Provence & Cote d'Azur

Lavender fields, Provence
Lavender Field in Provence

The sun always seems to be shining on Provence. Villages like Aix, Apt, Carpentras, and Saint-Didier entice visitors and residents alike with markets that seem like casual open-air monuments to the earth's bounty. But Provence offers more than landscape and cuisine alone. Visit the ancient city of Avignon, for example, and you'll see spectacular centuries-old buildings, including the Palais des Papes, built in the 14th century after Pope Clement V left the Vatican to establish a papal seat here. Nearby Nîmes safeguards spectacular Roman ruins.

Principal City: Marseille
Tourist Board: Marseille

 

Port Vauban, Antibes
Port Vauban in Antibes

The Côte d'Azur also possesses another, equally romantic name: the French Riviera. No term more immediately conjures alluring images of jet-set privilege, gathering during the day to play along beaches filled with scantily clad goddesses and gods and to shop in exclusive boutiques; and at night to mingle leisurely in haute cuisine restaurants or play thrilling casino games of chance in towns strung like pearls along the Mediterranean shore.

 

Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur Departments

Alpes de Haut Provence (04) | Hautes Alpes (05) | Bouches-du-Rhône (13) | Var (83) | Vaucluse(84) | Alpes Maritimes (06)