35 Best Sights in The Western Cote d'Azur, The French Riviera

You are here for one reason only: to explore the extraordinary Gorges du Verdon, also known as—with only slight exaggeration over another, more famous version—the Grand Canyon. Through the aeons, the jewel-green torrent of the Verdon River has chiseled away the limestone plateau and gouged a spectacular gorge lined with steep white cliffs and sloping rock falls carpeted with green forest. The jagged bluffs, roaring water, and dense wild boxwood create a savage world of genuinely awe-inspiring beauty, whether viewed from dozens of cliff-top overlooks or explored from the wilderness below.

If you're driving from La Palud, follow the dramatic Route des Crêtes circuit (D23), a white-knuckle cliff-hanger not for the faint of heart. When you approach and leave La Palud, you'll do it via D952 between Castellane and Moustiers, with several breathtaking overlooks. The best of these is the Point Sublime, at the east end. Leave your car by the hotel-restaurant and walk to the edge, holding tight to dogs and children—that's a 2,834-foot drop to the bottom. You can also access the famous drive along D71, called the Route de la Corniche Sublime, from Moustiers. Top lookout points here are the Horserider's Cliff, the Balcon de la Mescla, and the Pont de l'Artuby bridge.

Several trails converge in this prime hiking territory. The most spectacular is the branch of the GR4 that follows the bed of the canyon itself, along the Sentier Martel. This dramatic trek, beginning at the Chalet de la Maline and ending at the Point Sublime, was created in the 1930s by the Touring-Club de France and named for one of the gorge's first explorers. Easier circuits leave from the Point Sublime on sentiers de découverte (trails with commentary) into the gorge known as Couloir Samson.

This is the second public beach in the city center, located between Veillat beach and the port of Santa Lucia. It's divided into two areas, the sandy Handiplage and a large stone pebble beach, and there is a beautiful promenade, shaded by a park with a playground and mini golf. There are showers and toilets, but you can't rent a lounger here. Amenities: lifeguards; showers; toilets. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking.

This large, public sand beach, just east of the port and capitainerie (harbor master), is close to a restaurant where you can rent a lounger. Arrive early in the summer to claim your spot close to the sea. Note: you'll readily be able to discern the tourists from the locals, who tend to be attired in bottoms-only beach wear. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; swimming.

The oldest and most famous of St-Trop's private beaches (Bardot filmed along this stretch) has fine sand, rentable loungers close to the shoreline, restaurants, and toilets. The crowd is definitely north of 35, but, as they don't act their age, there is a lot to see in terms of hardly-there swimwear. Amenities: showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: swimming; walking.

Stay on the D559 to the D1098, and you'll find yourself careening along a stunning coastal drive, the Corniche de l'Estérel, which whips past tiny calanques and sheer rock faces that plunge down to the sea. At the dramatic Pointe de Cap Roux, an overlook allows you to pull off the narrow two-lane highway (where high-season sightseers can cause bumper-to-bumper traffic) and contemplate the spectacular view up and down the coast.

Train travelers have the good fortune to snake along this cliff side for constant panoramas. It's also a hiker's haven. Some nine trails, ranging from an hour to 4½ hours, strike out from designated parking sites along the way, leading up into the jagged rock peaks for extraordinary sea views. (Don't leave valuables in the car, as the sites are littered with glass from break-ins.) You can download trail maps from the St-Raphaël tourism website or drop by the tourist office across from the train station. There is also a coastal path leaving from St-Raphaël port; you'll see a mix of wild, rocky criques (coves and finger bays) and glamorous villas.

The Arènes (often called the Amphithéâtre) can seat up to 5,000 and is still used for concerts and bullfights. Back down on the coast, a big French naval base occupies the spot where ancient Roman galleys once set out to defeat Cleopatra and Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium.

Looking out over the waterfront, catering to the city's many conventioneers, this casino has 150 slot and 30 video poker machines that operate daily 9 am–3 am (4 am on Saturday). The other games—English roulette, blackjack, and stud poker—however, don't open for play until 9 pm, and you'll need to show your passport.

This eccentric chapel was the last designed by Jean Cocteau as part of an artists' colony that never happened. It's an octagon built around a glass atrium and is embellished with stained glass and frescoes depicting the mythology of the first Crusades. Above the front door, note the tongue-in-cheek painting of the apostles—it features the faces of Coco Chanel, Jean Marais, and poet Max Jacob.

Moustiers was founded as a monastery in the 5th century, but it was in the Middle Ages that the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Beauvoir (first known as d'Entreroches, or "between rocks") became an important pilgrimage site. You can still climb the steep cobbled switchbacks along with pilgrims, passing modern stations-of-the-cross panels in Moustiers faience. From the porch of the 12th-century church, remodeled in the 16th century, you can look over the roofs of the village to the green valley, a patchwork of olive groves and red-tiled farmhouse roofs. The forerunner of the star that swings in the wind over the village was first hung, it is said, by a crusader grateful for his release from Saracen prison. It takes about 20 minutes to climb the 262 steps, but remember, what goes up must come down—these worn stone steps yield little traction, so be careful.

