8-day French Way of St James Walking Holiday (Part 5)

It is a very pleasant stroll through woodland and peaceful countryside. You will cross the river Gers after leaving Lectoure. Located between Agen in the north and Auch in the south, La Romieu and its collegiate are a stop at the crossroads from Puy and Rocamadour to Santiago de Compostela. The village of La Romieu is classified as one of “les plus beaux villages de France”, but is also gladly called the "village of cats" because a large number of felines which are present in the heart of the village, on windows, doors and on some doorsteps. 

Today’s walk takes you to the the medival town of Condom. The more you walk to the west, the more vines, which spread towards Bas Armagnac area. But it is still, as in the neighbouring Lomagne, a mosaic of more or less vast patches, where cereals, sunflowers, orchards and vegetable crops flourish. The best land is destined for wheat, the more barren lands reserved for the vineyard. On the way you come by La Chapelle Sainte Germaine, a restored church, with great views over the countryside. 

This section from Condom is full of history and interesting architecture. On route we suggest to take a detour to Larresingle (another “plus beaux village de France”), a 13th century fortified village located one kilometre from the GR 65. After Larresingle you will come by the Pont d’Artigues and you will pass the Chapelle de Routges, the oldest church in the region. Passing a castle you will arrive in Montréal-du-Gers, home to the biggest vineyard of Armagnac, the famous brandy, also classified as “plus beaux villages de France”.

Most of the walking today is flat and across agricultural landscapes intersected by minor roads. The first 10 kilometres of the trail pass vineyards and pretty countryside until you reach the hamlet of Lamothe. The walk then heads down into the valley before a steady uphill trail that takes you gently into the Place d’Armagnac in Eauze. Eauze (pronounced as Éauze). In the third century AD, the city became the capital of the Roman province of Novempopulania. You will also find an archeology museum in the heart of Eauze, where you can discover the trails of the ancient city of Elusa.

Today, you will walk through the vineyards of Armagnac and the walk takes you to the beautiful town of Manciet, a historic point on the Le Puy Way. In the Middle Ages, this is where pilgrims coming from Auch would meet those walking the Le Puy route.

Today you will mainly be walking along cereal crops and farmland, also passing some of the prettiest villages and hamlets on the entire route. On the last stretch vineyards become rarer and the landscape changes to an area that is tree covered with maritime pines, oaks and chestnuts.There is quite a bit of road walking but not much traffic, mainly tractors.