Beauce is a natural region in northern France, located between the Seine and Loire rivers. It now comprises the Eure-et-Loir département and parts of Loiret, Essonne and Loir-et-Cher. The region shared the history of the province of Orléanais and the county of Chartres, which is its only major city.
Beauce is in the Chaudière-Appalaches region of Quebec.
The Chaudiere River flows through the center of La Beauce, where the pastoral views of sloping fields make sweeping landscapes. The people are down-to-earth and friendly, if a bit hard to understand at times given their unique local accent. Culture - food and music - make this region worth visiting. In particular, the maple products make this region famous. Beauce is one of the most prolific maple syrup producing regions on Earth.
There is a form of French that originated from the Beauce region called Joual. Joual is spoken throughout Quebec and in francophone families in the Northeastern US, but it is most common in Beauce. For most people who speak French, especially if you learned Parisian French rather than Quebecois, it is particularly hard to understand. Not only is there a difference in pronunciation, but there are completely different words. For example, "tanante"=pas gentil, not nice; "aras"=aura, he/she/one will have; "entuka"=en tout cas, in any case.
A car is necessary for visiting La Beauce. The almost linear shape of the region, stretching from the US border to Lévis and Quebec City make either end a convenient place to start exploring the region. From Waterville, Maine and other points south, US 201 crosses the Appalachian mountains and reaches the US-Canadian border at the southern end of the region, becoming Route 173 (Route du President Kennnedy). From Quebec City, cross the Saint Lawrence River on the Pont Pierre-Laporte, entering the region on Autoroute 73.
Autoroute 73 and Route 173 cut through the region from the north to the south and many smaller roads run parallel and perpendicular to this main road, imposing a grid-like road pattern that's unexpected in this rolling landscape.
The region produces 90% of the world's maple syrup, and no visit to the region would be complete without a trip to one of many "cabanes à sucre" or sugar shacks. A large farming industry ensures that the food of La Beauce is of consistently high quality; no matter which of the townships you visit, you can be sure of a good meal.
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BEAUCE (Lat. Belsia), a physical region of north-central France, comprising large portions of the departments of Eure-etLoir and Loir-et-Cher, and also extending into those of Loiret and Seine-et-Oise. It has an area of over 2800 sq. m., its limits being roughly defined by the course of the Essonne on the E., of the Loire on the S., and of the Brenne, the Loir and the Eure towards the W., though in the latter direction it extends somewhat beyond these boundaries. The Beauce is a treeless, arid and monotonous plain of limestone formation; windmills and church spires are the only prominent features of the landscape. Apart from the rivers on its borders, it is watered by insignificant streams, of which the Conie in the west need alone be mentioned. The inhabitants live in large villages, and are occupied in agriculture, particularly in the cultivation of wheat, for which the Beauce is celebrated. Clover and lucerne are the other leading crops, and large flocks of sheep are kept in the region. Chartres is its chief commercial centre.
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