The Area

If you haven’t been here before, the Gers (described by Camus as ‘the Tuscany of France’) is a peaceful region in the south-west, a part of the larger province once known as Gascony.  We, in the south, are within striking distance (an hour and a half) of the Pyrenees, and roughly halfway between Biarritz on the Atlantic coast and Montpellier or Perpignan on the Mediterranean (good motorway connections each way).  The Gers, which has virtually no industry, is a tranquil farming region boasting beautiful pastoral countryside and sweeping views – often of the snow-capped mountains to the south.  It is sleepy and traditional, and cherished as such by its natives as well as the many French from other departments who are choosing to come and live here.

The climate is soft and pleasant and although in many ways the countryside reminds us of Devon where we used to live, the rainfall does not!  We have dry winters with blue skies and frosts, damp springs to fill the lakes and green up the countryside, and long warm summers to ripen the sunflowers and generally slow the pace of life.  The Pyrenees, snowy enough in winter to keep winter sports enthusiasts happy, provide glorious walking country in the summer months.  There is abundant wildlife – we often see deer in or near the garden, wild boar are about, pine martens, foxes and hares – and birdlife too.  Eagles, kites and buzzards are common sights, and we have hoopoes nesting in our garden each year.

Because this is France, there is a town or village market in the area every day of the week, where the produce is both fresher and cheaper than from the supermarkets.  And because this is France, almost all the produce is locally grown or locally made.  We are near Samatan which hosts the biggest market in the Gers every Monday; you can find everything from foie gras to olives, from underwear to leather gear, from live ducks to dead ones.

If you feel like sight-seeing Toulouse is only an hour and a quarter away; la ville rose is a beautiful city offering wonderful museums, galleries, old buildings and river trips as well as a dazzling choice of restaurants and shops.  Nearer to home, Auch on the river Gers has a cathedral famous throughout France for its stained glass and its carvings.

There is a wide choice of good and inexpensive places to eat in the area.