South of France

The coastal section of the Var department is quite well known, with the resorts including Toulon, Saint-Tropez and Saint-Raphael attracting very large numbers of visitors. But what lies inland in the Var department?

Heading towards the centre of the region you pass first through the forested (or deforested, where fires have destroyed the ancient woodlands) hills of the Massif des Maures. Head for the remote Chartreuse de la Verne, or follow the road between Cogolin and Collobrieres for some of the highlights.

Changing from forests to vineyards, we have the the attractive countryside of the Cotes de Provence wine department - you’ve seen it on the wine bottle labels, come and see where it is produced! The region around Les Arcs and Lorgues is the heart of this wine producing region, and offers ample opportunities to sample the wine.

Continuing north you come to Haut-Var, the Upper Var region. Quiet towns and villages, typically Provencal in nature, dot the landscape of olive trees and lavender, as the landscape becomes more rugged and more remote. the villages of Aups, Entrecasteaux and Tourtour (a classified most beautiful village) are representative of the region - steep streets, ruined castles, belltowers with wrought iron campaniles, the trademark fountains of the region…sleepy dogs and tightly closed shutters, washing hanging out to dry on high balconies…this is perhaps Provence as it was before being ‘discovered’.

Continuing even further north, to the border with the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, we find one of the great natural wonders of France at the Gorges-du-Verdon - but that is another department, and perhaps a different visit, to this special part of France, because Var itself has more than enough to entertain you for one holiday.

A few years ago, the village of issigeac was not very well known, and even now it lies some way off the ‘tourist trail’ in the Dordogne department.

Although it is in the Dordogne, Issigeac is about 25km south of the river, and the ‘big sites’ such as Sarlat and Domme, and a little further from the Vezere Valley.

Hence, the sheer weight of well known attractions - castles, villages and prehistoric sites - to the north means that people don’t often venture south to see Issigeac.

As a result Issigeac has no particular tourist shops, the streets aren’t lined with ice cream vendors and postcards for sale, and all is quiet. This changes on a Sunday morning in the summer when the Issigeac market springs into life and the town centre is buzzing, but for much of the time the town is very calm.

But it is perhaps surprising how little impact tourism has had on the town. Although small, it has an extremely well preserved medieval centre with streets lined with ancient half-timbered houses and numerous small decorative features. Dating from the 14th-16th centuries, some of the houses have been renovated in recent years - but not all, and Issigeac has not yet lost the authenticity that makes it so special…and so unusual!

It will only take you an hour or two to explore the narrow streets, and perhaps an other hour to pass in one of the bars in Issigeac. One of them is startlingly like a trendy recreation of an ancient bar - creaking floorboards, wine barrels all around, wooden furniture etc - except of course it isn’t a ‘period recreation’ it simply has not been modernised for many decades!

If you are coming to the Dordogne or Lot-et-Garonne regions a visit to Issigeac is highly recommended.

On a recent trip across southern France I at last give into temptation and stopped off at Cassis, south-east of Marseille, so that I could take a boat trip along the calanques.

The coast in this part of France consists of high craggy cliffs that plunge into the turquoise sea below, with occsional inlets where boats can enter to be surrounded by this dramatic landscape - these inlets are known as the Marseille calanques.

Some of the calanques even have small beaches at the head of the inlet, which makes a perfect beach setting and backdrop.

There are two ways to admire these calanques - by footpath along the coast, or by boat-trip departing from Cassis. Both are very worthwhile, since this is some of the most beautiful coastline to be found in France.

Although the schedule advertises that the boat visits up to eight of the calanques (pay more, see more) some are much more impressive than others - there are perhaps four or five that are spectacular.

Pay attention, it is the view out to see from inside the calanques that is the most impressive - don’t be distracted into staring too much in an inland direction and miss out on a great part of the attraction!

Boats don’t need to be booked in advance (indeed, can’t be booked in advance) just turn up and pay and get on the boat. The trips take an hour or so. See more details of boat trips prices and destinations at Marseille Calanques. Don’t forget your camera!

If you have a short while to wait take a walk around the harbour at Cassis - small but very pretty. To relax after the trip take a look at the beach - Cassis beach is right next to the harbour and also in a very scenic ‘cliff-backed’ setting.

If you are holidaying in the northern part of the Dordogne you should not miss a trip to Brantome - it really is an idyllic village. A river runs right through the town leading to its being known locally a the Venice of Perigord. Behind the village is a cliff covered in trees, at the bottom of which is the very large and very beautiful Abbey of Brantome.

The Benedictine Abbey dates back to 769 and was founded by Charlemagne. Originally the monks lived in caves at the base of the cliff and evidence of their troglodyte existence can still be visited today. The entrance is by the Town Hall. One of the caves includes a large sculpture of ‘the Last Judgement’ and really should not be missed.

The Abbey has been built and rebuilt several times and the current building largely dates from the 17th century but underwent major restoration in the 19th century. The bell tower though is of the 11th century and is one of the oldest in France.

