Créé par Romane, le 15 août 2026
Votre guide Ryo
Things to Do in Auch in 2026: 15 Ideas for Heritage, Circus, and Gascon Gastronomy
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What to do in Auch, prefecture of the Gers and historic capital of Gascony? The question quickly arises for anyone passing through this city of 21,000 inhabitants nestled on a promontory above the Gers river. Here you will find a cathedral listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a monumental staircase of 233 steps crowned by a statue of d'Artagnan, and the lanes of the Vieil Auch where the pousterles — those narrow covered passages typical of the South-West — still connect the lower town to the administrative plateau above. The centre is easily explored on foot, making it an ideal destination for a day trip or an extended weekend.
Between the Gascon market that animates the Place de la Libération twice a week, the CIRCA festival that transforms the city into a stage for contemporary circus each autumn, and tables where foie gras and armagnac go hand in hand, Auch has far more to offer than a quick stop in front of its cathedral. A short excursion to the châteaux and villages that dot the Gers countryside, less than twenty minutes by road, can easily be added. To explore this compact centre without a fixed itinerary, the Ryo app offers exactly this kind of free-roaming walk, where every street corner tells a piece of Gascon history.
1. Sainte-Marie Cathedral of Auch, a Gothic Jewel Listed by UNESCO
The Sainte-Marie Cathedral of Auch (Place de la République, 32000 Auch, rated 4.6/5 on Google from 1,970 reviews) dominates the city from its promontory above the Gers river. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998 as part of the routes to Santiago de Compostela, it required nearly two centuries of construction between 1489 and 1680, which explains the mix of Flamboyant Gothic and Classical Renaissance visible on its facade and bell tower.
The interior conceals two treasures rarely found together in a single building: 18 Renaissance stained-glass windows from the 16th century attributed to master glazier Arnaud de Moles, and 113 carved wooden choir stalls crafted over more than fifty years by local artisans. Each stained-glass window illustrates a different biblical episode, from Genesis to Revelation, with a level of detail that has earned these windows a reputation extending well beyond the Gers. Some of the stalls still bear the carved coats of arms of the canons who financed their creation, a detail that local guides enjoy pointing out.
The historic organ, listed as a historic monument and built in 1694, is still used for concerts scheduled on certain Sundays in season. You can check the times at the nearby tourist office before planning your visit, as religious ceremonies temporarily close access to the choir. Allow 45 minutes for a complete visit, longer if you linger in front of each window.
Morning light passes through the east-facing windows and projects vivid colours onto the stone floor, a moment that local photographers recommend catching before 10 a.m. If you are visiting Auch on foot from the station, allow about ten minutes of climbing through the centre's lanes to reach the forecourt — a walk that is itself worth the journey for the heart of the old town it reveals.
The cathedral is open year-round, including Sundays, making it a logical stop on a Sunday when many shops are closed. Entry to the nave is free, with a contribution only requested for access to the choir and the stalls.
2. The Monumental Staircase and Its Statue of d'Artagnan
Begun in 1858 and inaugurated in 1863 to connect the lower town to the cathedral, the monumental staircase of Auch (Place de la Libération, 32000 Auch, rated 4.7/5 on Google from 389 reviews) has 233 steps spread across several flights, separated by landings adorned with urns and statues. Some see it as a Gascon take on the grand monumental staircases of the 19th century, designed to give spectacle to a city that until then had only a steep, unadorned climb to its historic centre.
At the top, a statue of d'Artagnan has watched over the city since 1931, a tribute to the Gascon musketeer made famous by Alexandre Dumas, who is said to have grown up not far from Auch, at Lupiac. The sculpture, the work of Firmin Michelet, turns its back to the cathedral and faces the square, sword slightly drawn. It is a near-obligatory stop if you are visiting Auch on foot, and an excellent landmark for finding your way around the centre.
Climb in the late afternoon: the raking light illuminates the east facade of the cathedral and the Gers river below takes on copper-toned reflections. Allow five to seven minutes to ascend all the steps without stopping, longer if you pause on the intermediate landings to enjoy the panorama over the pink-tiled rooftops of the Vieil Auch.
