Var
A 1975 mosaic by Marc Chagall illuminates this 13th-century Romanesque chapel, 4.5km east of Les Arcs-sur-Argens. The church contains a crystal shrine…
Must-see attractions in Var
Var
France’s first marine national park, dating to 1963, Port-Cros boasts exceptional marine fauna and flora, which makes it a snorkelling paradise. It…
Var
The majestic 12th-century Monastère de la Verne sits on a forested ridge in the Massif des Maures, rising like an island of honeyed stone in a sea of…
Var
The simplest but most beautiful of 'The Sisters' (a trio of great Provençal Cistercian abbeys including Silvacane and Notre-Dame de Sénanque), Thoronet,…
Var
Growing continuously since its conception in 1910, this stunning garden, with plants from all Mediterranean climates, is wonderful for a stroll or a…
Var
The protected Vallon Sourn, where the swift waters of the Argens have cut a picturesque canyon from the soft rock, is a haven for for walking, cycling,…
Var
Over 2000 years of human habitation are layered in Hyères’ attractive old town, which begins on the western side of place Georges Clemenceau at the 13th…
Var
A 40-minute forest trail leads from La Ste-Baume to the Grotte de Ste-Madeleine (950m), a mountain cave where Mary Magdalene is said to have spent the…
Toulon
Toulon has a long naval history, and remains an important commercial and military port. This historic portside building holds a very good, modern…
Var
This sanctuary protects one of France’s most endangered species, the Hermann tortoise (Testudo hermanni) today found only in the Massif des Maures and on…
Var
This 16th-century fortification contains historical and natural-history exhibits, and its tower has lovely island views. Much of the building dates from…
Var
A private residence of the president from 1968 to 2013, the Fort de Brégançon is now an accessible national monument. Located on a scenic peninsula 20…
Toulon
North of the city, Mont Faron (589m) towers over Toulon, and the views are, as you would expect, epic. Near the summit the Mémorial du Débarquement de…
Var
Built over an earlier Christian structure (itself sitting on the foundations of a Roman villa), this 12th-century Benedictine Romanesque abbey has been…
Var
Picturesque plantations spread out around this farm at the foot of Callas, where Andrew, Mathieu and Anthony Bérenguier are the fourth generation of an…
Var
Attached to Aups tourist office you'll find this shop selling the 'black diamond' of Aups in various forms (whole, in pastes and pastas). It's also home…
Var
Sharing the Maison Waldberg with the Seillans tourist office is this gallery of work by Dorothea Tanning and surrealist Max Ernst, who lived in Seillans…
Var
Côtes de Provence and La Londe Appellation rosés, reds and whites can be tasted at this winery with a view of the sea. Technically it's in Bormes-les…
Var
Excellent wines are produced using traditional methods, in vineyards originally cultivated by monks in the 12th century. Ring the bell if it seems no one…
Var
Scenic, with a cellar located under a former Carthusian monastery, des Bormettes is also ancient, with evidence of wine-production in the area going to…
Var
Not content with owning just one island (Bendor), in 1958 Paul Ricard also bought the largest of the Embiez archipelago, 1km off the Presqu’île du Cap…
Var
A place of exile during the 17th century, once-desolate pinprick Bendor was subsequently abandoned for 250 years. Then in 1951 along came Paul Ricard, a…
Var
Sitting in a delightful 500-hectare valley planted with ancient vines and olive groves, Château de Miraval was a monastery in the 13th century, then…
Var
A eucalypt-shaded pétanque pitch dominates central place d’Armes, which, as its name suggests, was once a parade ground. Music concerts fill Église Ste…
Var
A cubist maze of concrete and glass, the villa was designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens in 1923 as a winter residence for devoted lover of modern art Vicomte…
Institut Océanographique Paul Ricard
Var
This research institute on the Île des Embiez, dedicated to understanding and conserving the Mediterranean's marine environment, has a small aquarium to…
Var
While there's been a fortress on this site since the 11th centry, the present handsome pile was assembled piecemeal between the 15th and 18th centuries…
Jardin Emanuel Lopez & Conservatoire Botanique National Méditerranéen
Var
This wonderful ornamental garden is planted with palms, cypresses, vanilla and grenadier trees, cactus and bamboo, sweetly scented jasmine, and every herb…
Mémorial du Débarquement de Provence
Toulon
Near the summit of Mont Faron, Mémorial du Débarquement de Provence commemorates the Allied landings of Operation Dragoon, which took place along the…
Var
This 17th-century fort, strengthened by Napoleon after being partly destroyed by the English, crowns the northwestern part of Port-Cros. You can climb its…
Var
One of three estates comprising Domaines Ott, a winemaking concern with roots in the late 19th-century, Clos Mireille is still run by descendants of…
Var
Within sight of the Îles d’Hyères, this 52-acre vineyard abuts the early-18th-century Château de Brégançon.
