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The jewel of today's Town, the bastide is hemmed by boulevards built in the 18th and 19th century over the old, once fortified town ditches. The military enclosure and the gates protect the ville basse or lower town. Its surrounding wall was built betwen 1355 and 1359, under the orders of the comte d'Armagnac; it was 2,800 metres long; the bastions were built after 1359; at that time, people simply erected in the corners some round-shaped towers, greater than the other parts of the wall.

Toward the end of the 16th century, during the wars of religion that devastated the South of France, the town was flanked with 4 bastions located at each corner: the bastion of Saint-Martial in the northwest, the bastion of la Figuières in the northeast, of Montmorency in the southeast, of la Tour Grosse or les Moulins in the southwest (now called du Calvaire).

On the eve of the French Revolution of 1789, the lower town had yet only 4 gates:
- the western gate, porte de Toulouse or des Augustins (rue de Verdun), adorned with two handsome towers forming like a manor, which were restored in 1749. But because of a Council decree issued on 31 May 1778 ruling that the walls, towers, ditches, ramparts and walkways were to be handed in perpetuity to the Lower Town Community, the consuls let this monument fall into decay, and it was entirely destroyed in 1806.
- The northern gate, porte des Carmes (located at the end of today's rue Georges Clemenceau).
- The western gate, porte des Cordeliers, located at the eastern end of today's rue Aimé Ramond (formerly rue de la Mairie).
- The southern gate, porte des Jacobins, currently preserved and registered on the additional Historical Monuments inventory, together with its surroundings. In the early stages of the Town's construction, the porte des Cordeliers was originally located on the premises of the old Court House gate, at the eastern end of rue Mage (now called rue de Verdun). In 1571 it was moved to the end of rue de la Pellisserie (now rue Aimé Ramond).

The "bastide" has a regular shape, that of a chessboard organised around a central square, Place Carnot adorned with the Fountain of Neptune (1770). The market takes place every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning around this fountain and in the splendid grain exchange, Halle aux Grains (featuring an 18th century frame).

Feel free to visit its religious buildings and private mansions, or to take a leisurely stroll under the trees of its public gardens. Whether you are staying for a few days or just a few hours, be sure you will be welcomed as a honoured guest.

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