Looming over the sea at Pointe des Pendus (Hanged Man's Point), the Château de la Napoule is a spectacularly bizarre hybrid of Romanesque, Gothic, Moroccan, and Hollywood styles cooked up by the eccentric American sculptor Henry Clews (1876–1937). Working with his architect wife, Clews transformed the 14th-century bastion into something that suited his personal tastes and then filled the place with his own fantastical sculptures. The couple reside in their tombs in the tower crypt, its windows left slightly ajar to permit their souls to escape and allow them to "return at eventide as sprites and dance upon the windowsill." Today the château's foundation hosts visiting writers and artists, who set to work surrounded by Clews's gargoyle-ish sculptures.

Head up Rue de la Citadelle to these 16th-century ramparts, which stand in a lovely hilltop park offering a fantastic view of the town and the sea. Amid today's bathing suit–clad sun worshippers it's hard to imagine St-Tropez as a military outpost, but inside the Citadelle's dungeon, the modern Musée de l'Histoire Maritime Tropézienne (St-Tropez Maritime Museum) is a stirring homage to those who served the nation.

This 100-acre winery, a highly regarded domaine producing wine since 1805, offers tastings year-round and also runs the Village Cellar in town from June through September. You can reserve a spot for the two-hour guided tour in English every Friday at 4 pm (€15).

Augmenting the Atlantic City vibe of this modern pleasure port is the gingerbread-and-gilt dome of the neo-Byzantine Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Victoire, which watches over the yachts and cruise boats gliding into the port.

Next to the Museum of Archeology in the vieille ville (Old Town), the 12th-century Église San Rafeu (also known as Église St-Pierre-des-Templiers) is a miniature-scale Romanesque church. It was recently discovered that its foundations lie on top of two other churches dating from the Carolingian era (AD 800–888). Climb up the 129 steps of the 13th-century bell tower, the Tour San Rafeu, for 360-degree panoramic views, and snap away.

Fréjus is graced with one of the most impressive religious monuments in Provence. The Groupe Épiscopal is made up of an early Gothic cathedral, a 5th-century Roman-style baptistery, and an early Gothic cloister, its gallery painted in sepia and earth tones with a phantasmagoric assortment of animals and biblical characters. Off the entrance and gift shop is a small museum of finds from Roman Fréjus, including a complete mosaic and a sculpture of a two-headed Hermès.

A block west of Rue Clémenceau, in a pretty house at the end of a typically Tropezien lane, the Butterfly Museum is a delightful place to spend an afternoon. Sweetly aflutter, the 35,000 specimens were a passion of late collector Dany Lartigue, the son of the famous photographer Jacques-Henri.

To experience St-Tropez's natural beauty up close, consider walking parts of the sentier du littoral, or coastal path, around the peninsula and all the beaches to Cavalaire-sur-Mer. The 12½-km (7-mile) route to Tahiti Beach has longish stretches on sand beach and takes about 3½ hours. Leave from the Tour du Portalet or the Tour Vieille at the edge of the Quartier de la Ponche. Follow the footpath from Plage des Graniers along the beaches and cliffs overlooking the water, often with views toward the Estérel or out to the open sea.

At Tahiti Beach, you can walk the 3 km (2 miles, 50 minutes) back to town or continue another 5 km (3 miles, 90 minutes) along the Plage de Pampelonne to the Bonne Terasse Beach. From here it gets serious, with another 19 km (12 miles, 6 hours) to Cavalaire to complete the entire trail. But you'll need to plan ahead to catch one of the few buses back to St-Tropez. Otherwise, it's 18 km (11 miles) back to town.

Dramatic forest scenery makes taking a drive west and northwest of St-Tropez (take the D98 toward Grimaud) along the D558 worthwhile even if you're not heading up to the A8. This is the Massif des Maures, named for the Moors who retreated here from the Battle of Poitiers in 732 and profited from its strong position over the sea. The largest forest area in the Var reaches an altitude of 2,560 feet. Some 26 villages share the Massif's borders and—amid vineyards and mushroom-shape parasol pines unique to the Mediterranean—crowd the highway (as do cyclists in spring). 

The forest is dark with thick cork oaks whose ancient trunks are girdled for cork every 10 years or so, leaving exposed a broad band of sienna brown. Looming even darker and thicker above are chestnut trees, cultivated for their thick, sweet nuts, which you are not allowed to gather from the forest floor, as signs from the growers' cooperative will warn. The best place to sample châtaignes—whether in doughnuts, beer, or the famous marrons glacés (candied chestnuts)—is at the festival held every October in Collobrières, aka the chestnut capital of the world.

