BASTIDE DE PLAISANCE DU GERS

The pleasures of Plaisance du Gers

Dali placed the center of the world in Perpignan station. The heart of Gascony could be found precisely in Plaisance-du-Gers, an hour from the Pyrenees and an hour and a half from the Atlantic, linking the vineyards of Saint Mont, Armagnac and Madiran.

Founded in 1322 by Jean I, Count of Armagnac, and the abbot of Case-Dieu, this Bastide formerly known as Ribaute (Rive Haute or Ripa Alta) suffered many insults: destroyed in 1338 by the English, it was then burned down in 1355 by the infamous Black Prince who opposed the Armagnac family. But Plaisance-du-Gers has always been able to rise from its ashes; experiencing a great boom in the 19th century, the city acquired a second square with arcades, a real curiosity within Gascony.

Agriculture and viticulture are nowadays the two breasts of the city with its superbly flowery decor.

The most beautiful of flowers obviously remains the Grand Orgue created by Daniel Birouste, but it would be wrong to overlook the many monuments which are essentially reproduced in miniature along the mini-golf course. A seven-hectare lake with a leisure center on its banks; a very rich sports infrastructure (swimming pool, playgrounds, tennis courts, covered bowling alley, skateboard track, shooting range, etc.); arenas dedicated to Landes races but also to a very popular novillada; hiking trails to explore on foot or by mountain bike; an associative and cultural life as intense as it is varied...

We could not finish listing the pleasures of Plaisance-du-Gers.

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