Category: Provence

Marseille and Beyond

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Marseille, the third largest city in France (and its oldest city) has a sunbaked maritime atmosphere all its own. It’s true Provence with the sunny charm you’d expect. Marseille is also historic (two millennia), and it’s close by numerous interesting places you can access easily by car or train. Suggestions for a car circuit will follow. If you’re interested in an overview of the city and its history, there is a hop-on-hop-off bus available. The city has a metro system…

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A Tour Through the Luberon: Provence, France

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When you think of Provence, France, you might think of lavender fields, olive groves, rocky outcrops topped with walled villages. You’re thinking of an area called the Luberon, at the foot of the Luberon mountain range. This area was put on the tourist map by Peter Mayle with his book, A Year in Provence. People discovered the villages of the Luberon area and were enchanted. Pure Provence! Your Itinerary in the Luberon Here is a circuit of 8 towns you…

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10 (or more) Ideas for Your Next Trip to France

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Happy New Year! You might need ideas for your next trip to France, since you’re planning (or dreaming about) about it in 2019. I thought it would be a great time to bring up helpful previous posts you might read (or read again) to give you ideas! Here are 10 of them. (Just click on the link!) Eastern and Northern France Try Annecy, with its pristine lake and lovely canals. Annecy, Jewel of the Alps. In the Bourgogne region, head…

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Nice: A Warm Heart in France

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Nice, France Each time you visit a place it sets down new, deeper layers in your soul. My most recent trip to Nice, France, my third, was like this for me. The first two times I’d zipped through like so many tourists do, in a day or an afternoon. This last time I had the opportunity in a long weekend to soak it in, to wander the maze of Italian-flavored streets, their candy-colored buildings towering overhead. Getting Around Nice Nice…

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La Camargue…Unique Nature

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There’s a place in France that can only be called unique. It might not appeal to the average traveler, but rather one who seeks the unusual experience in the midst of nature. That place is La Camargue, at the bottom end of Provence, a regional park and natural reserve just south of Arles. On either side are two branches of the Rhone River. It is an international wetland, 360 square miles broad, of which one third is water or marsh.…

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Coastal Secrets #4: Juan-les-Pins and Antibes

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Maybe you’ve heard of Juan-les-Pins…or not…but it has the charm and energy of Nice, its nearby neighbor. It even has a curved beach which hosts many hotels, quite a few of them high-rises on the waterfront. This popular beach town sits just west of Antibes, on the Cap d’Antibes, a rounded peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean, somewhere between Cannes and Nice. The towns of Juan-les-Pins and Antibes are often grouped together on brochures and websites, as if they are one…

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