Guide to Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur

Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur

Region comprising the départements of:
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04)
Hautes-Alpes (05)
Alpes-Maritimes (06)
Bouches-du-Rhône (13)
Var (83)
Vaucluse(84)

Total population: 4.3 million

Principal city: Marseille
Tourist board

Marseille, the regional capital, has a population of more than a million, and was the first city to be founded in France (by the Phoenicians in the 6th century BC). It is the principal seaport in France and third largest in Europe.

As it nears the Mediterranean, the Rhône, to the west of Marseille, splits into the large and small Rhône and forms an extensive delta containing the large, often marshy, expanse known as the Camargue. Partly cultivated with rice, it is best known as the home of white horses, black bulls and pink flamingos.

For many years, the Côte d'Azur has been one of the world's best-known holiday areas. The resorts are set out like the diamonds on film star's necklace: Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Cannes . . . and have something of a reputation for costing nearly as much. Nice, being one of France's largest cities and a magnet for the beau monde, needs no introduction. But 30 miles behind its famous beaches there are flower-swathed hillsides and spectacular Alpine scenery.

The Var is more laid back than the Côte d'Azur, with a measured sophistication. There is as much high life as you can find in any big city, but there is also deep, deep rurality on everyone's doorstep. The coastal resorts need no introduction at all: St-Raphaël, Fréjus, Ste-Maxime, St-Tropez, Bormes-les-Mimosas, and Hyères. The Var is also home to the largest canyon in Europe: the gorges du Verdon, which is a paradise for climbers and canoeists.

If you're talking Provence, you're probably talking about the Vaucluse département. This is the département Peter Mayle made famous to tourists — almost to bursting point — although it has always been a representative sample of life in the south. Artists are drawn to the hilltop villages of Provence, in particular Gordes and Bonnieux.

Orange, noted for its Roman remains, became French in only 1713; before that it had belonged to the Netherlands. Indeed, there are Roman remains wherever you go in Vaucluse. Vaison-la-Romaine is a delightful town in three distinct parts: the Roman city, the medieval hilltop town, and the new town.

Avignon is most famous for its bridge, originally consisting of 22 arches, of which only 4 now remain after a flood in 1668. The song Sur le Pont d'Avignon is actually a corruption: the dancing was originally performed on an island under the bridge. The 14th-century Palais des Papes, which overlooks the bridge, is testament to the fact that the city was for a short time the capital of Catholicism.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape, named after a papal fortress built there in the 14th century, is one of the best known French wines and is a byword for quality and character. This is largely thanks to a group of vignerons who in 1923 drew up a charter that is the basis of the Appellation Contrôlée.

The Queyras regional park and the Écrins national park are some of Europe's highest reserves. The latter contains such notable peaks as the Meije, Pelvoux, Ailefroide and Agneaux, and its aims are to sustain the traditional way of life, protect the Oisans massif, safeguard the ecological systems and record their rich diversity. Other points of interest are Saint-Véran, Europe's highest village (2040m), and the col d'Izoard, the highest point of the Tour de France.

Red wines are predominant here, and vary from the delicate and supple to the bold and curvacious. The gastronomy of the region is famously Mediterranean: bouillabaisse, aïoli etc … just about anything made with fresh vegetables, herbes de Provence and olives goes.

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04)

Population: 131,000
Principal city: Digne
Tourist board

One of the best known attractions of this département is the gorges du Verdon, an impressive river canyon. And there are many other geological features worth visiting, such as the gorges de Trévans near Mézel and the passses of Taulanne and Chabrières. This beautiful region is also very popular with parascenders, hang-gliders, microlighters, canoeists, rafters and windsurfers.

Just about every small town and village is worth visiting for its ancient buildings. Forcalquier's cathedral, the fort at Sisteron, the fortified town of Manosque and the citadel of Entrevaux are just a small selection of the département's must-sees.

The Alpes-de-Haute-Provence boast enviable weather conditions: more than 300 days of sunshine per year, with pleasant temperatures year-round and pure, dry air. The spring and autumn seasons bring delicious mushrooms and fungi: morels, ceps, oronges, petits gris, sanguins, as well as the prized truffles. The area is also famous for its goat's cheeses, such as Banon, and for nougat.

