Places to visit in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
21 places to visit in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, each with LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own: Arles Amphitheatre, Palais des Papes, Pont Saint-Bénézet and more. Stand at any of them with the app open and the stamp is yours, confirmed on site, in your Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur volume.
4 UNESCO World Heritage sites · 1 Heritage site · 7 Famous places to visit · 9 Hidden gems
UNESCO World Heritage sites in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (4)
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Arles Amphitheatre
A two tiered Roman amphitheatre in the heart of Arles, with towers added in the Middle Ages when it was turned into a fortress. Nearly two thousand years on, it still fills with crowds for bullfights and summer festivals.
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Palais des Papes
The vast Gothic palace that was the seat of the popes in the 14th century, when Avignon was the centre of Western Christianity. Six conclaves were held within its walls, and its great bare halls and chapels still keep fragments of their frescoes.
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Pont Saint-Bénézet
A medieval bridge that once crossed the Rhône at Avignon, of which only four arches survive, stopping in midstream. It is the bridge of the children's song Sur le pont d'Avignon, and a small chapel still sits on one of its piers.
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Roman Theatre of Orange
A Roman theatre built early in the 1st century AD, one of the few anywhere whose great stage wall still stands. A statue of Augustus looks down from the wall, and each summer the theatre hosts the Chorégies d'Orange opera festival.
Heritage sites in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (1)
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Camargue
The delta of the Rhône south of Arles, a flat land of marshes, lagoons and salt pans between the river's two arms and the sea. White horses, black bulls and flocks of pink flamingos live here, and Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer sits on its shore.
Famous places to visit in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (7)
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Château d'If
A 16th century fortress on the tiny Île d'If, about 1.5 kilometres off Marseille, used as a prison until the end of the 19th century. Alexandre Dumas made it the jail of Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo, and boats from the Old Port carry visitors out to it.
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Mont Ventoux
A 1,910 metre mountain north east of Carpentras, the highest in Provence, its bare upper slopes of white limestone looking like snow from afar. Nicknamed the Giant of Provence, it is famous for its punishing climbs in the Tour de France.
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Notre-Dame de la Garde
A basilica on the highest point of Marseille, a 149 metre limestone outcrop south of the Old Port, built on the foundations of an old fort. Locals call it la Bonne Mère, the Good Mother, and its gilded statue of the Virgin watches over the city and the sea.
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Porquerolles
A car-free island of about 12 square kilometres off Hyères, home to only a couple of hundred people. Bicycles and footpaths lead through pine woods and vineyards to beaches of pale sand and clear water.
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Promenade des Anglais
A seafront promenade running about 7 kilometres along the Baie des Anges, from the airport to the edge of the old town. Its blue chairs and palm trees face the pebble beaches, and walkers, joggers and cyclists fill it from morning to night.
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Verdon Gorge
A river canyon about 25 kilometres long and up to 700 metres deep, cut through limestone between Castellane and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. The Verdon is named for its turquoise green water, and at the end of the gorge it flows into the Lake of Sainte-Croix.
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Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
A pink seaside villa built between 1907 and 1912 for Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild on the Cap Ferrat peninsula, designed by Aaron Messiah. Its rooms hold her collections of art and porcelain, and themed gardens run along the ridge between two bays.
Hidden gems in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (9)
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Calanques National Park
A national park on the coast between Marseille and Cassis, where white limestone cliffs are cut by narrow inlets of turquoise water called calanques. Hikers and boats reach coves such as Sugiton and En-Vau, and the park reaches out into the sea.
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Fondation Maeght
A museum of modern art founded by Marguerite and Aimé Maeght in 1964 on a hill above Saint-Paul de Vence. Paintings, ceramics and sculpture fill the building, and its gardens among the pines hold works by Miró and Giacometti.
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La Croisette
A seafront boulevard curving around the bay of Cannes, lined with palm trees, grand hotels and sandy beaches. At its western end stands the Palais des Festivals, where film stars climb the red carpet each May during the Cannes Film Festival.
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Lérins Islands
A group of five islands a short boat ride off Cannes. Sainte-Marguerite has pine woods and the fort where the Man in the Iron Mask was held, while Saint-Honorat is still home to a community of monks who make wine.
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Mucem
A national museum of Mediterranean cultures in a glass cube wrapped in a lace of dark concrete, at the entrance to Marseille's harbour. A slender footbridge links its roof terrace to the old Fort Saint-Jean across the water.
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Musée Matisse
A museum devoted to Henri Matisse, who spent much of his later life in Nice, in a 17th century ochre villa on the hill of Cimiez. Its collection follows him from his early paintings to the cut paper works of his last years.
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Old Port of Marseille
The harbour of Marseille since antiquity, at the foot of the Canebière, its quays given over mostly to people on foot since 2013. Fishermen still sell the morning catch on the waterfront, and a mirrored canopy by Norman Foster reflects the crowds below.
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Sénanque Abbey
A Cistercian abbey of plain grey stone in a narrow valley near Gordes, founded in the 12th century and still home to monks. In summer the rows of lavender in front of its church make it one of the best known views in Provence.
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Valensole Plateau
A high plateau in Provence between the Durance and Verdon rivers, best known for its lavender fields. In early summer long rows of lavender turn the land purple, broken by golden wheat and the old village of Valensole.
Collecting in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
What are the best places to visit in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur?
LOQAH lists 21 places in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The best known include Arles Amphitheatre, Palais des Papes, Pont Saint-Bénézet, Roman Theatre of Orange and Camargue. Each has a stamp of its own to collect when you are there.
How many LOQAH stamps are there in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur?
21, and more are added over time. Each place has LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own.
How do I collect a stamp in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur?
Open LOQAH at the place and get its stamp. LOQAH checks where you are once, at that moment; at the place itself the stamp is confirmed on site, with a gold badge.
I have been to places in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur before. Can I add them?
Yes. In Earlier trips, choose Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and swipe through its stamps, or import your Google Timeline. Each one goes into your volume with the date, if you know it.
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