GERS -- Home of D’Artagnan

D’Artagnan, the fourth musketeer of Dumas’ Three Musketeers, came from Gers, a landlocked area of rolling hills and pretty hilltop villages in the south-west of France, within easy reach of the Atlantic coast or the Pyrenees. Gers, one of the most rural areas in western Europe and relatively undiscovered, is the French home of pate de foie gras, and has a balmy and dry climate. It is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution in 1790, and was created from parts of the former provinces of Guyenne and Gascony. It is also one of the sunniest areas of France. The typical landscape consists of fields of sunflowers and maize. Auch, the capital of the department, is one of the hottest cities in France, and boasts more than 300 sunny days in the year. It is the site of a glorious gothic cathedral, Sainte Marie, dated 1489, which features a carved choir and beautiful stained glass windows. A statue of the man upon whom Dumas based his character of D’Artagnan, wearing a plumed hat and carrying a rapier, stands in the main square.

Gers is bordered by the Hautes-Pyrenees to the south, Tarn to the east, Tarn-et-Garonne to the north-east and Landes to the west on the sea.

The many attractive hilltop villages called bastides were founded during the Hundred Years War between England and France, mainly in South-Western France. They were fortified by the counts of Toulouse against marauding English soldiers from the adjoining region of Aquitaine, once an English possession. The church which was either included in the village, or built nearby, served as a keep and observation post. They were new towns, laid out in a rectangular grid .mainly set up on frontier and disputed lands, to establish a border and a defensive presence. People were subsidised to settle there, in a manner very similar to the kibbutz settlements in Israel. Bastides were originally walled towns, centred around a market square, with the houses set in narrow streets.

Pleasure boating, fishing and waterskiing are some of the sports available on the many lakes and rivers in the area; the River Baise is navigable from Valence sur Baise to Condom and it is now possible to join the Canal of the Garonne.

In addition to foie gras, goose and duck confit, the gastronomical specialties of the region are Armagnac brandy, Cotes de Gascogne wines (fresh fruity dry whites), Floc de Gascogne, and wild mushrooms. In this corner of France, more than in almost any other part of Europe, the discovery of America has had an obvious effect on the food. From the early sixteenth century, when they were first introduced, maize, pumpkins, tomatoes and peppers have gradually taken over a large part of the best dishes of daily life. For instance, tomato dishes are made more piquant with the addition of peppers and chillies, particularly in pipérade, where they are combined with scrambled eggs. This part of France is rich in game as well. The markets reflect the rich agricultural nature of the department and are full of colourful vegetables and delightful fruit. Night markets are held in July and August so that people can shop in the cooler time of day.

There are three thermal spas, Barbotan-les-Thermes, Castera-Verduzan, and the roman town of Lectoure.

The nearest international airport is Toulouse