Places of interest nearby

• Chateau de Larressingle - on your doorstep, as is the hands-on museum of Medieval War Machines. Your chance to fire enormous "rocks" across the countryside.
• Pont d'Artigue perfectly preserved bridge dating back to Roman times (15 minutes by foot)
• Séviac (3km) remains of 4th century Gallo-Roman villa, with remarkably well-preserved floor mosaics and a general exhibition offering an insight into life in a luxury country villa in Roman times
• Condom Cathedral, dominating the town centre. Also the Armagnac Museum, and daily boat trips on the River Baise.
• Fourcès, unusual round bastide town, the only one in the Gers, with beautiful shady "square", good restaurants and bars.
• Montréal du Gers, ancient hill-top bastide village. Gallo-Roman museum with guided visits.
• La Romieu, imposing 14th century hill-top collegiate with quiet streets around, and a couple of nice bars to savour the surroundings.
• Flaran, abbey buildings and gardens (Abbaye de Flaran) with guided visits of this 12th century Cistercian monastery
• Lectoure, Gallo-Roman city with lots of atmosphere and plenty of shops and bars. Photographic exhibitions during high season.

There is an Office de Tourisme within the castle at Larressingle, as well as a Syndicat d'Initiative (a local information booth, run by volunteers) just at the end of our lane.
The Office de Tourisme in Condom (located just behind the Cathedral) offers a wider range of information about the area, as well as special cultural events held throughout the summer.

Swimming / recreation

There are many bases de loisirs (leisure parks) in the area. The nearest at Montréal du Gers (10km) is a natural lake, with water slides and a sandy beach. At Gondrin (15km) is a huge man-made outdoor pool, with bumpy slides and corkscrew slides. There are separate swimming areas for young children, the slides, and an enormous area with a raft where you can also sail inflatables, as well as a large playground. Further bases de loisirs are at Lislebonne (near Mézin, 10km), Barbotan les Thermes (20km) which also has an open-air splash pool, Lectoure (Lac des Trois Vallées 25km) and more. All good places for a game of boules, badminton, beach volleyball etc.
At Condom there is an outdoor public swimming pool, with a full set of diving boards and a grassy area for sunbathing.

Sports

• Horse-riding is available at any of a large number of stables located nearby. In Condom you might try L'Etrier Condomois, while Les Ecuries d'Armagnac at Valence sur Baise (15km) offer guided hacks (in English) out into the hills. More details here.
• Tennis courts available at Condom, Eauze and Gondrin.
• Golf de Guinlet (18 holes) at Eauze (15km), beautiful, wooded course - said to be the best in the area. Click here for a summary of prices and a map of how to find it.
• Mountain biking: various routes around the area, bike hire at Mézin and other places
• Karting, quad bikes, light aircraft all available at Caudecoste (50km)
• Quad bikes and paint-balling in Auch at Quad Concept.
• The Tourist Office of Agen also has an excellent website, with lots of ideas of places to go, and sporting opportunities around the area.

Further afield

• "Parc Walibi", part of the Six Flags empire is at Roquefort near Agen (30km), smaller than many theme parks, but perfect for a family day out, and tickets are good value for money.
• Bordeaux and the Bordeaux vineyards eg. St Emilion about 90 minutes drive, a great opportunity to stock your wine cellar.
• Toulouse, the main city in this part of France, also home of the French Space Programme
• Carcassonne, renowned medieval walled city and home of the Templars (about 2 hours drive)

Shopping

Full-size supermarkets are located at Condom (Intermarché 5km) and at Eauze (new, modern Leclerc 15km), both with long opening hours for convenient shopping. A small grocery store is located at Montreal du Gers about 10km away. Condom of course, has the full range of bakers, butchers, grocers and greengrocers as well as clothes shops, toy shops, etc in the city centre, and banks with ATM's.

Market days - Condom (Wednesdays), Eauze (Thursdays - one of the best around). Night markets during July and August.