Auch does not let you leave without a view. The route starts above the Gers, then slips out of town and into the soft folds of Gascony. It is roughly 78 km to Toulouse, with small climbs rather than big mountains. Past Aubiet and Gimont, the country opens up; later the road rolls towards L’Isle-Jourdain through fields, tree-lined stretches and red-brick villages. The approach to Toulouse becomes more urban, but not all at once. The pink city arrives gradually: wider roads, warmer brick, the Garonne nearby, and the first clear feeling of entering the south.
