|
Home
Accommodation
Map and Activities
Photo Gallery
Prices and Availability
Booking Form
FAQs
Contact us
Gazaupouy from the château
The château from Gazaupouy
|
Location and History
Château Déhès is set in the picturesque countryside of the northern Gers, the smallest French Département, lying on the borders of historic Aquitaine and Gascony. Not for nothing is the area acclaimed as the French Tuscany: rolling hills, vineyards and cypresses, sunflowers and maize fields, sleepy villages and ancient fortified towns dot the landscape. Strongly agricultural, this region is truly "la France profonde". The residents of the Gers are renowned for their longevity - surely the best recommendation for the local produce: prunes, garlic, melons, wine and Armagnac, and above all for duck and goose in all their variety.
The château is situated less than 30 minutes drive south of Agen, just outside the village of Gazaupouy. which is clearly visible across the fields and vineyards; audible too, as the church bells carry in the clear air. Isolated it is not, as there are farms dotted all around. The nearest building, the maison de Déhès, housing the former caves to the Château, is just visible to the left of the big umbrella pine in the picture below. Now quite separate from the Château, it is also used as a second home and for holiday lets and is unlikely to disturb you.
The medieval pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, popular with walkers, lies not far distant passing through the World Heritage Site village of La Romieu. Only a few minutes drive away la Romieu is the place to buy your breakfast croissants as it has both a small shop and an excellent boulangerie.
Only ten kilometres away is the picturesque market town of Condom, with excellent day-to-day shopping and a regular and thriving market.
There are many excellent restaurants in the area, giving ample opportunity to sample all the local delicacies. Eat at a local hostelry or dine with a Michelin star!
Quite apart from ancient bastide villages, and châteaux and churches that are well worth a visit, the area is superbly suited to painting and drawing, walking and horse riding, or why not take advantage of the two adult size bicycles that are provided for your use.
There is a recently built public tennis court in Gazaupuoy.
History
Prominent upon its hill, and visible from some distance, the tower is believed to have been built in the 13th century by the English to protect the borders of their regional domains during the Hundred years War.
Solidly constructed in the local creamy limestone, with external walls one and a half metres thick, the tower measures at least 54 feet from the ground to the battlements (sorry no access to visitors for obvious safety reasons). The comfortable accommodation (all mod cons!), spread over three floors, with easy staircase, retains all the character you would expect of a building of this age. Not only are there many original interesting features which will delight and amaze but also plenty of evidence of all the changes that have been made in the hundreds of years since its construction.
Only a short distance away downhill in the tiny hamlet of Estrépouy, is another smaller tower believed to have been used by the French forces.
|
