The Route nationale 21 (N21) is a trunk road ( nationale) in south west

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Reclassification

The N21 used to end at Gavarnie in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

but after 1972 ended at Argelès-Gazost the old road is now the D921. Since 2006 the section south of Lourdes which is partly dual carriageway has been maintained by the Department Hautes-Pyrenees.

Route

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

- Bergerac -

Agen The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. ...

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Château ...

Argelès-Gazost Argelès-Gazost (; oc, Argelèrs de Gasòst) is a commune and a subprefecture of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in southwestern France. The Pyrénées Animal Park is located in Argelès-Gazost. Population See also *Communes of the Hautes ...

Limoges to Bergerac (0 to 145 km)

The road starts at a junction with the N20 and heads west along the bank of the river

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Aixe-sur-Vienne Aixe-sur-Vienne (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. History A merovingian ''castrum'' was recorded as being at the confluence of the river. The Château d'Aixe (or "Tour Jeanne d'Al ...

. The road turns south west over open countryside to the small town of

Châlus Châlus (; oc, Chasluç) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. History Richard I, King of England was besieging Châlus in 1199 when Pierre Basile wounded him with a crossbow bolt; ...

. The road passes through the ''Parc Regional Limousin'' reaching 350m altitude. The road passes the town of

Thiviers Thiviers (; oc, Tivier) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population Personalities It is notable as being the town in which Jean-Paul Sartre lived as a child. Painter Pierre Bouillon was b ...

before joining the River Isle close to its joining the river Auvezere. The road turns west to the town of

Périgueux Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a communes of France, commune in the Dordogne departments of France, department, in the administrative regions of France, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux i ...

. To the south of Périgueux the road is now numbered the D6021, with through traffic directed to use the N221 and

A89 autoroute The A89 autoroute is an autoroute in central France. It is known as the ''La Transeuropéenne''. It connects Bordeaux (from Libourne) and Lyon (at Limonest) via Clermont-Ferrand. Its total length is 544 km (338 mi). The project star ...

. The N21 recommences after the junction with the A89 and D6021 heading south. The countryside is now wooded including the ''Forêt de Montclard''. The road meets the River

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named af ...

at the town of Bergerac.

Bergerac to Agen(145 to 236 km)

After Bergerac the road heads south east past the Chateau Montbazillac, to the small town of Castillonnes and then Cancon. The countryside becomes more rolling and the road reaches the Lot valley. The road now by-passes the town of

Villeneuve-sur-Lot Villeneuve-sur-Lot (; in the Languedocien dialect of Occitan language: ''Vilanuèva d'Òlt'' ) is a town and commune in the southwestern French department of Lot-et-Garonne. The commune was formerly named ''Villeneuve-d'Agen''. Villeneuve-sur-Lot ...

and continues to the south. The road then heads to the

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...

valley and the town of Agen. The town is home of the attraction Walibi Aquitaine and famous for its

Prune A prune is a dried plum, most commonly from the European plum (''Prunus domestica''). Not all plum species or varieties can be dried into prunes. A prune is the firm-fleshed fruit (plum) of ''Prunus domestica'' varieties that have a high solu ...

s. Through traffic is directed west of the town along the N113.

Agen to Lourdes (236 to 402 km)

The road continues south crossing the river and a junction (7) with the

A62 autoroute The A62 autoroute is a French motorway forming part of the ''Autoroute de Deux Mers'' (Two Seas Motorway). The entirety of the route forms the entirety of European route E 72, which is a part of the International E-road network, inter-Europe ...

. The countryside becomes more rugged as the road passes the towns of Astaffort and Lectoure. The road heads into the valley of the Ger and the town of Fleurance. Further south the road passes through the town of

Auch Auch (; oc, label= Gascon, Aush ) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony. Geography Localization Hydrography The Riv ...

. The road heads south west to

Mirande Mirande (; oc, Miranda) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gers Departments of France, department, Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, southwestern France. Geography Population Sites of interest * Town Hall * St. Mary's Cath ...

and the town of Miélan. The road heads west crossing a ridge and the ''Puntous de Laguian'' (342m). At Rabastens-de-Bigorre the road turns south again to the town of

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turba'' ...

. The road leaves Tarbes to the south west (old road now the D921) with a junction (12) to the

A64 autoroute The A64 autoroute is a motorway in southwestern France. It is also called the ''La Pyrénéenne'' and numbered the European route E80. It is a toll road for part of its length. Aligned East-West, it connects Toulouse to Bayonne via Tarbes and P ...

. It passes the Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport before reaching the town of

Lourdes to Argelès-Gazost/Gavarnie (402 to 453 Km)

The road is dual carriageway south of Lourdes and is now numbered the D821 following the River Luz. Thereafter the old road is now the D921 continuing south along the ''Gorges de Luz'' into the Pyrenees mountains. It passes Luz-St-Sauveur before taking the ''Gorges de St Sauveur'' to the

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

resort of Gavarnie overlooked by the ''Pic de Tentes'' (2,322m) and the ''Cirque de Gavarnie'' (3,248m). {{DEFAULTSORT:Route Nationale 021 021