On the same quiet square as Église San Rafeu, this intimate museum has a fascinating collection of ancient amphorae gleaned from the shoals offshore, where centuries' worth of shipwrecks have accumulated. By studying this chronological progression of jars and the accompanying sketches, you can visualize the coast as it was in its heyday as a Greek and Roman shipping center. Take advantage of the temporary exhibitions held throughout the year (€4).

The legacy of the artists who loved St-Tropez—including Signac, Matisse, Braque, Dufy, Vuillard, and Rouault—has been carefully preserved in this extraordinary museum, housed in a 14th-century chapel just inland from the southwest corner of the Vieux Port. Cutting-edge temporary exhibitions feature local talent and up-and-coming international artists, while works—from Impressionism to Expressionism—by established artists line the walls.

The small but excellent Musée de la Faïence has concise audiovisual explanations of the craft and displays a chronology of fine pieces. It is housed in a pretty 18th-century hôtel particulier (private mansion) with a lovely salle de mariage (wedding hall) lined in painted canvas.

Off the Route des Plages is this most notorious of all the beach clubs, famous for A-list debauches and a regular clientele of movie megastars and wannabes. But Nikki Beach isn't actually on the beach; rather it is steps from the shore with a pool and restaurant. If you want to mingle with the famous, rent a seaside Opium bed (€120 for maximum three people, drinks not included) or a VIP Bed Ponton by the Sea for up to four people; it's typically €120, but this is St-Tropez, so the price may vary depending on the DJ. Just be sure to avoid renting a bed poolside, where the Champagne showers spare no one. Note that there is a free parking lot here, but attendants might, for a variety of reasons, direct you to another lot where you have to pay for parking. Amenities: food and drink; parking (fee and no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: partiers.

Just east of town on the Route de Fayence is the Romanesque chapel Notre-Dame-de-l'Ormeau, which contains a remarkable altarpiece dating from the 16th century. Sculpted portraits of the wise men and shepherds adoring the Christ child, strikingly real in emotion and gesture, contrast sharply with the simple ex-votos that pepper the walls. Guided visits (€5) take place throughout the year on Thursday at 4:30; you need to reserve with the tourist office (five-person minimum).

Enjoy a time-out in the social center of the Old Town, where a symmetrical forest of plane trees shades cafés and restaurants, skateboarders, children, and grandfatherly pétanque players. Also called Place Carnot, the square becomes a very affordable feast for both eyes and palate during the markets held here on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. At night, a café seat is as coveted as a quayside seat during the day.

Heading back to the Vieux Port area, take in the boutiques lining Rues Sibilli, Gambetta, and Clemenceau (where you can taste the most decadent tarte tropézienne at Marcel & Cavazza)—you never know when that photographer from Voici will be snapping away at the trendoisie. If you're here on the first weekend in May, check out Les Chefs de Saint-Tropez's three-day fêtent les producteurs ( www.leschefsasainttropez.com) event featuring local produce, culinary demonstrations, tastings, and a chef's pétanque competition.

This sandy public beach at the edge of town has lifeguards (mid-June–mid-September), as well as free showers and toilets. You can rent loungers nearby. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.

At the southern base of the Citadelle and past the cemetery, the closest beach to the town of St-Tropez is easily accessible on foot (it's part of the coastal walkway, or sentier du littoral) and the most family-friendly. At the east end, you can rent loungers (€30 plus extra for an umbrella) from the restaurant. There are no toilets or showers. Amenities: parking (no fee). Best for: swimming.

Situated between Cap des Salins and Point du Capon, this 600-meter public white-sand beach is the gateway to a stretch of Pampelonne Beach, although it's more exposed to the wind and the sea can quickly become rough. It's lined by huge umbrella-pine trees, and you can rent loungers from the beach's private section. To the left, by the coastal path, is a quieter cove. Amenities: parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.

Named after the Allied landings in August 1944, this is a sand-on-top-of-red-stone beach with great views of the private Île d'Or. From town, head toward Agay until Dramont, where you'll see signs for the pebble beach. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (no fee); toilets. Best for: swimming.

Situated between the casino and Cannes la Bocca, this public sand beach is one of the most beautiful in Mandelieu. There are restaurants and a nautical center nearby, as well as lifeguards on duty. If the views of the Îles de Lérins grow old, head to the neighboring Robinson beach and play some volleyball. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.

This is the city's main (and its largest) sandy beach, with access for people with disabilities and lifeguard stations during the summer season, when you can also rent a mattress. There are lots of cafés around, and from the Old Port you can take a shuttle to St-Tropez. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking.