Reasons to visit the South of France

Think of the most glamorous holiday destinations and the chances are the South of France will immediately spring to mind. Saint Tropez, Antibes, Cannes, Nice and Monte Carlo are names just dripping with glamour and sophistication. This is the place where the world first discovered sun, sea and sand.

Famous Saint-Tropez has long been an 'à la mode' resort. It began as a tranquil fishing village, and the simplicity in style of the almost quaint houses remains to this day. From there the coastline drifts eastwards taking in the gorgeous blue waters that give this area it's name: Côte d'Azur. Our route takes in Cannes (famous for it's film festival), Juan Les Pins (made famous by the Peter Sarstedt song; or perhaps it was always famous), past Nice, and finally along the Grande Corniche to that ultimate expression of wealth and glamour, Monte Carlo.

A little further west is Hyeres, then the port city of Marseille before we come to the vast wetland region at the mouth of the Rhone, the Camargue. This is the area famous for the wild white horses, wild boar, flamingos and tree-frogs.

Just a short distance inland from the coast, there are many ancient towns and villages waiting to be explored. There is a profusion of museums, Estruscan, Roman and Greek artefacts, art galleries and pre-historic caves. Best of all is the mountain scenery though. You really just can't get enough of it. As the coastal region rises into the Alps, the Verdon Regional Park is the most spectacular of all with it's deep gorges carved by the meltwaters of the Alpine snows.