A hill town shaped by the Gers
Auch is not a village frozen around a postcard square. It is a small regional capital whose daily life still follows the shape of the land: a historic upper town on a ridge, a lower town beside the river Gers, and steep lanes that join them. From the cathedral precinct, roofs step down toward the water; from the riverside promenade, the high town rises again above the bridges. The climb is part of the visit, but so is the view back across the river valley and the fields of Gascony.
INSEE’s 2023 reference census counts 22,428 residents in the commune of Auch; the figure took effect on 1 January 2026. The same official statistics record 17,772 jobs located in the commune in 2023 and 1,287 establishments at the end of 2024, 72.6% of them in commerce, transport and other services. Those numbers help explain the city’s role beyond tourism: Auch is the prefecture of Gers and a centre for public services, commerce, health, education and culture for the surrounding countryside. Its market streets and working civic centre are as important to its character as its monuments.
From Elimberris to Augusta Auscorum
The municipality places the earliest settlement on the hill in the Iron Age. It identifies the ancient hilltop town as Elimberris, inhabited by the Auscii, an Aquitanian people. Its account then distinguishes this older settlement from the Roman foundation of Augusta Auscorum, established in the valley on the opposite bank around 56 BCE after the Roman campaigns in Aquitaine. Later insecurity brought people back to the defensible hill. This is a documented historical sequence in the city’s account, not a claim that every surviving street or building dates to Rome.
The medieval and early modern skyline tells a more visible story of ecclesiastical power. Sainte-Marie Cathedral was built between 1489 and 1680 on the site of an earlier Romanesque church. Its long construction left a flamboyant Gothic body and a Renaissance-influenced west front between two towers. Inside, the choir’s carved woodwork and stained glass associated with Arnaud de Moles reward a slower visit. The nearby Armagnac Tower contains the cathedral treasury, where sacred objects are displayed; visiting conditions and admission can change with the season and religious services.
Below the cathedral, narrow pousterles descend the slope. These steep, often stepped lanes once connected the river approaches with the gates of the fortified town. The monumental staircase, completed in 1863, makes the same connection on a grander scale: its main flights bridge a 35-metre change in height, with 234 steps (374 when the doubled flights are counted). At a lower landing, a bronze d’Artagnan looks toward the valley. The historical Charles de Batz, later celebrated as d’Artagnan, was born at Castelmore near Lupiac, not in Auch; the statue is a regional emblem rather than proof of an Auch birthplace.
A museum with an unexpected collection
The Musée des Amériques–Auch is one of the city’s most distinctive stops. Housed in the former Jacobins convent, the museum combines archaeology and local history with collections from the Americas. Its pre-Columbian holdings are described by the museum as the second largest in France after the Musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac. Visitors encounter ceramics, textiles, wood and metalwork, as well as Latin American sacred art, Gallo-Roman objects, Egyptian and medieval collections, and works by artists from the Gers. This range makes the museum a useful counterpoint to the cathedral: Auch’s story reaches well beyond its church towers.
Auch also has a living cultural identity. CIRCa is a nationally designated circus centre that supports creation, performance and cultural activity; its contemporary circus festival brings companies and audiences to the city each autumn. The programme changes from year to year, so a trip planned around a show should be checked against the current calendar.
Markets, food and a visit beyond the centre
Market days reveal how the upper and lower towns still work together. The Thursday morning market takes place in the lower town near the Gers; on Saturday, the market moves to the upper town around the cathedral and the covered Herbes hall. Stalls are a practical place to discover seasonal produce and the food traditions of the wider Gers: duck, cheeses, fruits, local wines, Floc de Gascogne and Armagnac. These are regional products, not all made inside the municipal boundary. Hours, locations and seasonal events can vary, so check before setting out.
Start on foot from the river promenade, climb by the pousterles or the monumental staircase, then give time to the cathedral and museum. The walk is steep in places; comfortable shoes make the old lanes easier. Outside Auch, the rolling countryside and nearby villages such as Lavardens and Castelnau-Barbarens offer a change from the urban heritage, with country roads and local cultural sites best explored at a slower pace. In town, the Gers riverbanks provide a flatter route for walking or cycling.
Auch is connected with Toulouse by direct TER trains from Toulouse-Matabiau, passing through stops including L’Isle-Jourdain and Gimont; road and regional coach options also serve the area. The service pattern changes by day and season. Check the live timetable before travelling, and verify opening times for the cathedral, treasury, museum and CIRCa. A day can cover the main historic walk, but an overnight stay leaves room for the museum, a market morning and the surrounding Gascon landscape.
Auch en trois vidéos : ville haute, rives et Tour de France
Auch’s municipal film takes a quieter route: the camera approaches the city from the Gers, following rowers and everyday activity along the banks before revealing the cathedral and the town above. The municipality describes it as a 90-second portrait, with walkers, cyclists and river users sharing the frame. That perspective helps explain the relationship between the low town and the ridge-top historic centre better than a sequence of isolated façades. It is an artistic city portrait from 2018, not a transport or river-access update.
This 12-minute film follows the Tour de France’s 2025 departure from Auch and uses the sporting event to show the wider setting: the cathedral, Armagnac Tower and monumental staircase, river crossings, urban green spaces and parts of the Gers beyond the centre. The stage left Auch on 17 July 2025 toward Hautacam; the footage is a record of that event and includes landscape and biodiversity material, not live route information. It offers the most recent of these three visual introductions to the city and its surroundings.