THE REGION

THE REGION

There are wonderful villages in the neighbourhood. Castelsagrat (2 km) is the closest village to get bread, a newspaper and a cup of coffee(bakery, grocery store and café are on the central square surrounded by arcades). A nice place to have lunch is under the medieval open marketplace in saint Maurin where the owners are friendly and the lunch menu of the day is simple but good.

St Maurin is 4 km in the other direction and you will pass Montjoi village on the way, at walking distance from Coty. Montjoi is a typical and wonderfully restored village on top of a hill. It does not have any stores or café which makes it a sleeping little town outside the holiday season. Roquecor and Lauzerte are larger villages that have the same charm on their hilltops but are busier with nice restaurants, cafes, boutiques and shops..

The most exquisite address for lunch and dinner and a wonderful experience even for the most spoilt star-restaurant adapt is the three star restaurant of Michel Trama. It’s an absolute must but expensive. His restaurant “Aubergade” is internationally renowned and a 10 minute drive at Puymirol. Don’t be surprised to find celebrities dining here. Lunch and the house wine are great and reasonably priced.
There are daily markets and schedules are announced in the local newspaper. Local farmers sell their produce here and there is a proud group selling seasonal biological produce. Don’t miss the spring-only strawberry variety “Gariguettes” filling the stands or the bundles of green asparagus.
Look out for announcements for antique markets (Brocantes or vide-greniers) on the roadside at roundabouts or intersections.

Moissac (15 km) has a beautiful church and an impressive monastery visited by pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostella. Next to the monastery is the Bistro de l’abbaye on the church square where lunch outside is wonderful in the shade of the magnolia trees. Call for reservations or walk by before you visit the Sunday morning market. On Sundays the supermarket on the market square is open until 12 o’clock for the forgotten groceries.

The large supermarkets “les Mousquetaires, Leclerc, Casino, Carrefour, Intermarché” are in the towns Valence d’Agen (15 km), Agen (20 km), and on the far side of Moissac direction Castelsarrassin (20 km; Leclerc). Notice that supermarkets are closed between 12.00-15.00 o’clock except for Leclerq (closed on Monday).
Toulouse is a one hour drive from Coty over a comfortable highway. It’s a beautiful city and perfect for shopaholics. Its easy to reach with the train from Agen.

Cahors is a ¾ hour drive and an option for visiting wine estates.
A hot tourist attraction (after Paris, saint Malo and Mont saint Michel the most frequented spot in France) is St Emilion; the authentic wine town next to Bordeaux with wine history at every corner. It’s a must but not less than a two hour drive to the west.

Bordeaux is a stunning city at 1 ½ hours from Coty. It’s an easy train trip from Agen. It is called the second Paris of France and has been thoroughly cleaned and restored the past decade.

The sea at the west coast and cities like Arcachon are a bit far for a day trip. Closer to Coty the heat can be defied at Walibi, a water-amusement park at Agen (20 km). For small children you should check out the clear clean water of the Séoune at the waterfall at “Rikiki plage”. This is indicated a few kilometres on the D60 to the east of Coty. It has a small sandy beach between the trees, a meadow and a waterside tree with a rope tied to it to impersonate Tarzan. Mostly you will be the only ones there but sometimes another family will put their picnic baskets on the meadow too.

There are several horse-back riding facilities in the neighbourhood and there is a small a bit messy child-friendly one on the way to Roquecor. There is a little restaurant too where the lady of the house makes a perfect steak on the hearth for lunch or dinner.