Once home to the court of King Henri IV, Nérac remains one of the most attractive larger villages in the Lot-et-Garonne department. During the Wars of Religion (1562-1598) Henri’s son, Louis XIII, ordered the entire city destroyed. Nérac lay forgotten and fallow until the 18th century, when it developed into a thriving agricultural community. So economically important was the city thought to be by then, that in 1830, Baron Haussmann, the architect who redesigned Paris in the 1850s, was sent to rebuild Nérac’s roads and bridges.
Nérac has one of the best Saturday farmers’ markets in the department. Arrive early, indulge in a mouth-watering pastry at the corner patisserie with a cup of delicious coffee, then set off on a leisurely stroll through the many market stalls. You can also ride one of several riverboats along the picturesque River Baïse, which dissects the village, or promenade beneath the shade of a variety of stately trees in the grand park, La Garenne. This 35-hectare park, with its many hidden nooks and crannies, was the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost.
Nérac