A Week in Southern France

Welcome to the Côte d’Azur. Your driver meets you at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (NCE) and transfers you to your hotel. Check in and stroll the Promenade des Anglais — the palm-lined waterfront boulevard that defines Nice.

Afternoon: the Vieille Ville (Nice’s old town) — the Cours Saleya flower and food market, the baroque churches, the narrow Italian-influenced lanes. The Colline du Château viewpoint for the first panoramic view of the Baie des Anges. Welcome dinner — socca, salade niçoise, and a glass of Bellet rosé.

Morning: Villefranche-sur-Mer (10 minutes from Nice) — a pastel-colored fishing village on a sheltered bay, often called the most beautiful small harbor on the Riviera. The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on the Cap Ferrat peninsula (9 themed gardens overlooking the sea).

Afternoon: Monaco — the Monte Carlo Casino district, the Prince’s Palace (changing of the guard at 11:55am), and the Oceanographic Museum. Then Èze — the medieval perched village between Nice and Monaco with the Jardin Exotique at the summit and the perfume factory at the base. Return to Nice by evening.

Morning: private transfer from Nice to Marseille (approximately 2.5 hours along the A8 or the scenic coastal road through Cannes, Saint-Raphaël, and the Esterel mountains — red volcanic cliffs against the blue Mediterranean).

Arrive Marseille early afternoon. France’s oldest city (founded 600 BC by Greek sailors) and its most multicultural. The Vieux-Port (old harbor) is the heart — fishing boats, cafés, and the Fort Saint-Jean. Le Panier quarter (the oldest neighborhood, now galleries and street art). The MuCEM (Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, a contemporary building connected to the fort by a latticed concrete walkway). Evening: bouillabaisse at the Vieux-Port — the genuine article, not the tourist version.

Morning: Calanques National Park — a boat tour along the turquoise-water limestone inlets east of Marseille. The Calanques are narrow fjord-like coves with white cliffs, pine forests, and water so clear the boats appear to float above their shadows. Pre-booked small-group boat (your specialist avoids the large tourist boats).

Afternoon: Cassis — a cliff-side fishing village at the eastern edge of the Calanques with pastel-colored waterfront restaurants and the dramatic Cap Canaille (the highest sea cliff in France at 1,293 feet). Cassis white wine from the steep hillside vineyards. Return to Marseille or overnight in Cassis. Final coastal evening.

Morning: transfer from Marseille to Avignon (approximately 1 hour). The landscape shifts from the Mediterranean coast to the Rhône valley — stone villages, vineyards, and the mistral wind.

Afternoon: Avignon — the Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes, the largest medieval Gothic palace in Europe, seat of the papacy during the 14th-century schism). The Pont d’Avignon (Pont Saint-Bénézet). Walk the ramparts. Check in to your hotel within the walled city. Evening: dinner in Avignon’s Place de l’Horloge.

Morning: Pont du Gard — the Roman aqueduct bridge (UNESCO, 1st century AD, 161 feet high). Then into the Luberon — the hill villages that define the Provence postcard: Gordes (perched on a white limestone cliff above the valley), Roussillon (the ochre-red village built on pigment quarries), and Lacoste (the Marquis de Sade’s castle).

If visiting mid-June through early August: the lavender fields of the Luberon plateau (Sénanque Abbey with the lavender rows in front of the 12th-century Cistercian monastery is the most photographed site in Provence). Afternoon at leisure in a village café. Return to Avignon by evening.

Morning: Châteauneuf-du-Pape — the most famous wine appellation in the southern Rhône, named for the popes’ summer residence (the ruined papal castle overlooks the vineyards). Private tasting at a family domaine — Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre blends that are rich, sun-drenched, and impossible to replicate anywhere else.

Afternoon: a Provence market visit (L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue if it’s Sunday — the antiques capital of Provence with 300+ dealers along the river — or the daily market in Apt or Carpentras depending on the day of the week). Your specialist times the market to your travel dates. Farewell dinner in Avignon.

Morning transfer to Marseille Provence Airport (MRS, approximately 45 minutes) or Avignon high-speed rail station (for a fast connection to Paris CDG). A week in the south of France — the Riviera’s glamour, the Calanques’ raw coast, and Provence’s lavender-and-stone interior.

Your Juniper specialist remains reachable throughout departure day. Safe travels home.