The bastide town of Monflanquin, which overlooks the Haut Agenais region and Lède valley from its hilltop position, was founded in 1256 by Alphonse, Count of Poitiers and Toulouse and brother of St Louis and today enjoys "One of France's Most Beautiful Villages" status.
The town features a magnificent central square bordered by arcades. Note the interesting gemel windowed facade of the elegant 14th-century Maison du Prince Noir.
This medieval bastide town is traversed by a network of carrerots – picturesque, narrow pedestrian streets crossed by little house-to-house bridges. It is also home to a Gothic cathedral.
Worth a visit is the Musée des Bastides, a fun, interactive museum all about the medieval new towns built in southwest France in the 13th and 14th centuries.
A market has taken place every Thursday morning in the Place des Arcades (arcaded main square) since 1256! A local producers' market is also held on Thursday evenings in July and August.
On 15 August, the Médiévales de Monflanquin festival takes inhabitants and tourists back to the Middle Ages with entertainment, shows, processions, a market and a medieval banquet.
