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Gers property guide

Gers is a French department that is positioned in the Midi-Pyrenees region and is part of the southwest France. Its name comes from the Gers River.

Geography:
This area is located in southwestern France. The neighboring departments are Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Landes, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques. This area is least densely populated and is most rural compared to the other areas in the Western Europe.

The culture is agricultural with a lot of gastronomical specialties like foie gras, Armagnac brandy and wild mushrooms.

The Gascon language is also a dialect of Occitan but is not very well spoken.

There have been great influences from the British and Spanish immigrants.

The towns and villages are small and quite apart and the economy is mainly agricultural represented of vineyards, cereals, cattle, ducks and geese.

There is not a lot of traffic and the air is very clean.

Towns:
One beautiful town in the north part is Condom. English do not want to come to this area because of the name. The population of the town is 8,000 and is the capital of the region. One main attraction is the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre.

There are some other local attractions close to this town. Ten kilometers to the west is the Larressingle a very beautiful village. From there you can get to Montréal du Gers. Close to it is the 4th century Gallo-Roman villa, Séviac, with beautiful mosaic frescos.

On the roads you may encounter passing ducks and geese. There are also some markets along the roads selling products straight from the farm. There is also some world famous cuisine.

One important town in the history is Auch. Its population is only 24,000 but it is the largest city. It is also farming and a commercial center. There is the famous gothic Cathédrale de Sainte-Marie surrounded by many narrow streets named pousterles. In front of the cathedral there are 232 stone stairs and then there is positioned a grand statue of d’Artagnan.

Another beautiful place is Eauze. It has a market every Thursday. Also very beautiful is the Marciac that is positioned in the southwest of the region. It is a 13th century village with a wonderful 14th century church and there is held one of the most important jazz festivals in France.

The town of Gers is a central department of Gascony in the Midi-Pyrenees. It is mainly agricultural and the least densely populated part.

History:
Gers is one of the 83 departments that were formed during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the parts of the previous provinces of Guyenne and Gascony.

Gers has a rich history. It became part of France after the conquest of Clovis in the fifth century.

The reformation started under the rule of the English in the middle of 21 century when Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry of Anjou who after that became Henry II of England in 1154. Then the Hundred Years’ War started. These were then followed the Wars of Religions between the Catholics and the Protestant Huguenots.

In Gers there are 146 castles and the largest one is Lavardens that is built on a limestone outcrop.

Gastronomy:
There are a lot of famous vines that have played important part in the history of the region. There is a special aperitif known as Armagnac that is distilled at a lower strength with no added sugar. This drink originates from the Counts of Armagnac.

Another local specialty known as Floc de Cascogne can be found here represents Armagnac with grape juice. There is some popular vineyard like the 13th century Château de Cassaigne and it is worth visiting.

Useful information:

Tourism office in Gers
www.tourisme-midi-pyrenees.com

Gites in Gers
www.rent-gite-in-france.co.uk
www.cottages4you

Hotels in Gers
www.hotelclub.com

Car rental
www.hertz.co.uk

Maps of Gers
www.ign.fr
www.maps.google.fr

Travel from the UK
By air:
Easyjet flies from London Gatwick to Toulouse.
Ryanair flies from Dublin, Liverpool and East Midlands to Carcassonne, and from London Stansted to Rodez.
www.ryanair.com
www.easyjet.com

Our team of sale advisers at Sextant Properties will be happy to help you to find a property in Gers. We have a large network of estate agents in Gers. All of them are registered French estate agents and speak both French and English. Whatever kind of property you are looking for: farmhouse, longere, barn, gite, B&B, country house, mill, villa, castle or chateau, we will do our best to find a property in Gers matching your requirements. To find out more about our selection of properties for sale in Gers do not hesitate to contact us.

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