Marciac: The Jazz Bastide and the Tallest Bell Tower in the Gers
Occitanie, France
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Bastide Jazzman
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200
XP
+100 France
= 300 total
1 day
Marciac: The Jazz Bastide and the Tallest Bell Tower in the Gers
200 + 100 XP
Marciac was founded in 1298 as a royal bastide by a paréage between the abbot of La Case-Dieu, the count of Pardiac and Guichard de Marzé, seneschal of Toulouse, who built it and left it his name; Philip IV the Fair confirmed its customs in 1300. Its arcaded central square, 133m by 78m, is the largest in the Gers and was laid out to hold a thousand soldiers if needed, and the church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption has the tallest bell tower in the department at 87m. The village is also the home of the summer festival Jazz in Marciac and of a jazz museum, Les Territoires du Jazz.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Walk the arcades of the central square, 133m by 78m and the largest in the Gers, and find the huge timber pillars of its maisons à cornières, the maison Guichard that now houses the tourist office, and the mullioned windows of the old house of the abbots of La Case-Dieu beside the mairie
2
of 4
Go into the 15th-century Gothic church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption, whose square porch-tower carries the tallest bell tower in the Gers at 87m, and find the 14th-century sculptures still in the Romanesque manner in its three naves and pentagonal choir
3
of 4
Go into Les Territoires du Jazz on the Place du Chevalier d'Antras and follow its route from Louisiana to this Gascon bastide, then find L'Astrada, the 500-seat hall opened in May 2011 for the festival's off-season sessions
4
of 4
Find the 14th-century octagonal bell tower, the façade and the portal, all that is left of the Augustins convent, and stand where its cloister gallery stood before it was crated up in 1907 and rebuilt as the dining room of Hearst Castle in California
Walk the arcades of the central square, 133m by 78m and the largest in the Gers, and find the huge timber pillars of its maisons à cornières, the maison Guichard that now houses the tourist office, and the mullioned windows of the old house of the abbots of La Case-Dieu beside the mairie
Go into the 15th-century Gothic church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption, whose square porch-tower carries the tallest bell tower in the Gers at 87m, and find the 14th-century sculptures still in the Romanesque manner in its three naves and pentagonal choir
Go into Les Territoires du Jazz on the Place du Chevalier d'Antras and follow its route from Louisiana to this Gascon bastide, then find L'Astrada, the 500-seat hall opened in May 2011 for the festival's off-season sessions
Find the 14th-century octagonal bell tower, the façade and the portal, all that is left of the Augustins convent, and stand where its cloister gallery stood before it was crated up in 1907 and rebuilt as the dining room of Hearst Castle in California
Before you go
Jazz in Marciac is held every summer.
Les Territoires du Jazz opens to individual visitors in July and August only (Tuesday to Sunday, and daily during the festival); from early September to early July it is bookable for groups of ten or more. Full price 5 euros. The square, the church and the Augustins tower are open all year.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
300 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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