Auch
A Gascon town with a monumental stair of 234 steps and a cathedral of carved oak and Renaissance glass.
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Auch is the capital of Gers, the heart of Gascony, and its cathedral of Sainte-Marie holds two things worth the journey: a set of eighteen stained glass windows made by Arnaud de Moles between 1507 and 1513, unusually complete and mixing biblical figures with sibyls and pagan philosophers, and a choir enclosure of about a hundred and thirteen carved oak stalls that took most of the sixteenth century to complete. The Escalier Monumental of 234 steps drops from the cathedral terrace to the Gers, with a statue of d'Artagnan partway down; Charles de Batz-Castelmore, the real officer behind Dumas's character, came from this region.
What you actually see
- The Arnaud de Moles windows - eighteen Renaissance windows of 1507 to 1513.
- The carved stalls - about 113 oak stalls in the choir enclosure.
- The Escalier Monumental - 234 steps from the cathedral to the river.
- The d'Artagnan statue - the Gascon officer on the stair landing.
When to go
April to October; the choir enclosure has its own ticket and shorter hours. Gascony's markets and the Armagnac country are the reasons to stay longer. Summer is hot.
Honest expectations
The choir and windows are behind a paid enclosure with limited hours, and missing them leaves little. The stair is steep. The town is small and quiet.
Nearby
Armagnac country surrounds the town; Larressingle lies west.
What to pack for Auch
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
