Provence & the Côte d'Azur

For many people, the pastoral landscapes of Provence are a French fantasy come true. Provence seems to sum up everything enviable about the French lifestyle: fantastic food, hilltop villages, legendary wines, bustling markets and a balmy climate. For decades, it's been a hotspot for holidaymakers and second-homers, inspired by the vision of the rustic good life depicted in Peter Mayle's classic 1989 travelogue, A Year in Provence.

For the quintessential Provençal countryside, the best place to begin is inland around the valleys and hills of the Luberon and Var. Further inland rises Provence's highest peak, Mont Ventoux, and beyond it, the snow-capped peaks of the Hautes-Alpes. Meanwhile, along the coast, the rough-and-ready port of Marseille, the tourist honeypot of St-Tropez, the dramatic cliffs of the Calanques and the flamingo-rich wetlands of the Camargue are all worthy of a detour.

Provence

Once upon a time, everyone called this glamorous stretch of Mediterranean coast the French Riviera; then in 1888 author Stéphen Liégeard dubbed it La Côte d'Azur, the name stuck and the rest is history. Whatever you prefer to call it, the seashore that extends from St-Tropez to the French-Italian border is one of the world's great seaside destinations, packed with gorgeous beaches, luxury hotels, designer bars, belle époque villas, coastal trails, red-rock headlands and offshore islands. From Monte Carlo's casino and Nice's Promenade des Anglais to the Cannes film festival and St-Tropez's yacht harbour, the Côte d'Azur is home to some of the most iconic spots in Europe's collective consciousness. Beyond the coast, the region is also home to some spectacular hilltop villages and mountain scenery, along with vineyards, flower farms that feed the French perfume industry and more than its fair share of great art museums.

Côte d'Azur

With its mix of real-city grit, old-world opulence, year-round sunshine, vibrant street life and stunning seaside location, no place in France compares with Nice. Mediterranean Magnetism Before everything else, there was the sea, and the Mediterranean climate – the twin factors that made Nice a tourist magnet as early as the 1700s. Look around and you’ll find the same elemental attractions that drew Europe's belle-époque aristocrats to promenade along the waterfront in horse-drawn carriages. Even now, nothing compares to the simple joy of a balmy beach day interspersed with a spot of people-watching astride the Promenade des Anglais' famous blue chairs. Whether you're skating, kayaking, swimming, sprawled on a beach lounger or transfixed by sunset over the ever-present Med, it's all still happening by the water. The Italian Influence For any lover of French and Italian culture, Nice is the perfect hybrid. Long affiliated with Piedmont and Liguria to the east, Savoy to the north and Sardinia to the south, this city only joined France in 1860 and has always kept one foot in Italy. The Italian influence remains palpable everywhere, in Vieux Nice's tall-shuttered, ochre-hued buildings that look airlifted straight in from Portofino, in the fresh pasta shops on every corner and even in the football cheer Issa Nissa! (Go Nice!), shouted in the local Nissart dialect that’s been coloured by Ligurian Italian as much as Occitan French. City of Artists The Côte d'Azur has ensnared many a visitor with the beauty of its light. Not least Henri Matisse, who came here to convalesce from bronchitis. When the sun finally emerged after a month of wintry drizzle, Matisse was so smitten that he made Nice his home for the next 37 years. Chagall, Picasso and Renoir also fell in love with this place, and Nice was later home to the influential avant-garde École de Nice. Art museums abound throughout the region, but Nice's three superstars – the Musées Matisse, Chagall and d’Art Moderne – are reason enough to justify an aesthetic pilgrimage here. Eating Niçois-Style Bring your appetite when you come to Nice. This city is meant for epicures. It all starts at Vieux Nice’s Saleya market, where small producers from the Alpine foothills bring in a bounty of fresh produce, and top chefs from surrounding restaurants shop right beside tourists. The city celebrates its uniqueness with street snacks like socca (chickpea pancakes), pissaladière (caramelised onion tart) or tourte de blettes (chard, raisin and pine nut pie), while its countless cosy bistros serve everything from hearty Provençal beef stew to true salade niçoise to pasta with pistou, and from fresh lemon tart to vegan cheesecake.

Nice

The 'mouths-of-the-Rhône', where one of Europe's great rivers splits before spilling its Swiss-Alpine snowmelt into the Mediterranean, is Provence's most populous département. Its palpitating heart is Marseille, a gritty former Greek colony, France's second-largest city, and a place of real cultural energy. Centred on the bristling masts and bluff forts of the Vieux Port, it has a strong Maghrebian flavour – imported from nearby Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco – and the idiosyncratic pride of a long-established seafaring city, which runs counterpoint to the restless energy of its arts, dining and cultural scenes. Spreading out from Marseille's concrete margins are pine-swaddled coastal uplands cut by ravishingly beautiful calanques (coves), while inland is the still-thriving Roman spa town of Aix-en-Provence, reposing handsomely in the Pays d’Aix (Aix Country) so beloved of Cézanne.

Bouches-du-Rhône

Named after France's most powerful natural spring, which wells up outside Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, the Vaucluse département sits on Provence's west side, sandwiched between the rumpled mountains of the Hautes-Alpes and the rocky Var coastline. Crossed by three great rivers – the Rhône, the Durance and the Sorgue – Vaucluse is renowned for its lavender fields and its vineyards, including the legendary Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The area has been occupied since ancient times, but it was the Romans who left the greatest mark in the form of Orange's ancient theatre and the remains of two Roman towns, Glanum and Vasio Vocontiorum. Centuries later, Avignon became the seat of papal power, and its crenellated ramparts and monumental Palais des Papes provide a glimpse of medieval majesty. These days visitors come to explore Vaucluse's hilltop villages, elegant towns and excellent restaurants – as well as the snowcapped summit of the géant de Provence, Mont Ventoux.

