Mirande · —
Mirande (town)
Year roundA bastide of the Astarac still on its original grid — 'plan en damiers', the checkerboard — founded at the end of the 13th century by the Count of Astarac and the abbot of Berdoues; La Dépêche dates it to 1283. The thing to see is the 15th-century Gothic church, whose porch steps across the street on flying buttresses so that the bell-tower rides above the traffic — an arrangement the paper calls unique in France.
In the guide