Things to Do Around Toulon

Toulon sits in a curious blind spot. Travellers race east to Nice and Cannes, or west to the postcards of Cassis, and somehow skip the stretch of coast in between — the one with the working harbour, the wild red hills, and the beaches the locals actually use. That oversight is your good fortune. Based here, between the sea and the slopes above the bay, you have the real South of France within half an hour in almost every direction, and the crowds somewhere else.

Here is how we'd spend the days.

The town worth slowing down for

Toulon rewards an unhurried morning. Take the cable car up Mont Faron — a few minutes and 580-odd metres later, the whole bay opens beneath you, one of the great natural harbours of the Mediterranean. Back down at sea level, the Mourillon stretches out four linked beaches, all Blue Flag, shallow and calm behind their breakwaters, with cafés between the parasols. And no week here is complete without a morning lost in the Cours Lafayette market: olives, melons, soap, anchovies, the lot, from early until lunch.

Beaches, from family sand to secret coves

The coast around Toulon hides far more than its postcard beaches. For long, easy sand there's plenty close by; for something quieter, it's worth driving a little. We send guests to Saint-Clair, near Le Lavandou for an effortless beach day, to the hidden cove of Pramousquier when they want to feel like they've found a secret, and to Almanarre on the Giens peninsula when the wind is up and the kitesurfers are out. Day-trippers heading west fall for the Bestouan in Cassis, clear water beneath the cliffs.

Days on the water

This is sea country, and the best of it is reached by boat, kayak or a pair of good shoes. Take a boat out to Grand Ribaud and the Giens roadstead, walk the coastal paths of the Giens peninsula, or paddle the sea caves and deep-water cliffs at Pointe Sainte-Marguerite. Closer to home, Les Deux Frères and the Méjean and Magaud coves are made for snorkelling and a slow coastal walk. (Porquerolles, the largest of the Golden Islands, is about an hour's ferry away and worth a full day — bikes, pine forests, impossibly blue water.)

The hilltop villages of Provence

Turn inland and the landscape folds into perched stone villages, each with its square, its plane trees and its café. Bormes-les-Mimosas tumbles down the hillside in flowers; Le Castellet guards the Bandol vineyards from its ramparts; and deeper into the Haut Var, Cotignac and Tourtour feel a world away from the coast. Heading towards the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, Gassin gives you the views without the marina prices.

Provence in a glass

You are in the heart of Bandol and Provence rosé country. Spend an afternoon among the vines: the legendary Domaine Tempier in Bandol is the obvious pilgrimage, but the whole region is dotted with estates worth the detour — our full guide to wine tasting around Toulon maps out a route.

Mauricette's Tip

Don't try to do the coast and the back-country on the same day. Give the sea its mornings — the light is softer and the coves are empty before eleven — and save the villages for the late afternoon, when the heat lifts and the squares fill up for the apéritif. The drives are short; the temptation to rush them is the only thing that spoils a Provence holiday.

Make Villa Mauricette your base

All of this sits within easy reach of the villa — sea on one side, hills on the other, and a pool to come home to. See the house and book direct (best rate, up to 10% less than the platforms).