Place Marcellin-Berthelot

The Place Marcellin-Berthelot is a small public square in the old part of Auch. It is named after Marcellin Berthelot, the nineteenth-century chemist who was among the founders of organic chemistry, famous for showing that many organic compounds could be made in the laboratory from simple elements. Berthelot was also a political figure: he became a senator, minister of public instruction and later foreign minister in the 1890s, and French towns often named squares and streets after him in the decades after his death in 1907.

Auch itself is the historic capital of Gascony, a town of the Gers set on a steep ridge above the river of the same name. Its great monument is the Cathédrale Sainte-Marie, a huge Gothic building begun in the late fifteenth century and finished in the seventeenth, which stands at the top of the old town and is known for two treasures: the Renaissance stained glass windows made by the master Arnaud de Moles in the early sixteenth century, and the extraordinary choir stalls, carved from oak with hundreds of figures and scenes. The cathedral is listed by UNESCO as part of the monuments on the pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela, and Auch is a stage for walkers on those routes.

Below the cathedral, a monumental staircase of more than two hundred steps, built in the nineteenth century, descends to the river and the lower town. At its foot, the statue of d'Artagnan, the Gascon musketeer immortalised by Alexandre Dumas, looks over the steps. D'Artagnan was born not far away, and the figure is a favourite with visitors. Other landmarks include the Tour d'Armagnac, a medieval tower once used as a prison, and the narrow covered passages known as pousterles, which link the upper and lower parts of the town.

The Église Saint-Orens and the Rue des Remparts lie close to the square, and the whole area is pleasant for walking. The Gers is a region of rolling hills, sunflowers and vineyards, famous for Armagnac, the oldest brandy distilled in France, and for foie gras and duck dishes, so a meal in Auch is a good way to taste the local cooking. A museum in a former Jacobin convent houses a remarkable collection of pre-Columbian art, an unexpected treasure in a small southwestern town.

The square is free and open at all times. A visit takes only a few minutes, and it is best treated as a stop on a longer walk through the old town. It suits walkers and anyone interested in the pilgrim routes.