Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is France's most sun-drenched region, stretching from the Rhône delta in the west to the Italian border in the east. It encompasses the world-famous French Riviera (Côte d'Azur) — Nice, Cannes, and Saint-Tropez — the ancient Provençal heartland of Aix-en-Provence and Avignon, Marseille's rugged port culture, the violet lavender plateaus of Valensole, the turquoise-water Calanques, and the dramatic Gorges du Verdon. With over 300 days of sunshine per year, the region is France's premier year-round destination.
Top day trips
Handpicked excursions within easy reach.
Monaco (Principauté de Monaco)
Monaco is a sovereign city-state wedged between Nice and the Italian border, built up the hillside around its old harbour. A day here mixes the Belle Époque casino quarter of Monte-Carlo with the Rock of Monaco's palace and cathedral, and the modern marina where the Grand Prix circuit runs each May. It is dense and walkable but steep, so expect a lot of stairs, escalators, and lifts between the different levels of the principality.
Highlights: Palais Princier de Monaco — guard change at 11:55 AM daily on the Rock of Monaco · Casino de Monte-Carlo façade and Belle Époque atrium, free to enter before gaming hours · Musée Océanographique de Monaco with cliff-top views and a large marine aquarium · Monaco-Ville old town: panoramic ramparts, cathedral, and the Jardins Saint-Martin · Port Hercule and La Condamine marina — Formula 1 circuit streets open year-round
Gorges du Verdon
The Gorges du Verdon is a limestone canyon in Haute-Provence where the Verdon River cuts a corridor of turquoise water up to 700 metres below the rim road. It's a landscape day rather than a museum day - the point is driving or hiking the rim, looking down into the gorge, and if time allows getting onto the water at Lac de Sainte-Croix at the canyon's western end. Point Sublime, near Rougon, is one of the most accessible viewpoints and a natural starting point.
Highlights: Belvédère de l'Escalès on the Route des Crêtes — sheer 700m drop to the turquoise Verdon river below · Kayaking or canoeing from Castellane through the canyon, 4–6 hours on the water · Point Sublime viewpoint at the canyon mouth with sweeping gorge panoramas · Lac de Sainte-Croix — an emerald lake at the canyon's western exit, with pedalo and boat hire · Moustiers-Sainte-Marie village, a hilltop faïence pottery centre with a cliff-top suspended star
Avignon and Pont du Gard
Avignon was the seat of the papacy in the 14th century, and its walled old town is built around the Palais des Papes, one of the largest Gothic palaces in Europe. Paired on a day trip with the Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct bridge about 25km away, the combination shows two very different eras of the region's history - papal-era Avignon and Roman Gaul. The two sites need a car or organised tour to combine in one day, since the Pont du Gard isn't on a direct train line from Avignon centre.
Highlights: Palais des Papes — largest Gothic palace in Europe, heart of 14th-century papal Avignon · Pont Saint-Bénézet (Pont d'Avignon) — 12th-century bridge with four remaining arches over the Rhône · Pont du Gard — first-century Roman aqueduct and UNESCO World Heritage Site with three tiers of limestone arches · Rocher des Doms garden: panoramic views over the Rhône and the Pont d'Avignon · Musée du Pont du Gard — interactive exhibits on Roman engineering and the aqueduct's 50km route to Nîmes
Luberon Villages — Gordes, Roussillon, Les Baux
The Luberon is a range of hill villages in the Vaucluse, each built from a different local stone and each with a different character - Gordes perched dramatically on a rock spur, Roussillon built from the ochre cliffs it sits on, and Les Baux set among the jagged Alpilles limestone further south. A day trip here is really a driving tour between villages rather than a single destination, since they're 20-40 minutes apart by car and have no direct rail or bus connections between them.