3. The Vieil Auch and Its Pousterles, a Maze to Explore Without a Map
The Vieil Auch neighbourhood, a designated conservation area, stretches between the cathedral and the banks of the Gers across a network of steep lanes, hidden staircases, and half-timbered houses some of which date from the 15th century. It is accessed via the pousterles, those covered, narrow passageways that cut through city blocks to shorten the climb between two levels of the town — a medieval urban system rarely found as well-preserved elsewhere in the South-West.
Rue Dessoles and rue Espagne concentrate the majority of the remarkable facades, with jetties that sometimes narrow the street to less than two metres wide. The wrought-iron signs, studded doors, and half-open courtyards tell the story of a thriving merchant city from the Middle Ages, when Auch benefited from its position on the routes to Compostela and the sea.
On a Sunday, this neighbourhood lends itself perfectly to an aimless wander without a fixed itinerary, much like a Ryo audio-guided walk that lets the visitor choose their own route: the pousterles are not signposted, and getting lost in this maze is part of the pleasure. Allow a good hour to explore the whole area, camera in hand for the timber-framed facades on rue de la Convention.
4. The Musée des Amériques-Auch, a Unique Collection in France
Housed in a 17th-century mansion, the Musée des Amériques-Auch (9 Rue Édouard Lartet, 32000 Auch, rated 4.6/5 on Google from 453 reviews) brings together nearly 4,000 objects brought back from the American continent since the 19th century: pre-Columbian artefacts, Inuit art, Andean textiles, and Amazonian ritual objects coexist across three floors. The collection owes much to the Gers travellers and missionaries who went to the Americas, whose field notebooks are sometimes displayed alongside the pieces they collected.
The permanent exhibition changes in tone from floor to floor, from ceremonial masks on the ground floor to pre-Columbian ceramics upstairs. The museum also organises temporary exhibitions that regularly refresh the visitor circuit. Allow one hour for a complete visit, and check the reduced opening hours outside the season, as the museum closes on certain Mondays.
5. Memento, Contemporary Art in the Heart of the Gers
Memento, a departmental contemporary art space, occupies a renovated former building converted into a flexible exhibition venue. The programme changes several times a year and mixes installations, photography, and video, with particular attention paid to emerging artists from the greater South-West. Entry is free for most exhibitions, making it an easy stop to fit in between two heritage visits.
The venue regularly organises meet-the-artist events, usually on a Saturday afternoon. These occasions work well for an impromptu outing if you are looking for something to do in Auch this evening or at the weekend, as the space sometimes extends its opening hours for private views.
6. The Italian-Style Municipal Theatre
The municipal theatre of Auch (Allées d'Etigny, 32000 Auch, rated 4.6/5 on Google from 97 reviews), built in 1888 in the Italian style, features three levels of horseshoe balconies around an auditorium that seats only around 400 spectators — an intimate capacity for this type of architecture. The programme mixes theatre, music, and dance throughout the season from October to May. The facade, with its columns and sculpted pediment, is worth a look even without a ticket, especially in the evening when the streetlamps illuminate the pale stone.
7. The Auch Market, a Thursday and Saturday Rendezvous
Twice a week, the Auch market (Place de la Libération, 32000 Auch, rated 4.2/5 on Google from 54 reviews) takes over the Place de la Libération and the surrounding streets with stalls from Gers producers: farm poultry, foie gras, sheep's cheese, and seasonal vegetables vie for the attention of passers-by from 7 a.m. Thursday remains the main market day, with more market gardeners present, while Saturday draws a larger crowd from the surrounding villages.
In December, a Christmas market supplements the usual offering with chalets set up beneath the monumental staircase. On a Thursday morning, the answer to the question of what to do that day is often summed up in one word: the market, where you can put together a complete Gascon picnic for under fifteen euros.
8. The CIRCA Festival, a Major Event for Contemporary Circus
Every year, usually at the end of October during the All Saints' school holidays, the CIRCA festival transforms Auch into a stage for contemporary circus for around ten days. Founded in 1987, it is one of the oldest contemporary circus festivals in Europe, attracting companies from across France as well as from South America, Quebec, and Eastern Europe. Performances are spread between the main big top erected on the allées, a covered performance hall, and, on certain evenings, the streets themselves.
