Things to do in Agen
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Agen
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months. Warm without August heat, markets at full strength, towpath shaded, and rugby in season at the shoulders.
Hot summer. Aqualand season, village night markets and guinguette evenings, with sightseeing best done in the morning.
The Grand Pruneau Show fills the town on the last weekend of August. Book rooms early.
Rugby season runs roughly September to May, and a Friday night home match plus a market Saturday is the best cold season weekend.
The dullest month. Come for rugby and lunch rather than the townscape.
Cold, quiet and at its most local, with the lowest prices of the year.
What's on
- Grand Pruneau Show last weekend of August
Agen great prune festival, with tastings, a gourmet market, concerts and street spectacle.
- Fête de la Musique 21 June
The national music day, marked across Agen like every French town, at the start of the longest evenings.
- Marchés Gourmands night markets July and August evenings, including Pujols on Wednesdays
Village squares fill with long tables, hot dishes, live music and dancing across the Agenais in summer.
Best things to do in Agen
Cathédrale Saint-Caprais d'Agen
A Romanesque and Gothic cathedral on the pilgrim route, covered inside with vivid 19th century painted decoration.
Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Agen
Four Renaissance mansions holding a rich regional collection, including an exceptional group of works by Goya.
Pont-canal d'Agen
A 539 metre canal aqueduct on 23 stone arches that carries boats over the Garonne, best walked at golden hour.
Passerelle suspendue d'Agen
A pedestrian suspension bridge over the Garonne linking the Gravier esplanade to Le Passage, lovely at sunset.
Rue des Cornières
A medieval arcaded lane at the heart of the old town, lined with boutiques, cafes and half timbered houses.
Marché Couvert Agen
Agen covered market hall, the everyday pick for Lot et Garonne produce, cheese, pastries and prunes.
Stade Armandie
Home of SU Agen rugby, where a Friday night Pro D2 match is the most alive the town gets outside festival weekend.
Théâtre Ducourneau
Agen municipal theatre with a season of drama, dance, comedy and concerts for a proper provincial night out.
Where to stay in Agen
Centre historique
first trip, food and sights on foot
The cathedral, museum, arcades, market hall and most restaurants are within a ten minute walk.
Canal et Gravier
quiet stays, cyclists and B&B charm
Leafy canal side streets by the Gravier esplanade and the Deux Mers towpath, a short walk from the centre.
République et la Gare
train arrivals and practical mid range
The main boulevard between the old town and the station, lit and quiet after dark, ten minutes on foot to the centre.
Outskirts
drivers, motorway overnights and theme park families
Ring road hotels with free parking at the door, good value but car dependent for everything in town.
Think twice about
- Ring road commercial zones, Avenue du Midi, Bon-Encontre and Boé strips
Dead after dark, car dependent and traffic noisy as a base. This is a quality warning, not a safety one. No Agen area is flagged on safety grounds.
Best restaurants in Agen
L'Aubergade
Michel Trama starred Relais et Chateaux table in Puymirol, the fine dining splurge of the whole Agenais.
Le Margoton
Agen own gastronomic address in the old town, with tasting menus and a serious Buzet and Cahors wine list.
Le Nostradamus
The town other celebration room, refined French cooking at the top price band with a vegetarian friendly note.
La Table de Michel Dussau
A great-value brasserie near the rugby stadium, modern cooking from local and seasonal produce.
Monsieur Jeannot
The classic traditional table under the Cornieres arcades, generous duck and prune cooking in the old town.
Le Bistronome
A smart modern bistrot praised for class and savoir faire, and singled out locally as an ideal lunch.
Quarts Coffee-Kitchen
A fresh, healthy leaning coffee kitchen doing modern plates and brunch, the new generation Agen favourite.
Ty mat'lot
A cult creperie for buckwheat galettes and sweet crepes with prune or salted caramel, at true cheap eat prices.
Outdoor things to do in Agen
Canal de Garonne
A flat, shaded, traffic free towpath ride from Agen to Valence d Agen, 26.5 km of locks and canal villages.
Golf du Château d'Allot
An 18 hole course by Michel Gayon south of Agen, with water hazards on 13 holes and five holes by the Garonne.
Golf Club Agen Bon-Encontre
A relaxed 9 hole wooded course overlooking the Garonne valley, ideal for a holiday round before a market lunch.
Walygator Sud-Ouest
Agen theme and water park at Roquefort, pairing coasters and family rides with Aqualand slides and pools.
Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Moissac
A world class Romanesque abbey 40 km east of Agen, famed for its sculpted portal and serene cloister.
Auvillar
A hilltop bastide among France most beautiful villages, with a circular market hall and Garonne plain views.
Château de Nérac
The surviving Renaissance wing of Henri IV chateau above the Baise, the heart of a pretty small town day trip.
Pujols
A hilltop village above the Lot valley, best timed to its Sunday market or a summer night market.
Best hotels in Agen
Hôtel Château des Jacobins
A small hotel of 12 styled rooms in a historic old town property, with rare secure parking in the centre.
Quand la ville dort
A canal side bed and breakfast with a garden, pool and art deco touches, and a breakfast to judge others by.
Cit'Hotel Stim'otel
Agen dependable independent mid range hotel between the old town and the station, solid and central.
ibis Agen Centre
A predictable, walkable budget chain hotel with early breakfast, right for late arrivals and early trains.
B&B HOTEL Agen
A modern, cheap drivers hotel with free parking, ideal for a motorway overnight or a theme park weekend.
Is Agen expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €55 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €110 a person |
| Splurge | €220 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Stade Armandie: a few days ahead
- Théâtre Ducourneau: a few days ahead
- Cabaret Petit Paradis: weeks ahead
- Golf du Château d'Allot: a few days ahead
- Walygator Sud-Ouest: a few days ahead
- L'Aubergade: weeks ahead
- Le Margoton: weeks ahead
- Le Nostradamus: weeks ahead
- Book L Aubergade in Puymirol weeks ahead for weekends.
- Book Le Margoton and Le Nostradamus a week or more ahead for Friday and Saturday nights.
- Buy SU Agen tickets early for big Pro D2 fixtures, and book small canal side B&Bs early in July, August and festival weekend.
- Check the fine arts museum is fully open on your day, as restoration has closed rooms at short notice.
Is Agen safe?
- Never swim in the Garonne at Agen. It has powerful currents and a real flood history.
- Watch bags in the Saturday market crowd and lock bikes at towpath stops.
- The station area is quiet and thinly peopled late at night. Use the lit Boulevard de la Republique if that bothers you.
- Emergency number in France is 112.
Agen travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not judge Agen from the ring roads and commercial zones. Park and walk into the old town instead.
- Skip tourist menus by the station and on the main boulevard squares; much better restaurants are a short walk away.
- Buy mi cuit prunes from specialist shops and market stalls, not souvenir bags at motorway prices.
- Do not rush Agen as a checklist day trip. Its pleasures are a market morning, a long lunch and a canal walk.
Getting around Agen: public transport and more
- Walk the flat, compact centre. The cathedral, museum, market hall and Gravier form one easy loop.
- Agen station is about 1 to 1.5 hours from Bordeaux and about an hour from Toulouse, ten minutes on foot from the old town.
- Rent a car for excursion days to Nerac, Pujols, Puymirol and the golf courses. Moissac is easy by train or towpath.
- The Canal des Deux Mers towpath runs through town in both directions and is the best route in and out by bike.
Who Agen suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Agen your trip
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