The Southeast: Provence Alps Côte d'Azur

The sky clears, the air dries and Provence comes into view as one drives or trains south down the Rhone Valley. Orange, Chateaneuf-du-Pape, Avignon, Carpentras, Aix-en-Provence, Les Baux de Provence, Luberon, Arles, Marseille: between the vestiges of the Roman Empire and of the Papal States, the reds and the roses, the summer festivals and the village squares, the lavender fields of Vaucluse and the marshes of the Camargue, the footsteps of Van Gogh and the cycling routes of the Tour de France, it’s no wonder you’ll want to linger. But then the Riviera — aka Côte d’Azur — calls (perhaps on a direct flight to Nice): Menton, Monaco, Antibes, Cannes, Saint Tropez, gastronomy in Mougins, perfume in Grasse, Carnaval, the museums, the sport, the luxury, the hyperluxury. All that and the southern French Alps bordering Italy.