Gite Le Campané with swimming pool and views over the pyreneen

Saint-Michel is a French commune in the south of the Gers department in the Occitanie region. Historically and culturally, the commune is located in the land of Astarac, a very hilly area in the south of the Gers.

Spacious 4-person cottage with panoramic views over the surrounding meadows, a large garden with swimming pool. A cosy living room with sitting area, television, dining area overlooking the terrace and a semi-open kitchen with hob, extractor hood, oven, microwave, washing machine and fridge-freezer. Separate toilet. On the mezzanine floor, there are two bedrooms with double beds and a bathroom with a walk-in shower and washbasin. In front of the house is a large terrace with garden furniture. Parking on site.

Around Saint Michel are several picturesque villages that are worth exploring:

The Bastide Mirande is known for its famous country music festival, held every July, but also for its Museum of Fine and Decorative Arts. Located on Rue de l'Evêché, this museum houses a rich collection of Italian, Flemish and French paintings from the 15th to 19th centuries, as well as a fine collection of antique pottery. After visiting the museum, you can explore the centre of Mirande, with the Place d'Astarac, decorated with a kiosk and surrounded by houses with arcades, and the Sainte-Marie Church, a former 15th-century cathedral in the southern Gothic style, whose buttresses stretch beautifully across the Rue de l'Évêché.

Founded at the end of the 13th century, Bastide Marciac is located in the heart of Gascony and is renowned for its Jazz in Marciac festival, which has been held every year in the first half of August since 1978. This internationally renowned, festive and convivial event has welcomed prestigious artists. The scenographic space Les Territoires du Jazz, located in the former Augustinian monastery, opposite the charming Place du Chevalier des Antrags, is an original place dedicated to the world of swing and the history of jazz, from its origins to the present day. A must for any music lover and fan of swing rhythms! The discovery of Marciac continues with the large covered central square - one of the largest in the south-west! - and the 14th-century church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption. On the outskirts of the town is a 30-hectare lake with a leisure centre. Carp fishing, pedal boating or electric boating, windsurfing, swimming in the leisure pool or walking around the lake are just some of the many leisure activities on offer here.

The small village of Tillac, 11 kilometres from Marciac, is well worth a detour for its charming main street with beautiful old houses with corner beams and half-timbering. During a visit to this picturesque village, you can also admire the two medieval towers and the church of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur.

The town of Auch, the historic capital of Gascony and Grand Site Occitanie, is welcoming and warm, charming visitors with its atmosphere and rich heritage. The historic centre of Auch, which overlooks the Gers valley from the top of a hill, is best explored on foot, strolling through the picturesque streets lined with old houses and past important monuments such as Sainte-Marie Cathedral, the monumental staircase with its vineyards and the Armagnac tower. The Amériques-Auch museum, housed in the former Jacobin monastery, contains remarkable collections of pre-Columbian art and Latin American sacred art, Egyptian, Gallo-Roman and medieval collections, paintings, sculptures and decorative art from the south-west, as well as folk art and traditions from Gascony. Two large traditional markets are held every week, one on Saturday morning in the upper town and one on Thursday morning in the lower town. A must for any lover of local produce!

The Abbey Church of Notre-Dame, which overlooks the beautiful village of Simorre and the Astarac region with its towers and battlements, was built in the 14th century and then renovated in the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc. This magnificent brick building, which looks like a fortress, features an octagonal lantern tower and houses 14th- and 15th-century stained glass windows, 15th-century carved choir stalls and 14th-century murals in the sacristy. Surrounding the fortified church are picturesque streets and squares lined with half-timbered houses and corbelled gables, which you can discover on a stroll.

Built in the 14th century at the request of Gaston Fébus to protect the borders of Béarn, Montaner Castle is now a listed monument and boasts an imposing square keep that bears witness to its glorious past. This 40-metre-high red brick tower, located at the top of a hill, offers a magnificent 360° panorama of the Adour plain and the Pyrenees from its terrace! There is also an interactive tour that takes us back to the Middle Ages and the life of the famous builder Gaston Fébus, the legendary prince of the Pyrenees... Every year in July, the village of Montaner and its castle host the Médiévales, two days of festivities with street entertainment, a craft market, falconry, knight and fire-eater shows... The charming Saint-Michel church, nestled at the foot of the ramparts, is also worth a visit, if only for its magnificent 15th and 16th century frescoes!

The imposing castle of Lavardens, the former military capital of the Counts of Armagnac, to which a picturesque village is attached, towers proudly over the landscape of Gascony. This magnificent building, constructed in the 12th century and rebuilt in the 17th century by Antoine de Roquelaure, companion of Henry IV, is listed as a historic monument and is open to visitors from mid-February to mid-January. Art exhibitions are held there regularly. Inside, be sure to admire the beautiful brick and stone floors with geometric patterns! The charming medieval village, nestled at the edge of the castle, is well worth a visit to discover its pretty alleys and the remains of the city walls.

Tarbes, capital of the Hautes-Pyrénées and Bigorre, invites you to discover its beautiful, listed garden: the Jardin Massey. This magnificent landscaped garden, created in the 19th century by naturalist Placide Massey, is criss-crossed with footpaths and home to a large number of rare plant species. The park features a Moorish-style house with a watchtower, which houses the Massey Museum with collections on the fine arts and the history of the hussars. Also worth a visit is the Tarbes National Stud Farm. In addition, the Maison du Cheval, located in the former riding school, offers a museum space dedicated to the world of horses, and more specifically to the image of horses in the Midi-Pyrénées region. Every year, at the end of July and beginning of August, the national stud farm hosts Equestria, the European equestrian festival, a festive event dedicated to the meeting of the world of horses and art. Food lovers should not miss the Marcadieu hall, where a market selling fresh produce is held every Thursday morning.

The imposing 14th-century keep, a remnant of the former castle of the Archdiocese of Auch, towers high above the charming medieval town of Bassoues and is a remarkable example of military architecture. Built on the orders of Archbishop Arnaud Aubert, this tall tower is 43 metres high and has a quadrangular floor plan. Construction was completed in 1371 and from the platform you have a magnificent view over the landscape of Gascony and the Pyrenees. Inside, visitors can visit a museum on the history of the villages of Gascony and view exhibitions of paintings and watercolours. Around the keep are picturesque half-timbered houses and an old wooden market hall dating from the 16th century.

King Louis XIV's famous musketeer, d'Artagnan, whose real name was Charles de Batz-Castelmore, was born around 1610 in Gascony, in the castle of Castelmore, near Lupiac. This legendary hero, immortalised by Alexandre Dumas in his famous swashbuckling novel The Three Musketeers, is honoured in the chapel of Notre-Dame de Lupiac, with an audio-visual tour dedicated to the famous Gascon.