Vaucluse

Sizzling shoreline hogs the headlines here, and the coast is undeniably magnetic, but there’s so much more to Var than super-yachts and overpriced bouillabaisse. A string of stunning islands, magnificent secluded monasteries, and uplands dotted with memorable villages make this département one of the most varied and enticing in Provence. By all means, spend time on the area's many capes, people-watching on a terrace and sipping a cappuccino alongside a yacht-lined quay. Then head out to explore the region’s soul-stirring coastal paths, chichi beach clubs and vine-knitted capes. When you’re ready to move out of the limelight, you’ll be enveloped by nature in the Massif des Maures, where thick chestnut groves harbour small villages and unforgettable vistas. The main trio of islands in the Îles d'Hyères offers splendid, quiet coastal escapes. Inland, in the Haut-Var, meander through stone villages, each with its own character and history.

Provence might conjure up images of rolling fields and gentle hills, but east of the Luberon you’ll find yourself travelling through altogether more dramatic landscapes. Rising like a tooth-lined jawbone along the border with Italy, just an hour’s drive north of Nice, lie the Alps – France’s most famous mountain range, a haven for mountaineers, hikers and wildlife spotters, and home to some of the region’s most unforgettable scenery.

Cloaked in snow well into springtime, the mountains of Haute-Provence are divided by six main valleys, connected by some of the highest and most hair-raising road passes anywhere in Europe – an absolute must for road-trippers. At the heart of the area sprawls the huge Parc National du Mercantour, home to a host of rare wildlife, sky-top villages and pristine natural habitats. Make sure you keep the camera close to hand: there’s a picture around every corner.

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

Where the Petit Rhône and Grand Rhône meet the Mediterranean, the Camargue arises: 930 sq km of sansouires (salt flats), étangs (small saltwater lakes) and marshlands, interspersed with farmland.

Forget all about time in this hauntingly beautiful part of Provence, roamed by black bulls, white horses and pink flamingos. This is slow-go country, a timeless wetland chequered with silver salt pans, waterlogged rice paddies and traditional gardians ('cowboys'). But birds are perhaps the delta's greatest feature – flamingos are the obvious star attraction, but there are countless other species to spot.

The main town of the region, diminutive Arles, is a show-stopper. Wander the narrow golden-hued streets, the same ones that famously inspired Van Gogh, to find the town's lovely restored Roman amphitheatre, top-notch art and history museums, and world-class restaurants.

The Camargue's two largest towns are the seaside pilgrim's outpost Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer and, to the northwest, the walled town of Aigues-Mortes.

Camargue

Named after the mountain range running east–west between Cavaillon and Manosque, the Luberon is a Provençal patchwork of hilltop villages, vineyards, ancient abbeys and mile after mile of fragrant lavender fields. It’s a rural, traditional region that still makes time for the good things in life – particularly fine food and even finer wine. Nearly every village hosts its own weekly market, packed with stalls selling local specialities, especially olive oil, honey and lavender. Covering some 600 sq km, the Luberon massif itself is divided into three areas: the craggy Petit Luberon in the west, the higher Grand Luberon mountains, and the smaller hills of the Luberon Oriental in the east. They’re all worth exploring, but whatever you do, don’t rush – part of the fun of exploring here is getting lost on the back lanes, stopping for lunch at a quiet village cafe, and taking as much time as you possibly can to soak up the scenery.

The Luberon

Grit and grandeur coexist seamlessly in Marseille, an exuberantly multicultural port city with a pedigree stretching back to classical Greece and a fair claim to the mantle of France's second city. Once seen as somewhat dirty and dangerous, and lacking the glamour of Cannes or St-Tropez, this black sheep of the Provençal coastline has blossomed in cultural confidence since its 2013 stint as the European Capital of Culture. The addition of a brace of swanky new museums is just the outward sign of an optimism and self-belief that's almost palpable. Marseille's heart is the vibrant Vieux Port (old port), mast-to-mast with yachts and pleasure boats. Just uphill is the ancient Le Panier neighbourhood, the oldest section of the city. Also worth an explore is the République quarter, with its stylish boutiques and Haussmannian buildings, and the Joliette area, centred on Marseille’s totemic Cathédrale de Marseille Notre Dame de la Major.

Marseille

Dominated by the eponymous elegance of Aix-en-Provence, picturesque Pays d’Aix ('Aix Country'), is a classic Provençal territory of wooded hills, prosperous farms and vineyards, and charismatic stone villages perched on the hillsides that once gave them defensive advantages. Made perhaps most famous by Paul Cézanne, who painted this landscape extensively (especially the iron-grey eminence of Montagne Ste-Victoire) it still draws locals and foreigners alike to its many delights. Hiking is a popular pastime here, and there are some fabulous restaurants just a short drive from Aix.

Pays d’Aix

Created in 1979, this vast national park covers seven alpine valleys and a total area of 685 sq km. Pocked by deep valleys and spiked with jagged peaks, and dominated by the Cime du Gélas (3143m), the third-highest mountain in the Alps-Maritimes, it’s a haven for outdoor activities: skiing and snowboarding in winter, hiking and biking in summer, and pretty much everything else besides.

It’s also celebrated for its flora and fauna, including rare species such as the ibex, the mouflon, the golden eagle and wild grey wolves, which you can see at the excellent Alpha wolf park near the mountain village of St-Martin-Vésubie. The park is currently at the forefront over the debate of the return of the wild wolf to France: after more than a century of absence, wolf numbers are increasing – a cause of celebration for conservationists, and of deep anger for local farmers.