Highlights: Gordes village — tiered limestone houses climbing to the Château de Gordes, with broad valley views · Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque surrounded by Provençal lavender fields (flowering late June to mid-July) · Sentier des Ocres, Roussillon — 30-minute loop through ochre cliffs in amber, red, and violet · Carrières de Lumières, Les Baux-de-Provence — immersive digital art inside ancient quarry caves · Les Baux-de-Provence citadel ruins with medieval catapults and panoramic Alpilles views
Cassis and Calanques Boat Tour
Cassis is a small fishing port east of Marseille, the usual base for seeing the Calanques - narrow limestone inlets with cliffs dropping into clear water that stretch along the coast toward Marseille. Most visitors see them by boat tour from Cassis harbour, since only a few calanques are reachable on foot without a serious hike. The town itself is a working port with a pastis-and-seafood harbourside that's worth an hour beyond the boat trip.
Highlights: Calanque En-Vau — a narrow creek walled by white limestone pillars, the most dramatic of the calanques · Boat tours from Cassis port covering three to eight calanques along the national park coastline · Cassis AOC white wine — dry, mineral Marsanne blends served in quayside restaurants · Cap Canaille cliff path above Cassis — one of the highest coastal cliffs in France at 416 metres · Cassis port and old town market at Cours Barthélemy on Wednesday and Friday mornings
Camargue — Flamingos and Wild Horses
The Camargue is the marshy delta where the Rhône meets the Mediterranean, a flat landscape of salt pans, rice fields, and lagoons south of Arles. It's known for its semi-wild white Camargue horses, black bulls raised for local bullrunning traditions, and pink flamingos that feed in the shallow étangs. It's a slower, nature-focused day compared to the region's hill towns - most of it is seen by car, bike, or on a short horseback outing rather than on foot.
Highlights: Étang de Vaccarès — the Camargue's largest lagoon, home to permanent flamingo colonies and migratory waders · Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau — birdwatching reserve with flamingos, herons, and stilts year-round · Camargue white horses and black bulls — free-roaming herds visible along the marsh roads and tracks · Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer — a whitewashed seaside village at the delta's tip with a Romanesque church · Guided horseback riding from a gardians ranch across Camargue wetlands
Arles — Van Gogh Country and Roman Heritage
Arles is a compact Roman city on the Rhône where Van Gogh lived and painted for over a year, producing some of his best-known works. The city layers its Roman amphitheatre and ancient theatre against the streets and cafés that appear, sometimes recognisably, in his paintings, and the Fondation Vincent van Gogh curates exhibitions connecting his work to the city rather than holding a large permanent collection of his paintings.
Highlights: Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles — contemporary art foundation in the city where Van Gogh painted his most prolific series · Circuit Van Gogh — self-guided trail with reproduction panels at the exact locations Van Gogh painted · Arènes d'Arles — a 1st-century Roman amphitheatre still hosting bullfights and concerts today · Musée de l'Arles et de la Provence Antiques — one of France's richest Gallo-Roman collections including mosaics and river barges · Les Alyscamps — a Roman necropolis of cypress-shaded sarcophagi, painted by both Van Gogh and Gauguin
Èze, Menton, and the Three Corniches
This trip covers the coast road between Nice and the Italian border along the Three Corniches - three parallel roads at different elevations above the Mediterranean. Èze is a medieval village perched on a rock outcrop with sea views from its summit, while Menton, right on the Italian border, has a mild microclimate known for lemon growing and a more Italianate old town than the rest of the Riviera.
Highlights: Jardin Exotique d'Èze — a dramatic cactus garden at 427m with views from Monaco to the Italian Riviera · Èze Village — a near-intact medieval perched village of pale stone on the Moyenne Corniche · Menton Vieille Ville — Baroque pastel townscape climbing to the Basilique Saint-Michel Archange · Musée Jean Cocteau Collection Séverin Wunderman — the world's largest Cocteau collection on Menton's seafront · Corniche Inférieure sea views — Bus 100 hugs the coast between Cap-d'Ail, Monaco, and Menton
Trips by distance
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Getting there
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Multi-day tours from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
If you have longer than a day, these are organised multi-day trips that start here.
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