France – Beaucaire (En)

Beaucaire, a town of Art and History famous for its old fairs which drew crowds in the 17th and 19th centuries, sits by the Rhône river. It has preserved several beautiful monuments from its rich trading past.

Where to stay

We stayed in the town’s free motorhome area (43.806235, 4.637203 lat, long), which has an area for loading and unloading grey and black water. If you want electricity and water you have to buy tokens at the tourist office, 2 euros for electricity. We stayed one day but did not use the services. This is a walk from the historic centre. There are only 7 places, so arriving early in the morning is best. I recommend it to see the town.

What to see

We walked with Asha to the historic centre, you cross a bridge where there are beautiful views of the river with its barges and you arrive at the old town where you discover its squares and streets dotted with old houses and private mansions from the 17th and 18th centuries. The latter include the Hôtel de Clausonnette, the Hôtel de Margallier and the town hall.

Overlooking the historical centre from the top of a hill, the medieval castle, built in the 11th century and then partly dismantled in the 17th century by Richelieu, was the residence of the Counts of Toulouse and the Lords of Beaucaire. Today, its ruins including the polygonal tower, round corner tower, curtain walls and Romanesque chapel are a reminder of its glory days.

Back in the historic centre, you find the baroque-style collegiate church of Notre-Dame-des-Pommiers and the Place de la République square, which is quite charming with its old arches, pretty façades, fountain and plane trees. It was open so we could see inside.

What to eat

Then we returned to the central square that we had passed on the way to the castle which is very pretty and full of restaurants we decided to have lunch at the L’Instant Bonheur restaurant, where the owner was from Almería so he spoke Spanish, although not very well, He had forgotten quite a bit since he had been in France for fifty-odd years. But he could translate the day’s dishes for us, which we ate for 11 euros. Ben ordered the typical mushroom quiche with broad beans and salad and I had a plate of rice with curried beans, bacon, broad beans, salad and zucchini which was delicious!

And the next day, a 5-minute drive away we arrived at Tarascon, on the banks of the Rhone, which has no less than twenty-six sites classified as Historical Monuments, which you can see in the next blog!