Auch is the historic capital of Gascony, the center of production of one of the oldest French wines, armagnac, and the place from which the prototype described by Alexander Dumas d'Artagnan, Charles de Batz, was derived. The city has a Renaissance cathedral which, along with the Way of St. James do Santiago de Compostela is entered on the UNESCO list.
The city has Roman roots, and during the Middle Ages it was one of the most important cities in southern France. It was the seat of the archbishops who took care of them. The most important monument that testifies to its former glory and importance is the Auch Cathedral, a magnificent Renaissance building decorated with 18 huge stained glass windows and countless sculptures and bas-reliefs. A memento of the bishops' rule is also the Armagnac Tower, which used to be a prison, and the Archbishop's Palace, now used by the local prefecture.
Visiting Auch is a wandering through picturesque streets full of old tenement houses and houses. You can also see the former Jacobin Monastery, which today houses the Jacobin Museum with a huge collection of pre-Columbian, Egyptian, Gallo-Roman and Medieval art. Auch's big attraction is the statue of d'Artagnan atop the monumental staircase leading to the bank of the Gern River.
