Discover French Riviera & Provence
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, or PACA, stretches 31,400 km² between Alpine peaks (Mont Pelvoux, Mont Pelat, Queyras) and 900 km of Mediterranean coastline. In the east, the French Riviera unfolds the glamour of 19th-century seaside resorts (Nice, Cannes, Antibes, Saint-Tropez), bordering the Mercantour national park. In the centre, Provence brings together Avignon — UNESCO city of the popes — Aix-en-Provence and its fountains, Marseille and its calanques, the Luberon and its hilltop villages (Gordes, Roussillon, Bonnieux, Ménerbes), Les Baux-de-Provence and Vaucluse. In the north, the Southern Alps offer another face: Écrins massif (France's 4th-highest peak), Queyras, Champsaur valley, Lake Serre-Ponçon (the largest artificial lake in Western Europe), Hautes-Alpes — home region of Tripsty's editor. The Verdon Gorges, Europe's deepest (700 m), carve the Valensole plateau and its 800 km² of lavender fields that bloom from mid-June to mid-July. On the terroir side, Provence wines (mainly AOP rosés: Côtes de Provence, Bandol, Cassis, Coteaux d'Aix), Nyons and Vallée des Baux olive oils (AOP), AOP Banon goat cheese, Picodon and Brebis du Ventoux, Provençal herbs, pastis and Marseille bouillabaisse paint a strong Mediterranean palette. Ideal season: April-June and September-October in the south, June to September in the Alps.
