Home /
Location-guide /
Provence
Located in the south-east of France, the region of Provence is a mélange of mountain and sea. The varied terrain has since inspired a combination of charming hillside villages, a reknown cuisine and dazzling displays of art.
The regions heart lies in the hills that marry the Alpine forests with the seaside. This culminates in scenic landscapes filled with sloping vineyards and scenery that provided inspiration for visual arts masters Cezanne (Aix en Provence), Van Gogh (Arles), Chagall and Giono, to capture in their masterpieces.
Today, the Provence region traverses the Var, Vaucluse, and Bouches-du-Rhone areas as well as some parts of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes departments. Nice, Marseilles, Toulon, Avignon, Arles, and historic regional capital Aix-en-Provence are its chief cities.
As such, the province known for fertile valleys (in proximity to the Rhone and the French Riviera) abounds with fresh local products such as fruits and vegetables (citrus fruits, olive oil, mulberry trees). This makes the gastronomy in the Provence region very distinctive from the rest of French cooking. The seaside brings a Mediterranean influence, and its mountain and valley lands make goat cheese, garlic, olive oil and olives a staple on almost every table.
This way of life has a relaxed ambience reflected in the well-established holiday escapes that dot the region.
Close to the shore is Nice, a world reknown seaside city on the Riviera, Cannes and the stretch of coast, Côte d’Azur with its seaside havens of Le Lavendou, St-Tropez and St-Raphaël, whose beaches attract both the locals and globetrotting visitors.
Further to the mountains, Avignon has the distinction of being the former home of the Catholic Papcy, transformed today as charming medival city. On the hills lie the village of St. Paul de Vence known as a haven for artists and gourmets.
