Bastides Tour in Gascony

South West France is full of bastides – these are fortified villages or towns. The area around Condom is a good place to visit a selection of them as this area is particularly densely populated with some nice choices. However, while sitting in a car touring quaint villages may not enthral the children, careful planning with perhaps the promise of an ice-cream (or other treat) may keep everyone happy, as we discovered on a recent trip.  In addition, some of the bastides visited on this car tour do have attractions that will be of more interest to the kids.

Of all the bastides, perhaps the most interesting is Larressingle to the west of Condom, just off the D15  -  the smallest enclosed bastide in France. It is in fact a moated circular fort, complete with towers and a keep and inside the walls are a selection of shops selling local arts and crafts, as well as a small museum and a ‘crêperie’. Outside the walls children may be interested in visiting the hands on outdoor museum devoted to medieval weaponry.  And if you want to plan a longer stay here, why not have lunch at the Auberge de Larressingle .

Another bastide well worth a visit is Le Romieu (NE of Condom on the D41), where local folklore remembers the ‘Cat Woman’. Get the children to see how many cat statues (see right) they can find in the village. When we first strolled through the village we didn't see any, but closer inspection reveals several.  The cloisters at Le Romieu look very impressive, however we only caught a glimpse of them through the closed gates - not really family stuff that.

Also worth visiting is Fourcès (12 km NW of Condom), and Lectoure, which can be combined with a visit to the fascinating tannery at Bleu de Lectoure.

Whilst in the area you may wish to visit the Château de Cassaigne, just to the south of Condom.  Again this place is not really oriented for the children - basically you go there for Armagnac tasting, however the grounds are quite expansive, so there is space for the kids to let off steam while you partake of the pleasures!