Tourism Tarascon : a source of légends

Located along the Rhone, Tarascon has one of the finest medieval castles in France, built in the fifteenth century by the family of Anjou.

The origin of the city dates back to Roman times. According to legend, during the first century, a young woman named Martha delivered the city from a monster called the Tarascan, who terrorized the region. She was canonized, and a college was built in his honor. Tarascon became an important place of pilgrimage.

The medieval festivals and traditions related to this imaginary animal that is the Tarasque, testify to the vitality of the cultural heritage of this city. The festivals of the Tarasque have also been classified in the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005.

The town of Tarascon also owes its fame to the novel by Alphonse Daudet, Tartarin of Tarascon, published in 1872.

Sights in Tarascon

• Church Sainte-Marthe
• Château du Roi René
• Church Sainte-Marthe
• Cloitre des Cordeliers in which space is installed Tartarin
• Chapel of Saint Gabriel