Tarascon

Recently, Nick, Sarah, her friend, McKenna and I all went on a day trip to the old town of Tarascon. This medieval town's real claim to fame is it's magnificent 15th c. castle right on the banks of the Rhone River. Although massive in appearance, its inner architecture is elegant. The fine state of preservation has earned it the reputation of being one of the finest medieval castles in all of France. With that kind of introduction, we had to check it out.
Tarascon is only about an hour's drive northwest from Aix. We went on an extremely windy Saturday afternoon and aside from one other family, we had the castle to ourselves!
When you arrive in Tarascon there's no trouble finding the castle. It's the biggest(only?) attraction they have and it's right on the river. After we parked the car, like all folks going to a castle we first had to cross the moat! for those who've visited real castles before this may be old hat but for us debutantes(french word for 'beginner') this was a thrill!!


Once inside, we really felt as though we could imagine life here in the 1400's....and were SO glad not to have had to actually experience it. I would surely have frozen to death. At the time we were there, I was reading Phillipa Gregory's "The Other Boleyn Girl". Even though the book is set in England, it still felt like we could have been right in one of Henry VIII's grand castles! The Tarascon Castle was begun in 1400 by Louis II, Duke of Anjou, it was continued by his sons, Louis III and Rene I. The latter converted it into a Renaissance Palace and in 1481, when Provence was incorporated into the kingdom of France, the castle became in turns a residence for the kingdom's dignitaries, a mint, a military prison and from 1816 to 1926 a remand prison. The State acquired the entire estate in 1932.


The entrance door once you cross the moat...

Looking up at the King Rene and Queen Jean's chambers, otherwise known as the seigniorial residence...

A nice view of the castle from the garden...

After going through the entire inside of the castle, we found our way to the top and enjoyed a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside. Across the Rhone River is the town of Beaucaire. There is yet another hilltop castle on the other side. They kept track of each other in those days...

Here you see the mighty Rhone and evidence that wind power is alive and well in France...

Here are a few views of the town of Tarascon below...

and here's what you see if you look STRAIGHT down....

Sarah and McKenna taking shelter from the wind...

We drove across the river to check out the town of Beaucaire and enjoyed seeing all the boats tied up along the Canal du rhone a Sete. Mostly full of small yachts and a few fishing boats, Nick spied this one and said "I'd like to live on a boat just like that one".....Looks just right for one salty dog, don't you think?!?