Provence

Provence's beaches are on its Var coast and around Marseille, and they vary a lot. Pampelonne near Saint-Tropez is a long stretch of fine sand with a beach-club culture. The Hyères peninsula and the island of Porquerolles have pale sand and clear, shallow water that looks almost tropical. The calanques between Marseille and Cassis are narrow rocky inlets with deep turquoise water, reached on foot or by boat. Between them, the Corniche des Maures has small sandy coves under pine-covered hills.

The sea reaches about 23°C to 25°C from late June to September, and you can swim from June to early October. A strong mistral can churn the water and cool it for a few days. In August the coast is very crowded, so June and September are easier months. If beaches are your priority, stay on the coast. Inland Provence, the Luberon and the Alpilles, is a long drive from the sea.

Provençal cooking is built on olive oil, garlic, herbs, tomatoes and the sea. Marseille is the place for bouillabaisse, the classic fish stew, and its North African neighbourhoods add couscous and pastries. Inland you find daube, a slow beef stew, tapenade, aïoli served with vegetables and salt cod, and black truffles in winter around Carpentras. The weekly open-air markets in Aix, Apt, Carpentras, Saint-Rémy and dozens of villages are a large part of a visit. They sell cheeses, olives, melons from Cavaillon and seasonal produce.

Wine is everywhere. Pale rosé is the summer drink. Bandol makes serious reds near the coast, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the Rhône villages are a short drive from Avignon. Country restaurants in the Luberon and the Alpilles range from simple village bistros to well-known tasting menus. The weakness is range: away from Marseille there is little besides French and Provençal cooking.

Provence has a long, layered history across several towns. Avignon has the Palais des Papes, the largest Gothic palace in Europe, the broken Pont Saint-Bénézet and intact medieval walls. Arles has a Roman amphitheatre and theatre, Romanesque cloisters at Saint-Trophime and the places Van Gogh painted. Orange has one of the best-preserved Roman theatres anywhere, and Vaison-la-Romaine has excavated streets of a Roman town. Aix-en-Provence offers fountains, seventeenth-century mansions and Cézanne's studio.

Marseille has a different character, with Notre-Dame de la Garde above the Vieux-Port, the Vieille Charité almshouse and the MuCEM museum of Mediterranean civilisations by the old fort. The countryside has three austere Cistercian abbeys, Sénanque, Le Thoronet and Silvacane, as well as the ruined citadel of Les Baux. No single town holds it all, so plan for several bases or a car.

Most nights in Provence are long dinners on a terrace, followed by a drink in a village square. Livelier going out happens in two places. Marseille has a real city scene around Cours Julien and La Plaine, with dive bars, cocktail bars, rooftops and clubs that stay open late. Saint-Tropez is the other, a small but famous summer scene of beach clubs, yacht crowds and expensive clubs from June to early September. Aix has student bars around its old-town squares, and Avignon is busy in July. Elsewhere, most villages are quiet by eleven.

Provence has a wide range of landscapes. The Gorges du Verdon form a limestone canyon up to 700m deep with a turquoise river, good for rim walks, kayaking and climbing. Calanques National Park stretches from Marseille to Cassis, with white cliffs and coastal trails above the sea. Mont Ventoux rises bare above the plain and draws cyclists to climb it. To the south, the Camargue delta has flamingos, white horses and black bulls in a flat world of lagoons and reeds.

In between are the Luberon and Alpilles hills, Sainte-Victoire above Aix, lavender on the Valensole plateau in late June and July, and the protected islands of Port-Cros and Porquerolles. Spring and autumn are best for walking. In high summer the heat is intense, and many massifs and calanques are closed on days of high fire risk.

Day trips are one of Provence's great strengths, because almost any base has a dozen good outings within an hour. From the Luberon or Avignon you can reach the hilltop villages of Gordes, Roussillon with its ochre cliffs, Ménerbes and Bonnieux. L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue sits on its canals, Saint-Rémy and Les Baux are in the Alpilles, and the wine villages of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas are close by. Just across the Rhône are Nîmes, the Pont du Gard and Uzès.

