Lodging: Var

Many areas on the Côte d'Azur are densely developed, busy and especially during the summer season overflowing with visitors. There are plenty of vacation rentals, B&Bs and hotels here. The challenge is to find those which offer comfort, friendly service, a still acceptable price/quality ratio and are located in a "hideaway" spot. By the way, the terms Côte d'Azur and French Riviera are interchangeable and refer to the coast between the Italian border and either Hyères, Toulon or even Cassis - take your pick.

The area around Fayence offers the best of two worlds: historic villages on the slopes of the Southern Alpes yet close to St.Paul de Vence, Cannes, Antibes and Nice.

A favorite hideaways area is the Haut Var, the Upper Var, which stretches from Draguignan to St.Maximin le Ste.Baume north to the Verdon Gorges. It has been largely spared from rapid residential and tourist development you encounter in most coastal regions. In the Haut Var you can still find endless stretches of oak forests and native brush, small country roads ideal for biking, ancient villages with their colourful weekly markets. The Gorges du Verdon, are shared between the Départements Var and Alpes de Haute Provence. The gorges are quite impressive albeit much smaller in scale than the Grand Canyon.

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