You’re on the Côte d’Azur.

You’re seeing Europe’s loveliest coast, mountains plunging direct to a sea sparkling in crystal-clear light. You’re tasting, perhaps, sea bass baked in salt with a drizzle of olive oil on a restaurant terrace. Before you is a bottle of rosé wine, beaded with condensation, and the promise of an evening under the stars. 

And now you're in Provence.

It takes no time to leave the madding crowd behind for wild uplands where life has been lived tough for centuries. It still is, with hills to roam and ancient villages to return to. Away from the towns, the country rises rocky, reckless and remote. This is the country of Marcel Pagnol’s Jean de Florettes and Manon des Sources. 

The plains and hills are rich with Roman monuments and medieval monasteries; the old cities – such as Aix, Avignon, Arles and Marseille – bustle with activity, nightlife, and culture.

You will reflect that there are few other places where the culture of man and the grandeur of nature have struck up such a relationship. And you’ll appreciate that the Cote d’Azur and Provence are among the finest lands on earth.