The best running trails around Montesquieu

From the Route des Crêtes, you can enjoy beautiful views of the fortified village of Clermont-Dessous. Situated on a hillside, it preserves the remains of ramparts, a beautiful Romanesque church, and a typically Gascon charm.

[In Advent] "we hear in the Gospel the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist. He appears in the desert and calls people to conversion so that they may prepare for the coming of the Lord. His call reminds us that Advent is not only a time of waiting, but also of interior preparation. "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths" (Luke 3:4). John's message challenges us to examine our lives. What "rough paths" and "crooked roads" are there in our hearts? Where have we perhaps distanced ourselves from God or lost sight of our fellow human beings? John invites us to remove these obstacles and reorient our lives. But his call has not only a personal dimension, but also a social one: the way of the Lord is a way of justice, peace and reconciliation. When we pave the way of the Lord, we bring light into the darkness of the world and hope into the hearts of people." (Text: Michael Inden, Diocesan President of the KAB in the Archdiocese of Cologne)

Saint John the Baptist (Saint Jean Baptiste), to whom this church in Clermont-Dessous is dedicated, is - like Saint Joseph - a man on the threshold of the Old and New Testaments. His parents are Zacharias and Elisabeth, and after the announcement of the Incarnation of God through them, the Mother of God visits her relative Elisabeth, who will give birth to a son in her old age, namely John the Baptist. He is half a year older than Jesus and is considered his forerunner/pioneer. He lives in the desert, preaches repentance from sins to the Jewish population and baptizes them in the Jordan, where Jesus also comes to be baptized, and is filled with the Holy Spirit who descends upon him from heaven. The feast day of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in the calendar of saints is June 24, exactly half a year before 'Christmas Eve'.

Saint John the Baptist, to whom this church in Clermont-Dessous is dedicated, is—like Saint Joseph—a man at the threshold between the Old and New Testaments. His parents were Zechariah and Elizabeth. After the Annunciation of the Incarnation, the Virgin Mary visited her relative Elizabeth, who, in her old age, would give birth to a son, John the Baptist. He was six months older than Jesus and is considered his forerunner. He lived in the desert, preached repentance to the Jewish population, and baptized them in the Jordan River. Jesus also came to the Jordan to be baptized, and was filled with the Holy Spirit, who descended from heaven. The feast day of Saint John the Baptist in the liturgical calendar is June 24, exactly six months before Christmas Eve.

The parish church of Saint Jean-Baptiste was built in the 12th century at the top of the promontory carrying the castle, isolated from the village by a ditch, in the Romanesque style with a dome. The church took part in the defense of the site with its tower placed above the crossroads of the slightly projecting transept being used for the surveillance of the region.

Built in the 11th century next to the castle built at the same time, this church overlooks the Garonne and Port-Sainte-Marie.

The church of Lusignan was built in the Romanesque (choir) and Gothic (nave) styles and, a rare thing, it has a room which was built to protect the population in times of war.

Built in the 11th century next to the castle built around the same time, this church overlooks the Garonne and Port-Sainte-Marie.