Tourist routes, TOURIST ITINERARIES

ON THE GR®653, WAY FROM ARLES TO COMPOSTELLE IN AUCH

With nearly 900 kilometers to its credit, the GR653 between Arles and Somport remains one of the major roads leading to Santiago de Compostela. This so-called southern route offers invaluable attractions, both in terms of heritage and geography. It connects the Mediterranean and Atlantic slopes, with L'Isle-Jourdain as the gateway to the Gers and the first departmental stopover after Toulouse.

L'Isle-Jourdain has not lost its Gascon accent! With its XNUMXth century tower, its collegiate church with classical architecture, its dovecotes and its mansion "Claude Augé" with stained glass in Art Nouveau style ...

Facing a total panorama overlooking the Pyrenees, between green hillsides and gentle hills, the circuit will take you to Auch, Capital of Gascony and Grand Site Midi-Pyrénées. Your eyes will be able to delight in the Sainte-Marie Cathedral (234th-374th centuries), a major UNESCO-listed site, while climbing the 3 steps (XNUMX in total with the double flights) of the monumental staircase overlooked by the statue of the famous musketeer d'Artagnan, or even by wandering the pousterles (medieval streets)... A detour to the Tourist Office is a must: it is a place for visits and information, its XNUMXrd floor gives you a unique view of the cathedral.
Auch is also the second collection of pre-Columbian art in France, tours all year round with guide-lecturers from the Country of Art and History!

This beautiful route, between bastides and castelnaux, will reveal many treasures to you, before the final Gers stopover in the heart of Marciac, with its central square with arcades and its 90th century church with its bell tower reaching 1298m high. You will be here in the most swinging country house founded in XNUMX, labeled “Grand Site Midi-Pyrénées” and the soul of jazz in the Gers.

Your path will end in the Hautes-Pyrénées at the village of Maubourguet.

Difficulty level: On this 140 km journey, no particular difficulty. Be suitably equipped and don't forget to stock up on water in very hot weather.

Route

In detail

  • Distance: 140 km
  • Type of route: Equestrian
  • Type of route: Walking
  • Route type: Religious
  • Type of route: MTB
  • Type of route: On the paths of Saint-Jacques