Visitors choosing Lannepax as a destination will encounter several distinct themes: the 13th-century bastide in Armagnac, the surviving remains of the surrounding walls and ditches, the Church of Saint-Jacques, the Pont du Diable and Delord’s Armagnac production facilities. Local history, architecture, geology and Armagnac are clearly distinct perspectives. For planning your trip, the main point to consider is a visit to Delord, as visits are limited to certain days of the week. The other details can help you choose what to focus on according to your interests.

Bastide, Walls and House Styles

Lannepax is a 13th-century bastide in Armagnac. Remains of the walls and ditches that once surrounded the town have survived. Its historical context and the surviving remains of its fortifications complement each other: the bastide provides a time frame, while the walls and ditches are physical traces of the town’s layout.

Many houses in Lannepax dating from this period can be recognised by their half-timbering or the porticoes known as “embans”. These features shift the focus from the town’s perimeter to the architecture of individual houses. This makes it possible to distinguish two different aspects of the built heritage: the surviving remains around the town and the characteristic forms of many houses.

Saint-Jacques: Location and Architecture

While the bastide dates from the 13th century, the Church of Saint-Jacques appears to date from the 14th century. It lies southeast of the bastide square. Its three naves, three bays and flat-ended choir give the church a distinctive architectural layout. Naves divide the space into longitudinal sections; bays denote individual sections of the interior, and the flat-ended apse describes the shape of the choir’s eastern end. This allows you to understand the church both in terms of its location in the town and its spatial form.

Pont du Diable and the Rieuze

The Pont du Diable adds a geological perspective: the bridge is designated a classified site. Here, the Rieuze has carved a gallery about 200 metres long beneath the Route de la Ténarèze. A protected-site designation and a specific geological process therefore come together in one place. The gallery beneath the road illustrates the relationship between the river and the road running above it. This perspective differs from that of the bastide and the church’s architecture, complementing them with a distinctive feature of the landscape.

Armagnac and Delord

The Delord Armagnac distillery and ageing cellars in Lannepax can be visited year-round, Monday to Friday. If you are planning a visit, arrange your itinerary around the day of the week and confirm that a visit is possible before you travel. This makes it a practical planning consideration for anyone interested in Armagnac as well as the built heritage.

The history of the house includes Prosper Delord, who founded it in 1893. This historical connection adds a look at the origins of the Delord house to a visit to the distillery and ageing cellars. You can choose from a range of travel themes: the bastide and its surviving traces, the architecture of Saint-Jacques, the geological feature at the Pont du Diable, or a visit to Delord, with its clearly defined visiting days.

Discover more destinations: Montegut, Maulichères, Saint-Clar, Maignaut-Tauzia, Duffort, Gondrin, Lamazère, Panjas

For the broader travel overview: Gers.