ONE WEEK IN SOUTHERN FRANCE

Europe is my favorite place to travel in the summer (check out my Scotland travel guide here and tips to have a great road trip in Europe here). For me, no place screams summer vacation quite like Southern France. It’s a dream destination. The area is so beautiful, and so varied in its beauty. From the sparkling sapphire waters of the Côte d’Azur to the fragrant lavender fields of Provence, there’s so much to see in Southern France.  I recently spent a week hopping around this area. While a week isn’t a lot of time to see such an expansive part of a country, with some careful planning and research I saw a lot and had a great trip. If you’re hoping to visit this bucket list destination and are short on time, read on below for my full Southern France itinerary, featuring my must-dos, charming towns and top sights. I hope you enjoy this travel  guide to Southern France!

Week Itinerary in Southern France

Fly into Nice

3 nights in the Riviera

1 night stop along the drive from the Riviera to Provence

3 nights in a village in Provence

Fly out of Marseille

When traveling to Southern France, two distinct areas immediately come to mind- the French Riviera (aka Côte d’Azur) and Provence. They’re both so different in what they offer, and both must-see stops. The good thing is that these two regions are pretty close to each other and it’s easy to accomplish both in one trip. With two main airports in the region (Nice in the Riviera and Marseille in Provence) you can fly into one and out of the other. Our trip began in Nice where we soaked in the beauty of the Riviera and from there we drove to picturesque Provence, flying home from Marseille. With one week you aren’t going to see everything, but you can definitely hit the highlights and leave feeling fulfilled!

The French Riviera

The crystal clear turquoise water of the French Riviera is truly a beautiful sight. I loved exploring the charming towns along the coast and soaking up the warm, salty air. When planning time in the Riviera, it’s important to know what vibe you’re looking for. I knew I wanted to see Nice, one of the largest cities in the region, but wasn’t sure I wanted to stay there. My personal preference tends to be staying in smaller towns. I chose to make my home base a small fishing village next to Nice called Villefranche-Sur-Mer. I was so happy with this decision!

Villefranche-Sur-Mer is a colorful, hilly town right on the sea. It’s about a 15 minute taxi ride from Nice, so it’s close enough to go in for meals, but much more tranquil than Nice. The Welcome Hotel is a great place to stay right along the water. Hotel rooms come with a balcony, so you can sip your morning coffee while watching the boats sail by and fishermen haul in their catches. I loved walking along the quiet main street in town, right next to the water, and watching the sunbathers enjoy the small, rocky beach. (That’s something important to note- the beaches along the Riviera are small and rocky!) One of my favorite afternoons in Villefranche-Sur-Mer was spent sitting at a seaside cafe with a huge pot of moules frites and cold bottle of rosé just admiring the charming town.

Since Villefranche-Sur-Mer is very close to Nice it’s easy to go back and forth for meals or shopping, and we did that a lot! I didn’t have any major “must-dos” in Nice, but I loved just wandering around the city’s winding roads and stumbling upon cute stores and delicious restaurants. My favorite restaurant in Nice is La Cave du Fromager and Fenocchio for gelato is a must. In Nice a stroll along the Promenade des Anglais, a busy walkway that runs along the Mediterranean and the city’s many beaches, is a fun way to spend the afternoon.

After a few days exploring Villefranche-Sur-Mer and Nice (we felt that 3 nights was sufficient), we picked up a rental car and started to head south down the coast towards Provence. Along the way to our next destination, we made a quick stop at the picturesque hilltop town of St. Paul de Vence, one of the oldest medieval towns in the Riviera region. St. Paul de Vence is a tiny place that’s a huge artist hub, some of the most celebrated artists from history- Chagall, Picasso and Miró- were all inspired by this beautiful area. Now, the narrow streets are lined with unique galleries and art lovers across the world flock here. We enjoyed walking around the walled medieval city center and popping into galleries and shops.

After stopping in St. Paul de Vence, we continued on our way to spend one last night in the Riviera, outside of Cannes, at what become my favorite hotel, Tiara Yaktsa. The infinity pool overlooking a cliff leading down to the Mediterranean Sea is the star of the show at Tiara Yaktsa. Along with the gorgeous pool, the staff was top notch and the breakfast (included in your stay!) was outrageously delicious. There isn’t much to do at Tiara Yaktsa except relax (which is not a bad thing!) so we used our time in this area as a base to visit some rosé wineries. The vineyard, Chateau d’Esclans, which makes my favorite wine was only about an hour drive from the hotel. It was a perfect day trip in-between dips in the pool. A note about visiting wineries- check online to see if you need to make a reservation in advance or if it’s ok to just drop in.

Provence

After four nights in the Riviera, our week in Southern France continued with 3 nights in Provence. Provence is an expansive region and I had a hard time choosing a town for a base, but ended up going with Gordes and am so happy I did! I was told that Gordes is a beautiful town and the perfect place to stay; it’s definitely true! Gordes is a small village perched up high in the Vaucluse Mountains in the Luberon region of Provence. It’s compact and easy to see in one day, but there is a nice variety of restaurants, bars and shops that give you plenty of options to check out for a few nights.

If  you’re tying to accomplish a lot in Provence in a few days,  it’s important to know what you want to see. On my list of must-dos in the area: Sénanque Abbey, visiting many villages including Ménerbes, Roussillon, L’Isle Our la Sorgue and finding flower fields. Since these places were all within a 30 minute drive from Gordes (which was also on my list to see) it made sense to stay there. Since Provence is so spread out, it’s beneficial to have a car! We spent a lot of time driving from village to village and exploring country roads to find beautiful flower fields (more on that below…). We left Provence with a lot left to see on a future trip, but felt  satisfied that 3 days was sufficient to see the Luberon region and get a good taste of Provençal life.

Many people visit Provence to see its gorgeous lavender fields, but what few know (I certainly didn’t!) is that the lavender blooming season is actually really short. When I visited at the end of June and early July the fields were still green. I learned that the lavender blooms in late July and August, but it can vary each year. While seeing the purple fields is true Provence goals, it also means big crowds and hotel prices rise. I was happy seeing the wildflower and poppy fields which were in full bloom and we still visited the lavender, which was green but very pretty.

I hope you enjoyed this travel guide to Southern France! It’s such a magical part of the world and truly a destination for the bucket list!