Auvillar is one of the most beautiful villages on the Via Podiensis, and the Plus Beaux Villages de France designation since 1994 is well earned. The village sits above the Garonne, and you enter through the Porte de l'Horloge, a 17th-century clock tower gate in alternating white stone and red brick.
The star of the village is the halle circulaire on the Place de la Halle. This circular covered market hall, built in 1825, stands on Tuscan columns and is unique in the southwest of France. The triangular cobbled square around it is framed by arcaded houses from the 17th and 18th centuries in the local red brick. A medieval stone grain measure sits inside the hall.
Auvillar was a major pottery center from 1739, with 20 earthenware factories at its peak. The ceramic tradition continued through the 19th century, and a museum displays about 500 pieces. The annual Fete des Potiers in early October keeps the tradition alive. The second major historical industry was goose quill pens.
The Eglise Saint-Pierre has 12th-century Benedictine origins with Romanesque capitals, a 16th-century bell tower, a Baroque altarpiece, and a crypt.
Services: bakery, grocery, restaurants, and several pilgrim accommodation options.
Auvillar was a river port on the Garonne. In 1789, 49 sailor families were registered here, and the river trade continued until the mid-19th century when railways made it obsolete. The pottery industry flourished from 1739, producing faience that was traded along the Garonne. Goose quill pen production was the second pillar of the local economy from the 17th to the 19th century.
From Auvillar the path heads west into the Gers department and the beginning of Gascony. The landscape shifts to rolling green hills, sunflower fields, and Armagnac vineyards. This is gentler, more agricultural country than the causses you left behind.
Accommodation in Auvillar.
| Gîte d´étape communal de Auvillar 15€ 18 |
| Gîte Sur le Chemin 28*€ 2 |
|
| Gîte d´étape Saint-Michel 15€ 10 |
|
| Gîte d´étape La Ptite Graine 20*€ 8 |
Comments