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Where does the south of France begin? For most of this site I have taken it to include the regions of Aquitaine, Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrenees and Provence / Cote d’Azur.

But a little further up the Atlantic Coast, in Poitou-Charentes, the coast has its own sunny micro-climate, and has more of a ’south of France’ feel than places further north. So I have no problem in considering La Rochelle, the major town in the region, as ‘gateway to the south-west of France’.

A lovely and lively town, La Rochelle is centred around its harbour - two medieval towers dramatically guard the entrance, and make for a very scenic place to promenade or eat in on of the numerous water-side restaurants.

Away from the harbour, the town has an extensive old town with pretty arcaded streets and boutiques to explore, and all pretty much as it would have been 200 years ago.

The region around the market is also worth exploring, and be sure to go into La Rochelle market itself, for some of the freshest produce you have seen, all beautifully presented.

There are a multitude of historical monuments to discover among the city streets, from the elegant facade of the House of Henry II to the ornate town hall, and much more besides.

The dramatic aquarium, on the harbour, is another highlight of a visit.

Although it is on the coast, and La Rochelle itself has a small beach, it is not really a ’seaside resort’ - for better beaches you will need to head across to the Ile-de-Ré, or north to the Vendee beaches, or further down the Atlantic Coast.

But if you are hoping to discover a lovely town that oozes with history and where you can pass a day or two exploring the history of the region, La Rochelle is ideal.

(See more information about La Rochelle (including photos and places in the vicinity)

France has over 3000 kilometres of coastline, and a great deal of it is accessible. In the south of France the main areas of coast include:

• the French Riviera / Cote d’Azur section that runs from Marseille to the Italian border
• the Languedoc coast, also on the Mediterranean, that runs from the border with Spain around to the Camargue (on the border between Languedoc and Provence regions)
• the Atlantic coast, that stretches in ann almost unbroken line from Arcachon the coast west of Bordeaux) down to the border with Spain at Hendaye, beyond Biarritz

But which should you choose…and why?

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I’m not always a big enthusiast for the beaches of Languedoc-Roussillon. Most of the Languedoc resorts arose in the 1960s and 1970s when the mosquitoes were cleared away from the region to make way for tourists under the so-called ‘Mission Racine’. A fair number of them are dated, crowded, have too much building and development and little of historical interest.

The beaches are often long and sandy…and very windswept and lacking for shade.

So my expectations when I visited La Grande-Motte were, to say the least, not high. But this is a resort with a difference.

Found at the eastern end of the Languedoc coast (shortly before it transforms into Provence), La Grande-Motte was designed by an architect called Jean Balladur who based his designs on early Colombian pyramids. Whatever the inspiration, the buildings are starkly 1970’s in appearance - but in a stylish and interesting way, if you are discouraged by the words ‘1970’s architecture’!

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We arrived in Puy l’Eveque around 10am in the morning. Good sign - it was a lovely warm spring day. Bad sign - couldn’t find anywhere to park, perhaps because it was market day. It took a few minutes to find that there is plenty of parking at the west edge of the town, very little if you approach from the east.

It also turned out that the town looks very attractive if you approach from the east (Cahors side) but less so from the west (Fumel side). Don’t be discouraged whichever side you are coming from! As it turned out Puy l’Eveque is small and it doesn’t really matter where you park.

There was a sign marked ‘panorama’ so we took a look out across the roof tops of the town, which was very pretty. Just below the panorama was a garden that looked long abandoned but was in a beautiful position - I wonder why they didn’t make more of it. Read more

The current fascination that people have with the cathar castles is perhaps because of the simple pure life that the cathars pursued; or perhaps because of the terrible persecution the cathars suffered at the hands of the Albigensian Inquisition.

Equally, whispered suggestions that there might be a connection between the cathars, their castles, and the hiding place of the Holy Grail have done little to dispel interest. The book ‘The Da Vinci code’ has doubtless played a role.

Of course, now in the 21st century, we are all on the side of the peace-loving cathars and not the side of the terrible crusaders. Perhaps the pendulum has swung too far, and at the time there was a case for the attack son their way of life and principles, but it is easy to sympathise with the plight of the cathars as they tried simply to live moral, good lives - but without the Catholic church to guide them, a rejection that was ultimately to be their downfall. Read more

Less well known than the Dordogne region to the north, the Lot et Garonne region contains some hidden treasures in the form of the medieval bastide towns that dot the region.

Head south from Lalinde or south-east from Bergerac and you will enter the quiet countryside that typifies the region. Agriculture and small scale farming are the main business here with fruit, sunflowers and maize being among the main crops grown. The fruit includes many plum orchards that produce the fruit for the very popular (and very tasty) ‘pruneaux d’Agen’ - the prunes are only half dried, so much more most than the prunes you might be familiar with.

The bastide towns were founded in the 13th century, half by the English and half by the French, partly for administrative reasons and partly for defensive reasons. Some of them have disappeared into the history books, and others have been swallowed by larger more modern towns, but there remain plenty of these small medieval towns for you to discover in this part of France. Read more