As I have already mentioned on a previous occasion, one of the great travel discoveries since I edited this blog is the South of France, especially due to the numerous pretty medieval towns that you can visit in a route by car Around the area.
In my most recent travel by car by the region of Occitania, as it is currently called, I have had the opportunity to visit Lauzerte, charming town from the department of Tarn-et-Garonne. northwest of the city of Toulouse.
Lauzerte you find it not far from Moissac and its wonderful Romanesque abbey cloister.
All the information in detail
What is a Bastide in the south of France?
It is a bastida, a kind of fortified population which emerged at the end of the 12th century in the South of France with defensive purposes and to facilitate economic development.
In particular, the bastide of Lauzerte has its origins in the request of local nobles to Count of Toulouse to build a hill on a hill castle around which some 200 houses of settlers were established, which led to the founding of the initially called castelnau.
The name of Lauzerte It has its origin in the word Lucerne, lamp, which refers to the great visibility offered by its location at the top of the aforementioned hill.
Throughout history this bastida It had its greatest economic prosperity during the 15th century because up to a hundred communes were established around it.
What to see and do in Lauzerte, on the French Camino de Santiago
Now when you get to visit Lauzerte will find a walled town which originally had six doors, which is arranged urbanistically from its square des Cornieres and two streets that run parallel.
In this square you find very beautiful porticoed buildings that show you the peculiar white stone architecture that characterizes all the buildings in the town.
Both in the square and in its streets you will find buildings with Gothic style pointed windows from between the 12th and 14th centuries, as well as renaissance windows of the fifteenth century.
Bliss arcaded square It has historically hosted major events, from markets and shows to public executions.
Now in it you can also see the St. Bartholomew's Church, whose original building was from the 13th century, inside which you find a baroque altarpiece and paintings attributed to Joseph Ingres.
On your walk through the small fortified village of Lauzerte You will see that it is very close to the church the Barbican, a defensive element before which the Pilgrims Garden Well, you should know that this town is one of the stages of the Camino de Santiago French.
It is a curious garden that is arranged on the side of the hill as if it were a board game. The goose.
In this way you will cross the water as if it were a river or you will find a corner that emulates a prison, and the goal is to reach the Paraiso, which would be the end of the the Camino de Santiago.
In your walk through Lauzerte you can go up and down the two main streets seeing their characteristics country architecture, or surround the town wall on the outside along marked pedestrian paths.
Map: where it is and how to get to Lauzerte in the south of France
The pretty village of Lauzerte You find it in the south of France, 90 kilometers away, just over an hour, northwest of Toulouse.
Photos of Lauzerte in the south of France
In advance of your visit, here you can see more photos of the bastida walled town of Lauzerte, in the region of Occitania to the south of France.
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