Artagnan is situated in old Gascony where the modern world seems to have passed it by. The region Gers and Pyrénées border each other and equally offer beautiful scenery of rolling green wooded hills, rivers, valleys with golden yellow sunflowers and maize with shimmering views of a lake or the snow capped Pyrénées, in the distance.

Buzzards and kites soar overhead on the warm thermals. Situated on the same latitude as Nice with lovely warm summers but without the hoards of people and traffic congestion. Enjoy the quiet uncrowded roads of this sparsely populated farming area, and breathe in some of the cleanest air in Europe.

This classic stone "maison de maître" built in 1838 has been restored to a high standard and boasts wonderful panoramic views towards the Pyrénées. It is situated 8.5km from Trie-sur-Baïse with all shops and services, market every Tuesday, supermarkets and tennis courts.

The location is ideal for discovering the town of Auch (40km). Mirande (17km) is a lively little town with a traditional market on Mondays and a selection of cafés and restaurants. There are various music festivals in the area - classical music at Trie-sur-Baïse in May, country & western at Mirande (17km) in July, Tempo Latino (which combines the best of afro-cuban and latin american music) in Vic-Fezensac as well as a classical music festival at the end of August, and a famous jazz festival at Marciac (28km) in August.

The 13th Century cathedral at Auch (40km) is well worth discovering, as well as the many attractive villages of the Gers. The oldest golf club on mainland Europe is at Pau. There are three 18 hole golf courses within 50km (at Chateau Pallane 23km; at Lannemezan 34km; at Bagnères-de-Bigorre 49km).

Mirande has a waterpark with aqua slides. Horse riding is available at nearby Pouylebon( 25 minutes). There is a good outdoor adventure centre near Pavie (40km), which is great fun.

A trip into nearby Spain for a delicious lunch is a beautiful drive of an hour and a half away and well worth it.

If you prefer you can browse around antique fairs, local markets, just stroll along the quiet lanes or chill out by the pool.