Hautes-Alpes (05)

Population: 113,000
Principal city: Gap
Tourist board

Much of the attraction of this département stems from the outdoor life (walking, skiing, canoeing etc), and the beauty of nature, which featured boldly in the Juliette Binoche film Horseman on the Roof. The torrential waters coming off the Alps have carved spectacles like the Méouge Gorge, and the rock-and-alluvium columns capped with large boulders, dubbed the Demoiselles coiffées, are intriguing sights.

The Queyras regional park and the Écrins national park are some of Europe's highest reserves. The latter contains such notable peaks as the Meije, Pelvoux, Ailefroide and Agneaux, and its aims are to sustain the traditional way of life, protect the Oisans massif, safeguard the ecological systems and record their rich diversity. Its flora is very representative of the Alpine environment and includes several rare species, including reine des Alpes, lady's slipper, orange lily, aquilegia and wormwood.

Animal life is also very rich: more than 30 species of mammal, from the chamois to the vole, and 90 species of nesting bird, including the golden eagle.

Other points of interest are Saint-Véran, Europe's highest village (2040m), and the col d'Izoard, the highest point of the Tour de France.

Alpes-Maritimes (06)

Population: 1 million
Principal city: Nice
Tourist board

For many years, the Côte d'Azur has been one of the world's best-known holiday areas. The resorts are set out like the diamonds on film star's necklace: Antibes, Juan-ldes-Pins, Cannes . . . and have something of a reputation for costing nearly as much. The well-heeled enclave of Monaco adds to the coastline's scintillating image.

The capital Nice, being one of France's largest cities and a magnet for the beau monde, needs no introduction. But 30 miles behind its famous beaches there are flower-swathed hillsides and spectacular Alpine scenery.

The Mercantour national park was created to protect and better understand the ecology of this particularly rich environment. Its 265 sq miles contain no permanent residents; only in the summer months are a few hamlets inhabited. Dogs, tents and motorised vehicles are banned from the park.

The Route Napoléon — taken by the ex-emperor on his return to France from exile in Elba in 1815 — passes through the hinterland of Grasse, a charming old town a centre for perfume making since the 17th century.

The botanical traditions are many in the corner of France; Menton, in reply to Nice's internationally renowned flower parade each year, has its own lemon festival. And the lavender fields of Provence are legendary.

Bouches-du-Rhône (13)

Population: 1.7 million
Principal city: Marseille
Tourist board

There are seemingly equal amounts of plain and mountain in the Bouches-du-Rhône. Ste-Victoire is one of Provence's key sights. Its solid, hunched outline, beloved of Cézanne, emerges from the Aix countryside like an island out of the sea.

On the north-west side of Marseille is the Estaque chain; on the south-east are the calanques: 20 kilometres of coastline where limestone peaks drop abruptly into crystalline blue waters, forming Mediterranean fjords. Rare species of flora and fauna, including several raptors, are also found in the calanques.

The west of the département is far from mountainous: the Camargue is also a unique environment of marshes and lagoons, the habitat of white horses, black bulls and pink flamingoes.

Provençal crafts and traditions are famously locked into the environment; certainly the Camargue has its own set of lore built around the bull. Other sources of pride for the Provençals are Marseille soap, pastis, pétanque (allegedly invented in La Ciotat in 1910) and Christmas santons (hand-made crib figurines depicting Provençal characters). Another popular export is the Provençal print: the bright, bold fashion exclamation that adorns most types of garment, from scarves to boxer shorts.

There are many feasts, festivals and férias throughout the year. There are also many museums, including the museum of the French Foreign Legion at Aubagne, the Nostradamus museum at Salon-de-Provence, and the several homages to Vincent van Gogh around St Rémy-de-Provence.

Var (83)

Population: 816,000
Principal city: Toulon
Tourist board

Samuel Johnson might have said that "When a man is tired of London he is tired of life", but the Var is where you would come if you were indeed tired of London. It is laid back, but with measured sophistication. There is as much high life as you can find in any big city, but there is also deep, deep rurality on everyone's doorstep. The coastal resorts need no introduction at all: St-Raphaël, Fréjus, Ste-Maxime, St-Tropez, Bormes-les-Mimosas, and Hyères. The Var is also home to the largest canyon in Europe: the gorges du Verdon, which is a paradise for climbers and canoeists.

