French City Break: Auch

Head to the Gers capital, where architectural and culinary delights, history and art combine to make an ideal weekend break.

Some light pre-visit reading revealed to me that the most celebrated draws for visitors to Auch – the compact and cute Gascony gem that serves as prefecture of the Gers are all big, bold and powerful in their own way. D’Artagnan, duck, Armagnac, a Monumental Staircase and the epic Sainte-Marie Cathedral are all iconic must-sees for weekenders. But some French city breaks offer treats found only in the small print of guide books. And so, on this sun-kissed late afternoon in June, there was a true hidden jewel to kick off my séjour. After a rapid luggage drop at my splendid lodgings for the weekend-the historic Hôtel de France, slap bang in the town centre (itself with a major duck connection, more of which later) I wandered to the mairie next door. It was designed to house an 18th-century Italian-style theatre and its ornately decorated ceiling, depicting the four themes of poetry, eloquence, music and painting, reveals that often the delight is in the detail. For a guided tour, you can only visit when the mairie is open, but the theatre is still well frequented today for cultural events and shows.

Next, an early evening, pre-aperitif stroll took me across Place de la Libération, passing packed bar terraces with the mighty cathedral serving as a backdrop. Turning left, I wandered down Auch’s cutest shopping street, the narrow Rue Dessoles, featuring regional produce shops, diverse restaurant options and hippy-chic clothes boutiques. I love this place already…

Duck and D’Artagnan

Dinner was certain to tick the right boxes for a devoted duck. devourer such as I. The Hôtel de France’s canard credentials could not be greater – it was here that former chef-owner André Daguin became a leading light of southwest gastronomy. His grandfather had first been noticed by the Michelin Guide as early as 1900 and André himself gained his first star in 1960, followed by a second ten years later. But his legacy lies in an inspired 1959 idea to cook a duck breast like a steak, instead of confited in its own fat as per tradition. The magret de canard is now a national staple, and needless to say, I loved the massive magret served at the hotel’s bistro (€29 for three courses). A word of praise, too, for Bruno Casassus, one of the current owners he is a supreme host and boasts the industry-leading Meilleur Ouvrier de France badge for his understated attentiveness and easy manner.

Next morning and there was only one place to begin: the Saturday market. Laid out neatly in front of the cathedral, it was in full flow, with locals chatting to fruit and vegetable purveyors, gently squeezing apricots for ripeness or picking up a succulent roast chicken for a lunch à la maison. At the tourist office I rendez-vous’d with my expert guide for a hotspot tour. I always advise booking a guide because of the insight they offer and questions they can answer (nearly always with an English speaking option), but if visiting solo, one could easily spend a couple of hours exploring Sainte-Marie Cathedral alone. Built on the site of an old Romanesque church, this transitional blend of flamboyant Gothic and classical Renaissance styles was completed in 1680 after almost two centuries of work.

If the exterior, with its Renaissance-style façade and two. towers, is imposing and beguiling in its grandeur, inside some remarkable features await. The stunning series of 18 Biblical-scene stained-glass works by master glassmaker Arnaud de Moles, are 16th-century wonders of light in sublime, shimmering colours and realistic, textural detail – especially the clothing of featured characters. Meanwhile the choir stalls (free to view as part of a guided tour, a small fee otherwise), which were completed in 1552, showcase expert carving skills on some 1,500 characters and 113 oak stalls. Monks who attended lengthy prayer sessions were possibly more grateful for the misericords (half-seats) practicality than their aesthetics.

Sacred treasures

The cathedral’s stature (over 100m long, 35m wide) points to The the enormous influence and power that the Auch archdiocese exerted all the way “from the Pyrenees to the gates of Bordeaux and the suburbs of Toulouse to the Atlantic Ocean”. Just behind the cathedral, housed in the Tour d’Armagnac, is the superbly conceived Musée du Trésor de la Cathédrale Cathedral Treasury Museum). Opened in 2015, this is a ( must-see for those with an eye for ecclesiastical artefacts and sacred art. Of the 200 or so paintings, sculptures and goldwork dating largely from the 15th to the 19th centuries, highlights include a reliquary bust of Saint Justin (no relation) from 1687-1689 and a 15th-century processional cross. This was a former prison-spot the old cells, and enjoy the ingenious interactive information stations (great for children). Right outside the museum, I headed down some grand steps, and then down some more, and then some more… this is Auch’s famed Monumental Staircase, an historic monument built between 1858 and 1863 to form a pedestrian walkway for those moving between the upper and lower towns. Overlooking the left bank of the Gers, its most prized photo spot is on the lower landing: Firmin Michelet’s bronze statue of Gascony’s most famous son, Charles de Batz, better known as d’Artagnan. The Captain of the King’s Musketeers was born circa 1612 at Château de Castelmore in Lupiac, about 40km away.

After going right to the bottom of all the double flights (374 steps in total) and back up, I was ravenous. Thankfully, Bona Vida on the aforementioned Rue Dessoles sated me in style with a winning combination of butcher’s shop and clutch of dining tables. My entrecote of Holstein beef with frites and aioli was spectacularly good-owners Dimitri and Pauline do a fine job of sourcing locally reared meats and regional Côtes de Gascogne wines that keep alive traditional grape varieties such as Gros Manseng.

Art, Armagnac and the Americas

In the afternoon, a couple of excellent detours helped shake off a post-lunch snooze inclination. I loved my leisurely stroll around Auch’s Jardin Remarquable, the exquisitely tended and tranquil Square Jérôme Cuzin at the former chapel of the Auch seminary, now a cultural centre. Then, nearby, I visited the town’s magnificent new contemporary arts centre, Memento. Housed in a former Carmelite convent, it perfectly combines a sense of spirituality with artistic creation. If installation art sometimes leaves me shrugging, non-plussed, not so here – I thoroughly enjoyed the diverse array of eye-pleasing, disconcerting or witty installations of the current Union Libre exhibition (until October 13), especially the mechanical dervishes – Floating Spaces ‘Lost Paradise’ by Amir Youssef. To end the day’s visits I enjoyed a wine-tasting with the affable Lucien, a teacher-turned wine expert who offers tastings of local wines and spirits at his shop, Chez Lucien, in the shadow of the cathedral and opposite the striking half-timbered house, Maison Fedel. Under his guidance I sipped and swirled (and spat, I should add) my way through the gamut of Côtes de Gascogne wines-red, white and rosé, then a range of Floc de Gascognes and some delicious Armagnacs young and old. Next day, two wildly different forms of cultural enrichment closed my stay. First was the impeccable Musée des Amériques, which, despite its name, boasts a wide-ranging mix of pieces from antiquity via medieval, from the local to extra-European. Its collection of Pre-Columbian South American artefacts provide real wow factor. Then after lunch came a delightful. choral concert at the Maison de Gascogne by the Elixir ensemble as part of Auch singing season, Éclats de Voix. As we shuffled out into the Sunday sun, I reflected on how Auch, with its winning blend of culture and culinary treats, might just hold all the city break trump cards.

AUCH ESSENTIALS

TOURIST INFORMATION

• Grand Auch Coeur de Gascogne Tourist Office, 3, place de la République. Auch, Tel: +33 (0)5 62 05 22 89

en.auch-tourisme.com; holidays-gers.com

WHERE TO STAY

• Hôtel de France

WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK

• Bona Vida, 12, rue Dessoles, Auch, +33(0)5 82 83 98 05

• Chez Lucien – Enjoy a wide selection of organic, local and regional wines and spirits as well as a cheese section, delicatessen and local products. Wine tastings (call for details).

From France Today Magazine