From the coast, Cassis is a fishing harbour, Porquerolles is a short ferry ride from Hyères, and Saint-Tropez is a day out by boat from Sainte-Maxime. Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, known for its faience, is a long but rewarding drive. Most of these trips need a car.

Families usually come to Provence for a rented house with a pool, or a campsite near the coast, rather than for attractions. The shallow sandy beaches around Hyères, Porquerolles and the Gulf of Saint-Tropez suit young children. Canoeing in the Verdon or on the Sorgue, horse riding in the Camargue and the Roman arenas in Arles and Nîmes appeal to older ones. A few amusement and water parks sit near Marseille and Toulon, but nothing on a large scale.

The difficulties are July heat, long car journeys and steep perched villages where pushchairs are hard to use. Village life is relaxed and welcoming to children, with long lunches and evening squares where they can run about.

Moving between the main towns is easy. Trains link Marseille, Aix, Avignon, Arles and Toulon, and the old centres are compact and walkable. The villages, vineyards, abbeys and gorges are mostly out of reach without a car, as regional buses are sparse. Roads are good and distances short, but the narrow lanes in the hills and finding a parking space in perched villages take patience. The coast is the hardest part in summer. The road into Saint-Tropez is notoriously jammed in July and August, so the ferries across the gulf are the better option. Marseille has a metro and trams but tiring traffic.

The best shopping in Provence is at its markets and in its crafts. Weekly markets sell printed Provençal fabrics, olive-wood bowls, lavender and herbs alongside the produce. L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is one of France's largest antiques centres, with a Sunday market and permanent dealers' halls. Look for Marseille soap, Moustiers faience, painted clay santons and pottery from the Luberon and around Aubagne. Aix has the most rounded town-centre shopping, with fashion and food shops in its old streets. Saint-Tropez has a small but serious cluster of luxury boutiques in summer. There is little beyond these in the way of big shopping streets or department stores.

In the summer season Provence is expensive. Villa rentals and boutique hotels in the Luberon and Alpilles cost a lot, and Saint-Tropez and the Var coast are among the priciest stays in France in July and August. Restaurants with a view or a reputation charge accordingly. Marseille, Avignon, Arles and the less famous villages of the Var and Haute-Provence are more reasonable. Market food, set lunch menus and local wine keep daily costs down. Spring and autumn bring lower prices and fewer crowds.

Performing arts in Provence are at their best in summer, and above all in July. The Avignon theatre festival is one of the most important in the world. Its official programme runs in the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des Papes and in cloisters, churches, gymnasiums and theatres across the town and beyond. A huge fringe fills almost every hall and courtyard from morning until late at night. Aix-en-Provence holds an opera festival of international rank in June and July, with productions in the courtyard of the old Archbishop's Palace. Opera is also staged in the Roman theatre at Orange through the early summer, and piano recitals run in a park at La Roque-d'Anthéron in July and August.

The rest of the year is a regular regional programme rather than a draw. Marseille has its opera house, the Criée theatre on the Vieux-Port and a lively live-music scene, especially rap and world music. Aix has the Grand Théâtre de Provence, which hosts touring orchestras. Avignon and Toulon have their own opera houses. Visitors who come for performances should plan the trip for the festival season and book ahead.

Provence is more restful in its pace than in its spas. Days in the Luberon or the Alpilles follow an easy rhythm of market mornings, long lunches, an afternoon by a pool and a walk among the vines. Many country hotels and restored farmhouses have spas and treatments that use lavender and olive oil. Aix-en-Provence has a thermal spa on the site of the Roman baths that gave the town its name. Gréoux-les-Bains and Digne-les-Bains in Haute-Provence are long-established spa towns. There is no everyday bathing culture, though, and in July and August the coast is anything but calm.