Les Travel tips
Var Coast - east
Towards the east of the Var department the picturesque and lively town of Saint-Tropez will be a highlight of your visit to the coast here and a town that will exceed your expectations.
The region around Saint-Tropez also has a great deal of interest sights. Among others be sure to visit sunny Sainte-Maxime and also Port Grimaud (with the older town of Grimaud also close by and very pleasant to explore).
Beautiful medieval villages such as Gassin, Ramatuelle and La Croix-Valmer can be found just a few kilometres inland from Saint-Tropez and are the perfect contrast to the riviera resorts.
We also highly recommend the resort of Saint-Raphael with its inviting sea-front, ideally combined with a visit to see the historic centre of nearby Frejus. A little way inland from Les Issambres a trip to explore the village of Roquebrune-sur-Argens is also very pleasant.
Leaving the Var department towards the east and the Alpes-Maritimes department, the coast road south of the Massif d'Esterel is one of our favourite coast roads in France.
North-east Var and the Pays de Fayence
Heading north in the Var the attractive landscape is interspersed with numerous small towns and villages, including several of the well known 'perched villages' of Provence.
This is a good region to discover 'traditional' Provencal towns, less impacted by visitors than the coastal resorts to the south.
Some of the typical towns we suggest you visit here include Les-Arcs, Lorgues and Flayosc - all these are close to the bustling town of Draguignan. See also the roman style Thoronet Abbey, south-west of Draguignan and a listed French national Monument, and Villecroze, best known for its troglodyte caves.
Further east, you can visit the classified 'most beautiful village of France' at Seillans and some of the other perched villages in the attractive Pays de Fayence region - these include Callian, Fayence, Mons, Montauroux, exploring them makes for a pleasant day out, with each having its own unique character.
Haut Var and the Massif de la Beaume - the north
In the north of the department you have left the crowds from the coast behind and are in the Haut Var region. You are also approaching the deep and impressive Gorges du Verdon (also known as the Grand Canyon of France) where the landscape becomes more remote and wild.
Among the towns to enjoy exploring here are Aups, Salernes, and Entrecasteaux, the classified most beautiful village of Tourtour * (see below), and the medieval village of Chateaudouble, with its dramatic setting in the cliffs.
At one end of the Gorges du Verdon the very extensive Lake Sainte-Croix has a developed tourist industry and is popular with visitors exploring the gorges, while to the east of the gorges the isolated village of Bargeme is classified as a 'most beautiful village in France' and is also the highest village in the Var. The village at Aiguines is well situated between the lake and the gorges.
Continuing towards the north-west of the Var department the Massif de la Beaume is an extensive scenic area centred around the cathedral town of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, with the town of Barjols to the north of here also having a great deal of interest to discover.
The village of Vinon-sur-Verdon is rather remote in the north-west corner of the Var but is very pleasant to explore if you visit!
This is where you discover that Provence is wilder than you suspected. From sunlit vineyards and pine forests round Lorgues and Brignoles, it swings north to a rockier, rougher country of gorges, ravines and sinuous roads which want you dead. Clamped to hill-tops, vertiginous villages – Châteaudouble, Bargemon (where the Beckhams used to holiday), the glorious Tourtour – offer a wriggling sense of refuge, and some pretty decent eating.
Beyond, the Verdon Gorges – Europe’s Grand Canyon – present nature on a supernatural scale: 15 miles long, 2,000-feet straight down. Those with heads for heights may climb, hike or bike. Those without will weep and make for the more suitable Lac Ste Croix.
It’s all magnificent, but it’s also a relief to return south to the Cistercian serenity of Thoronet Abbey, near Lorgues. Its austere majesty suggests not all medieval clerics were depraved. Splendid wines (try the Château Ste Roseline at Les Arcs) indicate how you may become so, if you let yourself go.
*Tourtour – one of the most beautiful villages in France
Tourtour Provence is like a village in the sky. Set on top of a windy hill (elevation 900 meters) with sweeping views all the way out to Frejus and the Mediterranean with the Mount St Victoire between. It’s a little known part of the Haute Var, Provence but it’s so worth seeking out.
The population is just under 500 but the locals are a tight knit group who put on one of the most amazing festivals known as the Fête de l’Oeuf (egg Festival) around Easter every year.
Tourtour is listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France and is well worth a visit. Take a walk through tiny streets to admire the well-restored village houses with their manicured gardens. The restaurants serve simple yet freshly made food which of course goes perfectly with a nice glass of chilled rosé. It’s about a 30 minutes’ drive from Trans-en-Provence. If you can take the road via Aups or Villecroze which, by the way, are also both villages worth a detour should time allow.
Most of the cafés and bars in Tourtour serve casual food – check out the great frites at La Farigoulette.
Trans-en-Provence is located between Draguignan and Les Arcs.
Trans-en-Provence to Saint Tropez / Port Grimaud: 50 minutes by car
Trans-en-Provence to Saint Raphaël / Fréjus: 35 minutes by car / 1h by bus
Trans-en-Provence to Les Gorges du Verdon: 1h30 by car
Trans-en-Provence to Les Arcs / Draguignan: 10 minutes by car / by bus
Trans-en-Provence to Cannes / Nice: 50 minutes by car
Trans-en-Provence to Grasse (Capital of Perfume): 1h by car
Trans-en-Provence to Abbaye du Thoronet: 35 minutes by car
Trans-en-Provence to Aups / Villecroze: 40 minutes by car
https://www.visitvar.fr/
