Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

Most visitors meet Marseille at the Vieux-Port, where the water is wide, and the photos look pre-approved. Fair enough — the harbor has earned the attention. But the city I keep returning to sits a short bus or long walk west, where the Corniche lifts over a notch in the cliff, and a fishing cove … Read more

Toulon does not try very hard to charm you on arrival. The station spills you into ordinary streets, the harbor is full of gray hulls that actually work for a living, and the first café you pass may have more sailors and shop clerks than anyone holding a guidebook. That is part of why I … Read more