Cote D'Azur

This richly varied region stretches broadly from Monaco in the east through to Marseille in the west, encompassing a beautiful landscape of medieval 'villages dropping down to the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. With its mild and forgiving climate it has become famous over the decades as a playground for the rich and famous, with its small cobbled lanes filled with galleries, boutiques, cafés and restaurants. This is the environment that attracted Matisse, Picasso, Chagall and Renoir with endless sun filled summer days and warm, uncrowded winters.

Sample the delicious local cuisine, best enjoyed in the back streets and away from the more touristic areas. An array of present day favourites have their origins here, such as soupe au pistou, aioli and the world-famous bouillabaisse containing between five and twelve kinds of Mediterranean fish and flavoured with saffron.

The Provencal style is seen at its best in the charming hill villages of Grasse and Valbonne and St Paul de Vence, where narrow alleyways dating back to the Middle Ages are brightened with the tablecloths of small and specialist restaurants. Further west is the region known as The Var, an area of beautiful countryside, vineyards and forests extending into the Massif des Maures, just beneath the village of La Garde Freinet,  and its coastline around St Maxime and the glamorous St Tropez..