Beaucaire

Beaucaire, a town in the French department of Gard, on the right bank of the Rhone, opposite Tarascon, with which it is connected by a suspension bridge, 14 miles SSW. of Avignon. Vessels enter its harbour by a canal communicating with the Mediterranean. A great fair, established in the 13th century, is held from the 15th till the 20th July. It was once one of the principal occasions of trade between France, Italy, and the East, and was attended by 300,000 strangers. The fair is still the scene of a brisk trade in silks, wines, oil, southern fruits, and leather. Pop. 7906.