Beaucaire and Tarascon, two lovely provencal cities, are located on the Rhone River, half way between Avignon and Arles. They are distinct cities in different French departments. Tarascon is in the Bouche du Rhone department while Beaucaire is in the Gard department. Although there may be many differences between the two cities, there are two similarities that the average tourist can't miss; each city has a château and a dragon.
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| Castle from the outside |
Our visit of the two cities started at the Château de Tarascon, a medieval castle and fortress built from 1400-1435 for the ducs d'Anjou, counts de Provence. We walked through the gates into the outer courtyard and we crossed over a bridge into the inner court yard and the heart of the castle. The Honor Courtyard is especially beautiful with a pierced spiral staircase that allows one to visit each floor. The visit took us through the different chambers belonging to the counts and kings. Although they were not furnished, the rooms were very interesting to look at.
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| View of the clock tower from the outer courtyard. |
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| Pierced spiral staircase - escalier à vis ajourée This staircase tower in the Cour d'Honneur goes right up to the roof. |
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| Meurtrière, not the kid, the hole in the wall. |
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| Vaulted ceiling in the Grande Chapelle |
The castle had many uses throughout its lifetime; it was a medieval fortress, a residence of kings during the renaissance and eventually it was used as a prison until 1926. Below are some carvings that were left by 15th century prisoners.
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| View of the Rhone from the roof of the Chateaux Tarascon |
Dragons are things of legends but in the town of Tarascon, dragons more than a legend, they are part of the history. The Tarasque is an beast from Provencal folklore. The monster has six short legs, a bull like torso, a scaly turtle shell and a stinger on the end of it's tail. You can see representations of the monster throughout the city. In fact, June is the month that the dragon is celebrated with all sorts of festivities.
This is my favorite kind of dragon, the edible kind!
According to the legend, the Tarasque is an amphibian dragon with red eyes and terrible bad breath. The dragon lived under the rock where the Château de Tarascon was built. The dragon would attack travelers on the Rhone river. The legend tells the story of Sainte Marthe, who came to spread the word of Christianity to the area, and how she tamed the feared dragon. The dragon was eventually killed by the villagers because of the terror it brought to the community.
Eglise Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon
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| We did not enter the church because mass had just finished. |
We continued our stroll through the town. We inhaled the overwhelming fragrance of jasmine on the flowering wall.
We meandered through one of the old gates of the city that was draped in Provencal fabric. Souleiado, whose headquarters are located in Tarascon,
is famous for producing the beautiful,
is famous for producing the beautiful,
colorful Provençal fabrics
Covered arches = Medieval shopping malls
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| Town Hall |
Sophia and I got a kick out of this sign:
"Here on April 17th 1897, absolutely nothing happened..."
We decided to have lunch in Beaucaire, and we crossed the Rhone river into the Gard department to have enjoy the view of the port. Beaucaire is at the beginning of the canal that connects Beaucaire to the town of Sète on the Mediterranean Sea. Although there is no longer access to the Rhone River in Beaucaire, the marina is active with many boats.
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| http://dicksandy.org/Travel/HTML/FranceHTML/maps.htm |
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| Marina - Beaucaire |
After lunch we wandered through the deserted streets. We saw the exterieur of Saint Paul Church, town hall, Eglise Notre Dame de Pommiers and many streets with arches. We walked up to the château through a manicured park. The access to the château is through an fortified gate. entrance
Eglise Saint-Paul was under construction and we could not visit. We were able to get near a side entrance that was boarded up even though it looked restored. I was able to get a good picture of its ornate steeple.
The town hall was on this lovely square. The Beaucaire dragon was hiding inside the town hall , underneath a stairway.
Collègiale Notre Dame des Pommiers
CLICK HERE to see the bells ringing.
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| Chapelle Saint-Louis XIII century |
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| Fortified gate |
The ruined castle of Beaucaire sits on the hill looking out over the Rhone river. From its heights, you can see the Château de Tarascon across the river. The structures date from the 12th and 16th centuries. The tower with its weird polygonal shape, dominates the cliff. We climbed the stairs leading to the ramparts and the view over the cities was outstanding. 
This is one of the many different dragon stories:
According to the legend, a dragon lived on the banks of the Rhone river. It would attract the people to the water with its precious stones and then it would eat the unsuspecting victims. A baby dragon, Drac, was born and it needed a nurse to feed it. The dragon lured a young girl who was washing her clothes at the riverside but did not kill her. The dragon brought her to his lair and he gave her a container of human fat that she would apply to the baby dragon each night to make him invisible but before that she had to wash her hands with special water.
One night the young girl forgot to wash her hands and she was able to see the dragon. The dragon did not like to be seen and he poked out her eyes. The dragon was never again seen in Beaucaire. http://www.legendes.occitanes.eu/bestaire/drac.htm
Enough Dragon tales! Beaucaire and Tarascon were lovely towns to visit on a warm spring day. Our last stop before going home was a café in the Place de la Republique. It was a gently, shaded square which we both welcomed after our exploration of the château.
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