palace, will reveal you the history of the city In Montréal-du-Gers, you will discover one of the first bastides of Gascony (1289), classified by the label "Most Beautiful Villages of France". Built into the rock on a promontory overlooking the small valley of the Auzoue, it played a strategic role as a lock between the French and English domains during the Hundred Years War. From its past, Montréal-du-Gers has kept a rich heritage: fortified enclosure, ogival city gate, half-timbered houses, square surrounded by solid stone arches, narrow passages serving the different islands of the bastide. Let yourself be seduced by its 13th century church, its narrow streets and picturesque houses, its lapidary museum and its magnificent Gallo-Roman villa of Séviac from the 4th and 5th centuries, including 450m2 of polychrome mosaics. Your walk will continue in Eauze, capital of Armagnac and former capital of Novempopulanie, with a rich historical past. In the center of the city, located at the highest point of the hill, discover the Saint-Luperc Cathedral (14th and 15th centuries). Jean Marre, the initiator of the Saint-Luperc church, which he wanted to be as sumptuous as a cathedral, received the honorary title of cathedral under the Second Empire, a title that it has retained symbolically until today. It is the first building in the flamboyant gothic style in Gascony, a model that influenced the smaller neighboring churches in Armagnac. The single nave of seven bays, bordered by deep chapels placed between the buttresses, is extended by a pentagonal choir with canted sides highlighted by the stained glass windows and paintings of Nicolas Greschny. The stained glass windows of the choir and the southern wall were redone by Jean-Baptiste Anglade, a glass painter from Paris who was born in Éauze from 1868 to 1878 At the bend in the streets, you can contemplate the Jeanne d'Albret house and its superb half-timbered façade. It was once adorned with sculpted fleur-de-lis that were cut down during the Revolution. This name was given to it because it was bought by the mother of Henri IV, Jeanne d'Albret. Indeed, the royal family often stopped at Éauze during their trips between Béarn and Nérac As for the Archaeological Museum, it will amaze you with its fabulous monetary treasure of 28 000 coins and about fifty precious objects. Your immersion in the Gers will continue through the villages of Manciet, Sainte-Christie-d'Armagnac, Lanne-Soubiran, Lelin Lapujolle and Barcelonne-du-Gers before ending in the Landes department at Aire-sur-Adour.