Arles
In Roman Gaul, every important town had an amphitheatre, where gladiators and wild animals met their (usually grisly) ends. Few examples have survived,…
Must-see attractions in Provence
Avignon
The largest Gothic palace ever built, the Palais des Papes was erected by Pope Clement V, who abandoned Rome in 1309 in the wake of violent disorder after…
The Luberon
If you're searching for that classic postcard shot of the medieval abbey surrounded by a sea of purple lavender, look no further. This sublime Cistercian…
The Luberon
Named after its fiery red and orange landscape (which locals likened to Colorado), this former ochre quarry is one of the best places to appreciate the…
Les Calanques
The calanques (coves) of the coast surrounding Marseille became France's 10th national park in 2012, preserving their astonishing beauty and harbouring an…
Avignon
Legend says Pastor Bénézet (a former shepherd) had three visions urging him to build a bridge across the Rhône. Completed in 1185, the 900m-long bridge…
Marseille
Ships have docked for millennia at Marseille’s birthplace, the vibrant Vieux Port. The main commercial docks were transferred to the Joliette area in the…
Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
Marseille
Occupying Marseille’s highest point, La Garde (154m), this opulent 19th-century Romano-Byzantine basilica is Marseille's most-visited icon. Built on the…
The Luberon
In the scrubby hills about 6km south of Bonnieux, a twisty back road slopes up to this wonderful cedar forest, whose spreading boughs provide welcome…
Arles
Housed in a listed 15th-century manor, now twice repurposed (its other incarnation was as a bank), this Van Gogh–themed gallery is a must-see, as much for…
Aix-en-Provence
Aix established one of France's first public museums here, on the site of a former Hospitallers' priory, in 1838. Nearly 200 years of acquisitions …
Marseille
'The Basket' is Marseille's oldest quarter – site of the original Greek settlement and nicknamed for its steep streets and buildings. Its close, village…
Avignon
The archbishops' palace during the 14th and 15th centuries now houses outstanding collections of primitive, pre-Rennaissance, 13th- to 16th-century…
Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
Marseille
The icon of modern Marseille, this stunning museum explores the history, culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region through anthropological…
Aix-en-Provence
The Caumont is a stellar art space housed inside the Mazarin quarter’s grandest 18th-century hôtel particulier (mansion). While there are three quality…
Marseille
In the heart of Marseille's Le Panier quarter is this grand and gorgeous almshouse, built by Pierre Puget (1620–94), an architect and sculptor born just a…
Chapelle Notre Dame de Beauvoir
Gorges du Verdon
High above the village, Moustiers' 14th-century church clings to a cliff ledge like an eagle’s nest. A steep trail climbs beside a waterfall to the chapel…
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Situated 4km south of Forcalquier near Mane, this peaceful priory dates from the 13th century. It’s well worth a visit to wander around its medieval herb…
Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau
Camargue
Flamingos are a dime a dozen in the Camargue, but this park is one of the best places to see the many other migratory and seasonal species that thrive in…
Camargue
This remote nature centre, 12km south of Salin de Giraud, organises fantastic forays through 702 hectares of protected marshland, scrubby glasswort,…
Arles
This superb 150-year-old museum, housed in an exquisitely renovated 15th-century Hospitaller priory by the Rhône, might be assumed old-fashioned, yet its…
The Luberon
This distillery on the edge of Buoux uses locally grown lavender, cypress and rosemary in its products. It also rents out three gorgeous self-contained…
Aix-en-Provence
Eight kilometres southwest of Aix is the town of Les Milles, where this imposing factory produced bricks and tiles from 1882 until 31 August 1939, when it…
Marseille
Commanding access to Marseille's Vieux Port, this photogenic island-fortress was immortalised in Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 classic The Count of Monte Cristo…
Marseille
Set in the lavish, colonnaded Palais de Longchamp, Marseille’s oldest museum owes its existence to an 1801 decree of pre-Napoleonic France's short-lived…
Marseille
Marseille's most vibrant bohemian quarter centres on Cours Julien, an elongated concrete square shaded by palm trees. It’s lined with great bars, cafes…
Cassis
The 'Road of Crests' offers heart-stopping panoramas as it traverses the 13 winding kilometres of stunning coastal and upland scenery between Cassis and…
Marseille
Perched high above the southern side of the Vieux Port are the six immaculately grassed hectares of the Jardin du Pharo, the grounds of the Palais du…
Marseille
This teeny tiny art gallery, located along a narrow sloping road in the historic neighbourhood of Le Panier, offers a platform to emerging artists and a…
Marseille
To the west of the Vieux Port lies Abbaye St-Victor, the birthplace of Christianity in Marseille, built on a 3rd century BC necropolis. It's €2 to visit…
Aix-en-Provence
Built in 1860 as the centrepiece to the place de la Rotonde, the roundabout at the western edge of Cours Mireabeau, this magnificent fountain is adorned…
Marseille
Its subdued façade makes the Fotokino visual art gallery easy to miss, but inside it offers a dazzling world of graphic eye-candy. Expect illustrations,…
Cassis
Looming, rock-pitted and scrubby Cap Canaille (394m) forms the natural southern border to Cassis' harbour. From the top, captivating views unfold across…
Les Calanques
The largest calanque hit headlines in 1991 when diver Henri Cosquer from Cassis swam through a 150m-long passage 36m underwater and into a cave, only to…
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
The Route du Temps is a signed route that winds through some of the area's most dramatic valleys, historical sites and rock formations; it starts just…
Les Calanques
To the east of the Parc National des Calanques, the stone-sculptured coast brings you to three remote calanques: En-Vau, Port-Pin and Port-Miou. A steep…
Marseille
The old maritime neighbourhood of La Joliette, moribund since the decline of the 19th-century docks, has been revitalised by bars, shops and restaurants…
Les Calanques
Rocky, pine-covered Cap Morgiou plunges to meet the Med at the eponymous Calanque de Morgiou – a pretty little port bobbing with fishing boats and sheer…
Arles
Named for Arles' semi-mythical first archbishop, this Romanesque-style church, built over a 5th-century basilica, was a cathedral until the bishopric…
Aix-en-Provence
No streetscape better epitomises Provence’s most graceful city than this 440m-long, fountain-studded street, sprinkled with Renaissance hôtels…
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