The gentle-paced region of Gers in Southern France is a soothing delight for the soul

By MAX DAVIDSON

Small is beautiful: Gers' charm comes not from what it has to offer, but a blissful tranquility that's hard to find


Gers is one of the sleepiest areas of France. There's not a single motorway running through it. You wake to birdsong, not the rumble of juggernauts. Airport? There is no airport. Nightclubs? What nightclubs? All that disturbs the peace of an evening is the tolling of church bells. A dog barking is an event.

Auch, the capital of Gers, is so diminutive it does not feel like the capital of anywhere. There is a cathedral with some glorious carved choir stalls, and a pigeon-spattered statue of d'Artagnan the Musketeer, but that's about it.

As for the Gers itself, it is a moot point whether it is a large stream or a small river. If you blink, you miss it, meandering past the tumbledown villages and fields of sunflowers.

It is just so incredibly easy on the eye. From the bedroom of our gite, a converted farmhouse near the village of St Puy, we look out across mile upon mile of rolling hills, stretching all the way to the Pyrenees. Vineyards shimmer. A farmer does a U-turn on his tractor. Swallows swoop through the maize. A church spire peeps above a grove of cypresses. Perfection.

The Chateau Monluc in St Puy dispenses one of the great Gers institutions - Armagnac. You can drink it neat or in one of its many bastardised versions, such as Floc de Gascogne, where the Armagnac is diluted with grape juice.


A controversial dish but foie gras is ever popular in Gers, and in this context - served with a crusty baguette - it's hard to resist. Wash it down with another local favourite, Armagnac


As for the food, if you like foie gras, you will simply adore Gers, where you will find it on every menu, in a bewildering variety of forms. I have been going to La Terrauboise, in the tiny village of Terraube, for more than ten years and, as always, I'm bowled over by the simple genius of the cooking. Others swear by Le Florida in Castera-Verduzan, where you eat in a pretty courtyard overhung with vines.

Repeat visitors to Gers tend to be the sort of people who like to take life easy, soaking up the atmosphere, plotting the next meal.


Drunk on scenery: When you've drank your fair share of Armagnac, walk among the vineyards where Gers' favourite tipple comes to life


But if you are someone who prefers to get in the car and explore a region, Gers has plenty to offer: not just glorious views, but a string of communities enjoying a lifestyle that has hardly changed in centuries.

Of towns worth visiting, the most picturesque is Larressingle, a medieval fortress. But Lectoure, perched on a hill, comes a close second. It is a great place to potter around galleries and antiques shops.

One of the most atmospheric towns is Condom, which, with a name like that, belongs in a Carry On film. It is actually Gallic charm personified, with its airy cathedral, its stirring war memorial and ragtag collection of shops and street markets.


Travel facts
easyJet, 0905 821 0905, easyJet.com flies from Gatwick to Toulouse, the nearest international airport to Gers, from £53 return.

Gites in Gers, gitesdefrance.com, start from around £110 a week. Double rooms at the Trois Lys hotel, 0033 5 62 28 3333, lestroislys.com, in Condom, from £110 a night.

source: dailymail