The land and the sea are equal partners in creating identity of the Var. The activities span the extremes of effort: from sunbathing, through golf and cycling to canyoning and other exhilarating outdoor sports. And there are many leisurely cultural sorties to be made out in the countryside: the château de Vins, with its training sessions and concerts; the Roman amphitheatre at Fréjus ("the Pompeii of Provence"), the magnificent château d'Entrecasteaux, the abbaye du Thoronet, and the citadel of St-Tropez.

Along the length of the littoral run the wooded hills of the Maures; containing hundreds of hectares of protected countryside. The corniche des Marues is a suberb route that winds its way through pines and down to the sea. The River Verdon has a wealth of perfectly preserved nature hidden in its gorges, bends and peaks, with villages perched high up in the clouds (like Trigance, for example, at 800 metres). Amongst the many towns worthy of visit are Barjols, with 33 its fountains; Brignoles, the city of the counts of Provence; Fox-Amphoux, the old village perched on a hill and the abbey at Thoronet, built in 1160.

The Var boasts the oldest vineyards in France; red wines are predominant here, and vary from the delicate and supple to the bold and curvacious. The gastronomy of the region is famously Mediterranean: bouillabaisse, aïoli etc... just about anything made with fresh vegetables, herbes de Provence and olives goes.

Vaucluse (84)
Population: 467,000
Principal city: Avignon
Tourist board

If you're talking Provence, you're probably talking about the Vaucluse département. This is the département Peter Mayle made famous to tourists — almost to bursting point — although it has always been a representative sample of life in the south. Artists are drawn to the hilltop villages of Provence, in particular Gordes and Bonnieux. The surrealistic landscape of the ochre quarries near Roussillon and the glowing hues of this natural pigment give us many colourful and picturesque towns and villages. The bell-towers (known as les clochettes du Seigneur) are very distinctive in this part of France. Made out of wrought iron, their cage-like structure protects the bell from the destructive force of the Mistral. Bories, stone-built structures dating from the Middle Ages, exist all over France, but near Gordes stands the Village des Bories, consisting of about twenty of these primitive shelters.

Orange, noted for its Roman remains, became French in only 1713; before that it had belonged to the Netherlands. Indeed, there are Roman remains wherever you go in Vaucluse. Vaison-la-Romaine is a delightful town in three distinct parts: the Roman city, the medieval hilltop town, and the new town. FRANCE Magazine launched a fund-raising appeal to help the town after the terrible floods of 1992 that resulted in 37 deaths and damage to both the ancient Roman ruins and the modern town. The readers of FRANCE Magazine and the French holiday company VFB presented Vaison-la-Romaine with a cheque for 100,000FF — a fee that went towards the repair of the Roman sites.

Avignon is most famous for its bridge, originally consisting of 22 arches, of which only 4 now remain after a flood in 1668. The song Sur le Pont d'Avignon is actually a corruption: the dancing was originally performed on an island under the bridge. The 14th-century Palais des Papes, which overlooks the bridge, is testament to the fact that the city was for a short time the capital of Catholicism. Pope Clement V moved the papal court there in 1309, and it remained there until 1377, during which time the episcopal palace was transformed into a large and heavily fortified complex, necessary to protect the papacy from the unrest prevalent at the time.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape, named after a papal fortress built there in the 14th century, is one of the best known French wines and is a byword for quality and character. This is largely thanks to a group of vignerons who in 1923 drew up a charter which is the basis of the Appellation Contrôlée. Pomelkophiles (people who appreciate corkscrews) will be drawn to the unusual corkscrew museum in Ménerbes created by film-maker Yves Rousset-Rouard. Appropriately, a winery is also situated on the same site. Another speciality of the area comes from the town of Cavaillon: it lives and breathes melons, which have been providing the inhabitants with a livelihood for centuries. Every year the melon is celebrated with a festival.