Fontarèches brings together several themes for a stay: a single-nave church in the Romanesque-Byzantine style, a 12th-century château, a market with a varied selection, and the La Tave as the municipality’s main watercourse. When choosing a destination, you can consider culture, culinary interests and nature as separate priorities. This makes it easier to decide which aspect of the place matters most for your trip.

Church and historic buildings

The Église Notre-Dame de l'Assomption de Fontarèches was built in 1866–1867 and blessed on 9 February 1868. It has a single-nave layout and is designed in the Romanesque-Byzantine style. The church faces east and measures 23.70 metres long and 15.80 metres wide. The portal’s archivolt features interlacing foliage and rests on four columns with capitals also decorated with foliage. A marble plaque gives the date of construction, the church’s patron, the pope and the diocesan bishop. The choir has five sides of varying sizes. For travellers who take architecture into account when choosing a destination, the building’s form, style and precisely dated history provide concrete points of reference.

Another historic point of interest is the Château de Fontarèches, a château dating from the 12th century. The washhouse of Fontarèches is a local attraction.

Market and local produce

The Fontarèches market adds a culinary dimension to the historic attractions. The municipality lists the village square as the market location and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. as the time. According to its description, the market takes place year-round. Check the current schedule before you arrive. Products on offer include organic vegetables, regional cheeses, prepared dishes, fish, fresh bread, jams, sausages from the manade, local wines and honey. The selection thus includes both ingredients for a meal and prepared dishes. If you want to visit the market for a particular product, check what is currently on offer for your planned visit: individual vendors and products may change. This lets you consider the market as a separate factor in your travel decision, without conflating it with cultural or landscape interests.

La Tave and the Fontarèche hiking route

The La Tave is the main watercourse that crosses the municipality of Fontarèches. The INPN entry dated 12 June 2025 places Fontarèches within the ZNIEFF Type 2 area “Plateau de Lussan et Massifs Boisés.” Classifications and area boundaries may be updated.

The Fontarèche hiking route passes through garrigue, woodland and cultivated land. The appearance of cultivated areas may change over time. On the return leg of the hike, an impressive wind turbine can be seen.

These offer different priorities when choosing your destination: historic buildings, market produce or the landscape along a hiking route.

Discover more destinations: Le Pin, Issirac, Saint-Jean-du-Pin, Saint-Roman-De-Codières, Tornac, Deaux, Fons-Sur-Lussan, Laudun-L'ardoise.

For the regional travel overview: Gard.