By Alexia Granville
Famous for its cuisine and its beaches, its olive trees and its lavender, the southern French region of Provence - Côte d'Azur also offers perhaps the most stunning and interesting opportunities for heritage tourism of any region in France. And not just natural heritage; with a civilization going back further than that of Paris and the center of modern France, it is also a region that boasts a rich cultural heritage, and one of the best collections of Roman remains outside Italy.
Many travellers might indeed be hard-pressed to find a downside to this magnificent region in the south of France; but a word of warning, Provence should not be thought of as a sort of Heaven on Earth; drivers stuck in a motorway traffic jam on a Saturday afternoon in mid summer might be forgiven for thinking that Provence is Hell on Earth. Overcrowded resorts and beaches, expensive facilities, high temperatures, traffic jams - all of these can be considered as the downside to holidays in Provence and the Riviera, specially in July and August. Yet for discerning travellers more interested in heritage tourism than beaches, the downside to Provence in the summer is of little concern.
Like California, the Provence - Riviera region is one which not only has beaches where people can be seen stretched out on the sand even in winter; it also has high Alpine peaks where the snow still lies, even in summer; and the two are less than 100 km. apart. Three of France's six National Parks are in Provence, and the region also boasts a variety of other regional nature parks or natural reserves, and a number of listed natural areas, from the famous Camargue, one of the major wetlands of Europe to the Queyras, a high mountain Alpine park.
As far as cultural heritage is concerned, the region, together with the neighbouring area around Nimes, offers a marvellous collection of Roman temples, Roman arenas and amphitheatres such as the one at Orange, - used every year for the famous opera festival - and the Pont du Gard, one of the best surviving Roman aqueducts. Slightly less ancient, but still very old, are the area's famous Romanesque churches, such as Saint Trophime at Arles, the Palace of the Popes at Avignon, and the many historic towns and villages, built in the local honey-coloured stone, with their narrow streets, traditional markets, and old houses.
With its beaches as well as the exceptional cultural and natural heritage of Provence , it is hardly surprising that this region is the most popular region in France for tourists and holidaymakers; it is a region that has it all!
When to travel to Provence:
In short, any time of the year. The climate in Provence is Mediterranean, hot in summer, milder than most of the rest of Europe at other times. Though be warned; don't expect summer in winter! Away from the coast, and more so in the mountains, winter weather can be cold, and snow, though rare in most low-lying areas, is an occasional possibility anywhere.
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