"I found myself in Beaucaire on the last day of the Fair; by chance my dining companions were two merchants from Marseilles, a man from Nîmes, and a manufacturer from Montpellier". Thus opens the opuscule "The Supper at Beaucaire", written in the space of two nights, following a visit to Beaucaire on the 29th of July 1793, by a certain Napoleon Bonaparte. The future Emperor - at the time an obscure artillery captain - exalts in this work republican values. A fresco in Alphonse Méric Street commemorates this event.

Formerly the Place du Marché (Market Square), though better known locally as Place Vieille (Old Square), it was renamed Place de la République after the Revolution. In 1775, to facilitate the movement of merchandise from the port to the town centre, a section of its arcades was demolished.  In the shade of a three hundred year old plane tree, a sculpture of the "Drac" reminds us of the legend of this monster from the Rhône.

Beaucaire, a city enclosed in the heart of the "Terre d'Argence"
has known three golden ages. The first one dating from the Roman empire when the city was name Urgenum and was an important stop along the "Via Domitia" connecting Italy to the Spanish counties of the Roman Empire.Then, in the Middle Ages, when in 1067 Urgenum became Belcaire or "Belle Pierre", litterally translated as beautiful stone and saw the construction along its hills dominating the Rhone River an impressive fortress.Finally, in the 17th and 18th century, for the festival of Madeleine, where one would find the most important gathering of merchants in the area. Beaucaire welcomed renowned visitors and in 8 days generated more wealth than the port of Marseille did in an entire year. And, it is from this extroadinary prosperity that gave birth to its luxurious hotels and other prestigious monuments that make Beaucaire one of the remarkable villages of art and history.

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Surrounded by fields and vineyards, the Vieux Mas (=Provençal farmhouse), a vast building dating from the 18th century, carries us back in time to the days when the peasants lived their lives to the rhythm of the seasons.  A working farm, with its delightful animals, shops for craftsmen (from the sabot maker to the saddler), a country school – everything here sharpens our nostalgia for the “good old days”. Displays and shows complement the visit.

Animals of the farm

The Drac legend

A polymorphous monster, invisible to humans, the "Drac" lived hidden in the depths of the Rhône. From time to time it emerged to make a meal of some imprudent local. One day, it carried off a washerwoman, for her to raise its son at the bottom of the river.  Seven years later, when her task was completed, she was released.  During her captivity, she had developed the ability to see the Drac with her left eye. The monster gouged out her eye one day when she had recognized it amongst the crowd in a market.