Taxi Marseille → Beaucaire

Beaucaire, a town of 16,000 in the Gard department, occupies the right bank of the Rhône facing Tarascon. Its medieval castle, perched on a rocky spur overlooking the river, offers a remarkable panorama of the Rhône valley, the Alpilles and King René's castle in Tarascon on the opposite bank. Beaucaire was famous throughout Europe for its annual fair, the 'Madeleine Fair', held from 1217 to 1862 and attracting up to 300,000 visitors each July — one of the largest commercial fairs in the medieval and modern world. The Rhône-to-Sète canal, running through the town, testifies to this commercial heritage: built in the 17th century, it connects the Rhône to the Mediterranean and today delights pleasure boaters and cyclists on its towpaths. Beaucaire is also at the heart of the Costières-de-Nîmes appellation, a 4,000-hectare vineyard producing full-bodied red wines and fruity rosés on a terroir of rolled pebbles inherited from ancient Rhône alluvium. The old town features fine classical facades, the Notre-Dame-des-Pommiers church (Baroque), the Maison des Cariatides, and a rich bullfighting heritage — Beaucaire is a stronghold of Camargue-style bullfighting with its course à la cocarde in the arena.