From the Gallo-Roman period up to the end of the Middle Ages, the Alyscamps ("Champs-Élysées") was one of the most prestigious necropolises in the West. Its heyday came when the necropolis was Christianised, with relics from St Trophimus an..

It’s just a short climb from Notre Dame de Ste Victoire Priory (1656) to the 17m Croix de Provence (on a 11m foundation). From here, at an altitude of 945m, there is a magnificent panorama over Provence’s mountains. To the south you see rise up the..

East of Aix-en-Provence lies Mt Sainte Victoire , which reaches a height of 1 011m at its peak, the Pic des Mouches. Its sheer face, creating a silhouette that is evocative of the entire region, is best seen from the Croix de Provence (945m). The ..

The must-see buildings in Les Baux include: the former town hall and its museum of "santons" (Christmas crib figures), and the Porcelet mansion which houses the Museum dedicated to Yves Brayer, who painted the pastoral scenes in the Péniten..

The Roman amphitheatre at Nimes is the best preserved anywhere. Dating from the late 1C and early 2C, it measures 133m by 101m and could accommodate 24 000 people. Its exterior presents an attic storey above two levels of 60 arcades each (21m). The V..

This is as pure and well-preserved a Roman temple as may be found anywhere. Erected in the reign of Augustus, it was dedicated to the “princes of youth”, the emperor's grandsons. It exudes a fragile charm, due to the harmony of its proportions, and t..

The Mourre Nègre (or "Black Face") is the highest point of the Luberon mountains (1 125m). The immense panorama from the summit takes in the Lure mountain and the Prealps of Digne to the northeast, the Durance Valley to the southeast, w..

Declared a Regional Nature Reserve in 1977, the area is planted with oak forests and garigue stretching between the Alps and the Mediterranean. To the west the Petit Luberon forms a plateau carved by gorges where the altitude rarely exceeds 700m, w..

From Cassis, head towards La Ciotat on the Route des Crêtes , dotted with panoramic viewpoints created to enjoy the mountains in the Cap Canaille massif, with spectacular cliffs (the highest in France) overlooking the sea. The word ‘‘canaille’’ come..

With its vast open spaces that are home to herds of black bulls with distinctive curved horns, slender silhouettes of pink flamingoes and galloping white horses, the Camargue is a unique place. This natural habitat has been preserved thanks to the cr..

With its ancient patinated stonework, delicate structure and backdrop of green hills and waters of the Gardon, this grandiose feat of engineering built in the 1C continues to amaze. It was part of a 50km-long aqueduct built to bring spring water from..

The meteorological observatory on the summit of Mont Aigoual (1 567m) overlooks the Gard, Hérault and Tarn valleys. The instruments used to record the speed and direction of rain-bearing winds from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic are ever-more s..

This 15 000m Palais des Papes is made up of the Old Palace and the New Palace. The former, a fortress with austere architecture, was commissioned by Benoît XII in 1334. Artist and prodigy, Clément VI, grand prince of the Church, must have found it ra..

Louis XIV called the stage wall of the Ancient Theatre "the most handsome in the kingdom". It is made of granite and African breccia, and its outer facing is striking in its simplicity – it is broken only by the corbels supporting the poles..

A UNESCO-listed "biosphere reserve", the so-called "Giant of Provence" (1 909m) dominates the Rhône part of the region. At its summit is an air force radar station and a TV tower. From the platform in the south there is a vast pa..

The museum’s collection, housed in the Château de l’Empéri , illustrate the history of the French army from the reign of Louis XIV to 1918. The fine architecture of the rooms highlights the 10,000 pieces on display, including uniforms, harnesses, fl..

Located between Arles and Avignon, the Alpilles chain is a geological extension of the Luberon, divided into the Alpilles des Baux to the West and the Alpilles d’Eygalières to the East. The villages ( Les Baux-de-Provence , Fontvieille, Maussane, etc..

The two trails are signposted (yellow or red depending on their length) and marked with signs that help to identify the particular flora in these ochre hills (holm and white oaks, juniper bushes, etc) and to explore the amazing landscapes formed by t..

The 70km-long Nesque River has its source on the east face of Mont Ventoux and flows into the Sorgue de Velleron beyond Pernes-les-Fontaines. The gorge, carved out of the limestone foundation of the Vaucluse Plateau, is the most spectacular part of..

Situated on the left side of the Gorges de la Nesque Road at an altitude of 734m, this belevedere owes its name to an ancient oppidum. A stele features an extract from Mistral’s Calendau . The view is remarkable of the string of gorges and steep C..