British Airways (0345 222111) flies daily from Gatwick and is selling a World Offer fare of pounds 143.40 return (including tax) until 26 March, for travel before mid-May. A stroll here, a drink there, perhaps a little siesta in between - you soon forget what it is to be in a hurryGascony essentialsBy air: the best gateway is Toulouse. The alcohol-sodden plums can be served as a dessert in themselves, in sauces, or used as stuffing.Eating, drinking, walking, perhaps even riding and canoeing - there is plenty to do in Gascony if you are so inclined But the spirit of the place is captured by taking it easy. Like Monluc, there are tours around the property followed by tastings of their produce, which include Armagnacs flavoured with greengages, apricots and, the local speciality, plums. Quieter, but still enchanting, is the Renaissance Chateau de Cassaigne, west of St Puy.

The building, overgrown with red ivy, is on top of a hill commanding stunning views of the valley and its vineyards - the only drawback is that because it is so captivating it tends to attract tour buses, and your visit is unlikely to be solitary. Many of the chateaux have exhibitions of the history and method of Armagnac-making, as well as holding tastings.Dating from the 10th century, the Chateau de Monluc in the village of St Puy, south of Condom, gives guided tours of its ancient cellars where wines and Armagnac are distilled. This prized spirit is mostly produced by small vineyards, which explains its relative obscurity compared to its rival brandy Cognac, but it is valued by connoisseurs for its distinctive aroma. Armagnac country lies within the Gers, which is the heart of Gascony.

Gascony is a big wine producer (although this pales into insignificance next to the neighbouring Bordeaux) and Armagnac is a source of great pride. Apart from foie gras, the local food has developed from peasant origins, so duck and boar are popular, whereas fish and seafood less common as the area is landlocked.Veggies, though, can content themselves with the region's drink. Animal welfare concerns about the production of foie gras, in which the geese are forcibly overfed, do not seem to have touched Gascony, which blithely sells postcards of local women, geese between the knees, ramming food through a funnel down an unfortunate birds' throats. The Gascon menu tends to be limited, with foie gras very much the main speciality. Thousands of visitors descend on the tiny village and transform it, for two brief days, into a buzzing hub of life.At any time of year, however, visiting vegetarians should beware.

A particularly good time to visit the village is the last weekend in April, during the Fources flower festival. The Chateau de Fources has recently been turned into a hotel whose restaurant is among the very best, and most varied, in Gascony. There is a small castle, built over centuries, to protect the village, the oldest part of which dates back to the 12th century. So small that it does not even feature on some maps, it consists of a ring of galleried houses, a construction unique in Gascony and unusual throughout France, as village squares are normally - well - square.

Aquitaine, of which Gascony is a part, was fought over by the English and French for 300 years during the Middle Ages, and many of the castles and fortified villages they protected were built by English kings and warlords.One of the most beguiling is Fources, between Nerac and Montreal. Yet the background to many of its small chateaux (there are more than 500) is less than peaceful. If the Cote d'Azure is glamorous parties, Gascony is a foot massage The real charm lies in its serenity. The Gascon climate of warm summers and short winters, plus its fertile soil, have ensured that the area remains predominantly agricultural, with no large towns or industrial areas and hence no significant pollution. Gascony, it must be said, is not exciting in a look-at-me sort of way - it's more subtle and understated than that. Half the working population is employed in agriculture, compared with less than 10 per cent for France as a whole.