Montagne Sainte-Victoire

Just outside of Aix-en-Provence lies the Montagne Sainte-Victoire, a limestone mountain ridge which is known for having been painted countless times by the famous artist Paul Cézanne who had his house on the outskirts of Aix, facing the 1,011m high peak. As you make your way to the top, you’ll quickly feel like you’re walking above the clouds. With quick elevation gains and the surroundings of the mountain being composed of a rather flat landscape, the view from up here stretches for miles and miles into the horizon. While the 2,5 to 3-hour hike can get challenging at times, it is generally doable with regular sports shoes and the perfect way to spend your Sunday getting out of the city for a little escape into nature.

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Arles & the Camargue

Driving over the highway bridge, with Arles appearing in front of you, the view of the city may remind you of a setting from Game of Thrones with countless ancient buildings and Romanesque architecture emerging from the accumulation of white facades of the houses. Being the capital of the Camargue, the city is the perfect base to explore the surrounding wetlands with its wild Camargue horses and flamingos.

But before venturing out, you should take some time to explore the city itself and admire its picturesque streets lined with flowers and plants in front of the colourful doors of the pretty houses with their blue shutters. I promise you, you won’t get tired of the views of its cute little streets, and the Colosseum-like arena might just leave you stunned.

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Camargue, Alpilles, Luberon & Verdon – Exploring the Natural Parks of the Provence

Besides its pretty little towns, Calanque cliffs and beautiful beaches, the Provence offers a seemingly endless number of natural parks. Driving for not more than 2-3 hours you will pass through a multitude of diverse environments, vegetations and landscapes. One second it’ll be a curvy road winding through forests with rocky mountains to all sides, the next second you find yourself in swampy fields, not a single other soul in sight. Renting a car and just wondering from one place to the next is probably the best way to explore the beauty of this area’s natural parks.

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Hyères & Île de Porquerolles – The Perfect Island Vibe Get-Away

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Looking for crystal clear water, empty beaches, and a calm place where one can only walk or cycle around? Then Ile de Porquerolles is most definitely the right address. Visiting for a day at the end of September, we had the island almost to ourselves, exploring the viewpoint at the north-eastern tip by bike, resting on Plage de Notre Dame, listening to the waves while the only other people were a good 10-minute walk further down the shore. If it wouldn’t have been for the last ferry at 6:20pm back to the mainland, we would’ve probably forgotten all about the time and stayed here forever.

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