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 A visit to a Museum > The Musée d'Agen
The Musée d'Agen (including civilised Thursday evening openings) is based in a line of town houses dating from the 16C and 17C. The main entrance is in the Hôtel d'Estrades, c 1600, a stripey thing of turrets, angles and lots of roofscapes. Maréchal d'Estrades 1607-86, was an ambassador for both Louis XIII and XIV, and a signatory of the crucial Treaty of Nijmegan. By contrast, the next house, the Hôtel de Vaur, is very Italianate, and played host to Nostradamus who wrote an enigmatic warning to the locals:
“People from around the Tarn, Lot-et-Garonne
Beware of passing the Apennine mountains:
Your tomb near Rome and Ancona,
The black frizzled beard will have a trophy set up”…
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