Around fifty performances punctuate the festival, drawing a cumulative audience of between 20,000 and 30,000 over the entire edition. The festival also has a residency centre, the Cirque à l'Auch, which hosts companies in creation throughout the year, well beyond the ten festival days, which explains why circus artists are regularly spotted in the streets of the city centre even out of season.
If your visit coincides with this period, book indoor performances several weeks in advance: tickets for the headline acts sell out quickly. Street performances remain freely accessible and lend themselves well to last-minute improvisation — a good option if you are looking for something to do in Auch this evening without a reservation.
9. The Jérôme-Cuzin Centre, a Stage for Local Creation
The Jérôme-Cuzin centre occupies a former market hall converted into a residency and performance space for the live arts, from circus to contemporary music. The programme is modest in volume but curated with care, with evenings where companies in residence present work-in-progress showings before their national tour. Entry is often free or at a reduced price, making it an accessible option to round off an evening after dinner.
10. A Walk Along the Gers River and the Jardin des Plantes
Below the Vieil Auch, the banks of the Gers river offer a shaded walk alongside the water, with direct access from the allées d'Etigny. The path runs past old wash-houses and the remains of several mills before reaching the jardin des Plantes, a 19th-century park planted with century-old cedars and sequoias that now exceed 30 metres in height.
The park has play areas for children and shaded benches, making it a welcome break in summer when the cathedral square heats up in the sun. Allow thirty to forty-five minutes for the full loop from the centre — a good complement if you are visiting Auch in a single day and want to alternate between heritage and nature, much like building your own Ryo loop on a whim.
11. The Allées d'Etigny, the Central Promenade
Laid out in the 18th century under the stewardship of Antoine Mégret d'Étigny, the allées d'Etigny form a double row of plane trees that still structures the city centre today. Here you will find Auch's busiest café terraces, a bandstand, and, on certain Sundays, impromptu flea markets. It is a practical reference point for organising your day, halfway between the station, the cathedral, and the Vieil Auch neighbourhood.
12. An Excursion to the Villages and Châteaux of the Gers
Auch also lends itself to short excursions to the villages that make up the Gers landscape. About twenty minutes to the north-east, the château de Lavardens, perched on a rocky outcrop, has dominated the surrounding countryside since the 16th century. Bought and restored by a local association from the 1970s onwards, it now hosts exhibitions and offers a view that stretches to the Pyrenees on a clear day.
Further to the south-west, Larressingle (32100 Larressingle, rated 4.6/5 on Google from 420 reviews), often described as the smallest fortified village in France, retains its 13th-century walls, moat, and keep completely intact. The village can be explored in under an hour, but its compact architecture and cobbled lanes make it a powerful image of medieval Gascony, much photographed at the end of the day when the stone takes on a golden hue.
These two stops combine easily into a half-day by car from Auch, with a possible detour via a wine estate or an armagnac distillery along the way. For extending the visit beyond the historic centre, this village loop around Auch remains the option most frequently recommended by Gers locals.
13. Gascon Gastronomy: Foie Gras and Armagnac
It is hard to talk about Auch without mentioning its table. Local Gascon cuisine is built around three pillars: foie gras, duck in all its forms — confit and magret leading the way — and armagnac, the regional eau-de-vie produced since the 14th century across three distinct zones of the Gers. Several establishments in the city centre offer tastings accompanied by explanations of the differences between bas-armagnac, armagnac-ténarèze, and haut-armagnac.
The Thursday market remains the best starting point for identifying local producers before booking a table, as many Gers restaurants work in short supply chains with nearby farms. The croustade gasconne, a thin apple and armagnac tart made with hand-stretched pastry, traditionally rounds off the meal — a dessert found on almost every menu in the city centre.
