Locality

Tillac

Tillac is "a little medieval jewel consisting of a pretty single arcaded street of half-timbered buildings and a 15th century church". Beginning as a support village for a military outpost of one of the local noblemen, it is now a pleasant community, rural in character, quiet most of the time but that comes alive for the Floralie (flower market), Brocante (antiques and bric-a-brac market), summer fete, its own and surrounding towns' music festivals and dinner dances galore.

Gascon meals revolve around, but are by no means limited to, four things - duck, garlic, wine and armagnac. However, simple country food is not your only option. There are also gourmet restaurants for you to try, vineyards to visit and wines and spirits to sample and buy. The local wines include the tannic red wines of Madiran and Saint Mont and the whites of Pacherenc and Jurançon. Don't miss the opportu- nity to try the fiery spirit of Armagnac plus its two derivatives, Pousse Rapier and Floc de Gascogne.

Everywhere you will see ducks and geese, for this is foie gras country. Foie gras is the pride of Gascony and a delight for the senses. This is best sampled with a glass of sweet Pacherenc or Jurançon wine.

For the film aficionados amongst you may also recognise this picturesque village in the affectionately called 'Musketeer Country' from the 2001 Film The 3 Musketeers'

La Mongie

The village of La Mongie is at 1800 metres altitude. There are also residences at 1850 and the Tourmalet building at 1900. It lies below the Col du Tourmalet (2115 metres).

It is in the Midi-Pyrenees region (Dept 32) of France and around 20 km from the Spanish border.

La Mongie is a winter ski resort offering alpine skiing, snowboarding, snowpark, cross-country skiing, snowmobiles and hiking in snowshoes. In the summer cycling (on and off road) and the use of trials motorcycles is popular. The village has two small supermarkets, a tourist information centre, gift shops and many restaurants and ski rental shops. The nearby spa town of Bagneres de Bigorre offers large supermarkets and shops, restaurants, a casino, an 18-hole golf course and the natural spa baths themselves.