3 Best Sights in The French Riviera, France

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.

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.

Despite its civilized airs, Moustiers is another gateway to the Gorges du Verdon, providing the best access to the southern bank and the famous drive along D71 called the Route de la Corniche Sublime. (There's also the scenic 23-km [14-mile] route along the northern ridge, Route des Crêtes along the D23, which starts at Castellane and has no fewer than 14 viewpoints that cut through the ridges of the canyon.)

Breathtaking views over withering drop-offs punctuate this vertiginous road just wide enough for two cars if you all hold your breath. The best of the vistas is called the Balcons de la Mescla, with viewpoints built into the cliff face overlooking the torrential whirlpool where the Verdon and Artuby combine.