Larressingle

Larressingle is a commune in the Gers department, often described as the smallest fortified village in France. The hamlet is enclosed within a nearly complete thirteenth-century circuit of walls, with a round corner tower, a square keep, and a dry moat surrounding the entire perimeter.

The scale is intimate: a single lane of stone houses within the walls, a chapel, and the keep, all in warm golden sandstone. The walls and towers have been carefully restored and give Larressingle the character of a miniature medieval fortress town, complete and coherent in a way that larger fortified cities rarely achieve.