Walks and treks
Calanque d'En-Vau, Cassis
Cassis, Bouches-du-Rhône
The most beautiful of the calanques, the narrow limestone inlets of the Calanques National Park between Marseille and Cassis.
Travel tips in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, France
About Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur · All tips in France
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Country facts
Historic sites
Èze village
Èze, Alpes-Maritimes
A medieval village perched on a rocky peak 427 m above the Mediterranean, between Nice and Monaco.
Natural features
Gorges du Verdon
Castellane, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Europe's largest canyon, up to 700 m deep, carved by the turquoise Verdon river through the limestone of Provence.
Walks and treks
Montagne Sainte-Victoire
Puyloubier, Bouches-du-Rhône
The great white limestone ridge east of Aix-en-Provence, painted more than 80 times by Paul Cézanne.
Historic sites
Nice: Promenade des Anglais and Old Town
Nice, Alpes-Maritimes
Nice's famous seafront promenade curves for 7 km along the Baie des Anges, lined with palm trees and grand hotels such as the Negresco.
Historic sites
Palais des Papes, Avignon
Avignon, Vaucluse
The largest Gothic palace in the world, built in the 14th century when the popes lived in Avignon instead of Rome.
Natural features
Porquerolles
Hyères, Var
A car-free island off Hyères, part of the Port-Cros National Park, with pine woods, vineyards, cliffs and some of the most beautiful beaches in Franc…
Natural features
Route des Crêtes and Cap Canaille, Cassis
Cassis, Bouches-du-Rhône
A spectacular road along the top of the highest sea cliffs in mainland France, from Cassis to La Ciotat.
Historic sites
Château d'If
Marseille Endoume, Bouches-du-Rhône
A fortress on a tiny island in the bay of Marseille, built by François I and later a prison, made famous by Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cris…
Natural features
Fontaine-de-Vaucluse
Lagnes, Vaucluse
The mysterious source of the River Sorgue, a deep pool at the foot of a 230-metre cliff, one of the largest springs in the world.
Historic sites
Glanum
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône
The ruins of a Greek and Roman town at the foot of the Alpilles hills, with temples, baths, a forum and houses.
Historic sites
Le Thoronet Abbey
Le Thoronet, Var
One of the three Cistercian sister abbeys of Provence, built in the 12th century in a wooded valley, a masterpiece of pure, unadorned Romanesque arch…
Walks and treks
Massif de l'Estérel
Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel, Var
A range of red volcanic rock plunging into the blue Mediterranean between Saint-Raphaël and Cannes, crossed by the spectacular coast road, the Cornic…
Historic sites
Mont-Dauphin
Guillestre, Hautes-Alpes
A fortified town built by Vauban in 1693 on a rocky plateau where the Durance and Guil valleys meet, part of the World Heritage listing of his fortif…
Historic sites
Montmajour Abbey
Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône
A great Benedictine abbey on a rocky hill outside Arles, with a Romanesque church, a cloister with carved capitals and a fortified tower.
Historic sites
Pont Saint-Bénézet (Pont d'Avignon)
Avignon, Vaucluse
The bridge of the famous children's song 'Sur le pont d'Avignon'.
Natural features
Roussillon and the Ochre Trail
Apt, Vaucluse
A hilltop village in the Luberon, painted in every shade of red, orange and yellow from the ochre quarried here for centuries.
Historic sites
Trophy of Augustus, La Turbie
La Turbie, Alpes-Maritimes
A huge Roman monument raised in 6 BC on a pass above Monaco to celebrate Emperor Augustus's conquest of the Alpine tribes, whose 45 names are carved …
Natural features
Valensole lavender fields
Valensole, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
The Valensole plateau in Provence is covered with lavender fields that turn the land purple from about late June to mid-July, with rows stretching to…
Walks and treks
Vallée de la Clarée
Saint-Chaffrey, Hautes-Alpes
A beautiful unspoilt Alpine valley near Briançon, with larch forests, flowery meadows and old villages of wooden chalets such as Névache.
Historic sites
Monastère de Saorge
Breil-sur-Roya, Alpes-Maritimes
A 17th-century Franciscan monastery above the dramatic hill village of Saorge, whose tall houses cling to the cliffs of the Roya valley.