For most, Provence is the France that appears in the aspiring novels – wound-down, full of old fashioned splendour with glorious temperatures, olive groves, Provencal houses and a soft, sun-blessed light. Artists from Van Gogh to Picasso were lured to the region, the former to Arles where he painted over 200 canvasses in just one year.
Walk amidst the purple lavender fields of Pays de Sault or experience city and beach life at Marseilles. Stroll the sophisticated streets of Aix-en-Provence and take in Cezanne adorned museums, fountains and French life from a pavement café, tour pretty Arles on a Vincent Van Gogh trail or wander around Roman monuments at Nimes on your trip to France.