If you are looking for restaurants in Auch for a quick lunch, the streets around the Place de la Libération concentrate most of the options, from Gascon bistros to more gastronomic tables tucked away in the Vieil Auch. Book ahead on Friday and Saturday evenings, especially during the CIRCA festival, when the best addresses fill up from 7 p.m. onwards.
14. The Montégut Hike and the Gers Hillsides
A few minutes from the centre, the Montégut trail opens up a view over the rolling hillsides to the north-east of Auch. The loop, around ten kilometres long, climbs through fields of sunflowers, vineyard plots, and oak groves, with the Pyrenees chain on the horizon when the sky clears. The waymarked route presents no technical difficulty and takes two to three hours depending on pace, making it ideal for a morning before the heat sets in.
The Gers hillsides are particularly well suited to walking in spring and autumn, when the colours of the countryside change from week to week. Bring water and a hat: shade is scarce on the ridges, but the reward lies in those open panoramas that few cities can offer so close to their centre. Ask at the tourist office for the trail leaflet, updated each season, and check the shorter variants if you are walking with children.
15. On the Routes to Santiago de Compostela
Auch was not listed by UNESCO by chance: the city is a historic stopping point on the Via Podiensis, the GR 65 section that links Le Puy-en-Velay to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port before crossing into Spain. Since the Middle Ages, pilgrims have halted at the foot of the cathedral before resuming their journey south towards the Pyrenean passes.
Even without setting out for several weeks, you can walk a section of the route for a few kilometres on the outskirts of the city, to recapture the atmosphere of these great pilgrimage roads. The scallop shells set into the paving and the waymarking posts trace the path through the Vieil Auch. It is also another way to understand why the Sainte-Marie Cathedral holds such a special place in the heritage of the Gers, at the crossroads of routes between France and Spain.
FAQ
What to do in Auch today or this weekend?
The Thursday or Saturday morning market is the safest bet for an impromptu outing, complemented by a climb up the monumental staircase and a break in the jardin des Plantes. In the evening, check the schedule at the municipal theatre and the Jérôme-Cuzin centre, which regularly host shows even outside the festival season.
How to visit Auch on foot in one day?
Allow a full day to take in the Sainte-Marie Cathedral, the monumental staircase, the Vieil Auch and its pousterles, then a break by the Gers river. The historic centre can be covered entirely on foot in under three kilometres, with no need for a car or public transport.
What evening entertainment is there in Auch?
The municipal theatre and Memento regularly programme weekday evening events, while the terraces on the allées d'Etigny and the Place de la Libération stay lively until late in summer. During the CIRCA festival at the end of October, street performances extend evenings well after sunset.
What is there to see in the Vieil Auch?
The neighbourhood concentrates the oldest half-timbered facades in the city, connected by narrow pousterles dating from the Middle Ages. Rue Dessoles and rue Espagne offer the best glimpse of this architecture, just a few minutes' walk from the cathedral.
Where to eat in Auch?
The streets around the Place de la Libération and the Vieil Auch concentrate most of the Gascon restaurants, ranging from neighbourhood bistros to more gastronomic tables. Book ahead at weekends, especially during the CIRCA festival, when demand far outstrips the available supply.
What to do around Auch, in the Gers?
The villages of Lavardens and Larressingle, with their château and fortified walls, can be visited in a half-day from Auch. You can add a stop at a wine estate or an armagnac distillery, two emblematic products of the Gers region.
Auch may not have the size of the great regional metropolises, but it concentrates within a compact space a UNESCO-listed religious heritage, a staircase that has become the city's symbol, a circus festival recognized well beyond the Gers, and a gastronomy that rivals the most celebrated tables in the region. The Sainte-Marie Cathedral and its monumental staircase structure an ideal first half-day, before giving way to the market, the pousterles of the Vieil Auch, or an excursion to Lavardens and Larressingle depending on the time available.
Whether you follow a precise plan or improvise through the alleyways with the Ryo audio guide, Auch is best discovered on foot, between Romanesque heritage, contemporary circus, and Gascon tables. Slip the app into your pocket to turn a simple climb to the cathedral into a guided walk, and bear in mind that a single day rarely suffices to exhaust what the city truly has to offer.
