Larressingle

Larressingle is a complete fortified village enclosed by a wall of around two hundred and seventy metres circumference with a moat, a gate and a keep, built for the abbots of Condom in the thirteenth century; it is often described as the smallest fortified village in France and holds a handful of houses and a church inside. By the nineteenth century it was ruinous, and restoration was funded partly by American donors in the 1920s, which is why it is sometimes called the Carcassonne of the Gers. Outside the walls, a site displays working reconstructions of medieval siege engines. The village lies on the Compostela route through Gascony.

What you actually see

• The complete circuit - a walled village about 270 metres round with a moat.
• The keep - a partly ruined tower inside the walls.
• The siege engines - working reconstructions demonstrated outside.
• The pilgrim route - the Compostela path passing through Gascony.

When to go

April to October; the siege machine site is seasonal. The village is tiny and seen in half an hour. Winter is very quiet with almost nothing open.

Honest expectations

It is extremely small, and visitors expecting a town find a hamlet. Ground floors are craft shops in season. Much of what stands is 1920s restoration.

Nearby

Condom lies northeast; Armagnac distilleries are all around.