Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
"Provence hides its mysteries behind their obviousness..." - Jean Giona, artist and writer (1895 - 1970)
An exceptional natural environment, a rich heritage, 300 days of sunshine a year... the Southern Region and its three world brands: Provence, the Alps and the Côte d'Azur, have undeniable tourist assets.
The Côte d'Azur, the famous French Riviera, which stretches from Hyères to Menton, welcomes an intense and rather luxurious tourism with its large hotels, chic restaurants, beautiful boutiques, private beaches and prestigious residences. The main cities are Nice, Cannes, Saint Tropez... But the seaside is also the Camargue and its gardians, the big ports of Marseille, Toulon and Nice, gateways to Africa since antiquity.
The heart of Provence beats in the hills that link the sea to the mountains of the Alps. It is these hillsides of vineyards, crops and colourful landscapes that have charmed Cézanne (Aix en Provence), Van Gogh (Arles), Chagall or Giono... In Provence, the people of the South have a singing accent. They are good-natured and like to tease each other around a generous and gourmet table... This is the picturesque Provence of Pagnol, Raimu and Fernandel.
Ski resorts just an hour from the sea... Yes, it is possible! The French Alps rise above Nice to an altitude of 4,000m... The pure air, the large protected spaces... It is still Provence with the Alpes de Haute Provence and the Hautes Alpes. In winter you can ski in the sun and in summer you can go on an adventure on horseback, on foot or by bike. The more adventurous can practice air sports (ULM, paragliding), white water sports (rafting, canyoning) or climbing. Winter sports can be enjoyed alongside white water sports. These wild mountains, with their small hamlets and villages with a rich past, are home to a rich and varied fauna and flora.
Finally, culturally, Provence is part of the Pays d'oc (southern France), within which it has a clear specificity. The culture of Provence is profoundly Latin and Mediterranean.
Activities
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Aix Cathedral, Aix-en-Provence
Since its foundation, the cathedral has been built and rebuilt many times, incorporating Romanesque, Gothic and Neo-Gothic elements. This architectural evolution can be seen in its façade, which encompasses the styles of the 5th through to the 18th-century.
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Avignon Cathedral, Provence
The Romanesque cathedral was built in 1111 on the site of a 4th-century basilica, allegedly destroyed by the Saracens in 731 AD, of which no trace remains.
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Church of St. Trophime, Arles, Provence
The church, which was originally built on the site of the 5th-century basilica of Arles, is one of the most interesting Romanesque ensembles in Provence. The main features that we see today date back to the 12th-century.
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Cimiez Cathedral, Nice, Provence
Reduced to ruins since its destruction in 1706, the Roman Catholic cathedral sat on the hillside of the Château de Nice, overlooking the city.
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Fondation Maeght, Saint Paul de Vence, Provence
A unique architectural complex with one of the largest collections of modern art in Europe, featuring paintings, sculptures, drawings and graphic works by renowned 20th-century figures.
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Fondation Vincent van Gogh, Arles, Provence
It was in Arles that Van Gogh produced, within the space of just 15 months, some of his finest works. The foundation honours both his talent and his lasting impact on modern art, with exhibitions of his own work and of his contemporaries.
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Fréjus Cathedral, Provence
The coastal town of Fréjus was founded by Julius Caesar in around 49 BC, and today it is still an important religious and commercial centre of Provence. The cathedral is part of a fortified medieval complex, dating from between the 5th and 14th-century.
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Lérins Abbey, Île Saint-Honorat, Cannes, Provence
The abbey was founded around 410 AD when Saint Honorat formed a community of Cistercian monks on one of the Lérins Islands. The monks continue to live and worship on the island, cultivating the vineyards to produce wine and liqueur.
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Musée Marc Chagall, Nice, Provence
At the foot of Cimiez Hill, this museum honours the talents and philanthropy of Marc Chagall with the largest public collection of his works, spanning decades of his life as an artist.
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Musée Matisse, Nice, Provence
The museum gathers one of the world’s largest collections of Matisse’s work, tracing his artistic career from his first painting Nature morte aux livres (1890) to one of his final works Fleurs et fruits (1953).
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Nice Cathedral, Nice, Provence
Between 1650 and 1865 the original 11th-century church was gradually replaced by the Baroque cathedral that you see today.
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Palais Lascaris, Nice, Provence
This Baroque-style palace was built in the early 17th-century for the richest and most powerful family in Nice, the Vintimille-Lascaris family. It has since been restored to its splendour and is now a museum devoted to the art and music of the 17th and 18th-century.
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Promenade de la Croisette, Cannes, Provence
Winding alongside the Côte d'Azur, the promenade is lined with sandy beaches, smart hotels and classy boutiques.
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Sénanque Abbey, Gordes, Provence
Deep in its Provençal valley, the Abbey of Sénanque, which has been a Cistercian monastery since 1148, is one of the purest examples of primitive Cistercian architecture.
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Toulon Opera, Provence
It was one of a wave of opera houses built in France and Europe in the middle of the 19th-century, representing the exuberant style of the Second Empire (1852-70). It remains the second largest opera house in France, after the Palais Garnier in Paris.
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Île Saint-Honorat, Cannes, Provence
The island was uninhabited until around 410 AD when Saint Honoratus founded a monastery on it, and it has been home to a community of monks ever since. Legend has it that Saint Patrick, patron of Ireland, studied at the monastery in the 5th-century.
