7 Best Sights in France

Bordering over-the-top hotels and estates, this spectacular footpath is nicknamed the Sentier Tirepoil, as the wind along it "ruffles the hair." It stretches about 5 km (3 miles) along the outermost tip of the peninsula, coming full circle around the gardens at Villa Eilenroc over to l'Anse de l'Argent Faux.

Book a guided nature walk through the tourist office, or tackle the route on your own via Plage de la Garoupe, where Cole Porter and Gerald Murphy once hung out and where a paved promenade affords dazzling views over the Baie de la Garoupe and the distant Alps. At the far end of the cape, however, the pavement gives way to a boulder-studded path along 50-foot cliffs, dizzying switchbacks, and thundering breakers. Continue along the path's newer portion to the cove l'Anse de l'Argent Faux, where you can catch your breath before heading up to the entrance of Villa Eilenroc. Then follow Avenue Beaumont to the cape's main road, RD2559.

The walk takes about two hours, and they might be two of the most memorable of your trip, particularly if you tackle it at sunset. Except for fellow walkers on sunny days and, perhaps, a yacht out on the water, civilization disappears along most stretches. Note that signs reading Attention Mort (Beware: Death) are reminders that this path can be very dangerous, especially in stormy weather. Indeed, when storm warnings are issued, locked gates might block the route. From the station in town take Bus 2 to the Fontaine stop. To return, follow Plage de la Garoupe to Boulevard de la Garoupe, and make a left to reconnect with the bus.

Composed of narrow, cobbled streets and pretty houses, Collioure today is a living museum, as evidenced by the Chemin du Fauvisme (Fauvist Way), a pedestrian trail winding through town with 20 points where you can compare reproductions of noted Fauvist canvases with the actual scenes that were depicted in them. The information center, behind the Plage Boramar, has an excellent map. Viewfinder picture frames let you see how delightfully little of what the artists once admired has changed in the ensuing century. To the north, the rocky Îlot St-Vincent juts out into the sea, a modern lighthouse at its tip, and inland the Albères mountain range rises to connect the Pyrénées with the Mediterranean. The town harbor is a painting unto itself, framed by a 13th-century castle and a 17th-century church fortified with a tower. The tourism office can arrange guided tours (€8.50).

Even if you haven't read Pagnol's works or seen his films, you can enjoy the Circuit Pagnol, a series of hikes (some up to 20 km [12 miles] long) in the raw-hewn, arid garrigues behind Marseille and Aubagne. Here Pagnol spent his idyllic summers, described in his Souvenirs d'un Enfance (Memories of a Childhood), crunching through the rosemary, thyme, and scrub oak at the foot of his beloved Garlaban.

When he became a famous playwright and filmmaker, he shot some of his best work in these hills, casting his wife, Jacqueline, as the first Manon of the Springs. After Pagnol's death, Claude Berri came back to the Garlaban to find a location for his remake of Manon des Sources, but found it so altered by brush fires and power cables that he chose to shoot farther east instead, around Cuges-les-Pine and Riboux. (The lovely village and Manon's well were filmed in Mirabeau, in the Luberon.)

Although the trails no longer travel amid pine-shaded olive orchards, they still let you explore primeval Provençal countryside with spectacular views of Marseille and the sea. To access the marked trails by yourself, drive to La Treille northeast of Aubagne, and follow the signs. For maps or an accompanied tour with literary commentary, contact the tourist office.

To experience St-Tropez's natural beauty up close, consider walking parts of the sentier du littoral, or coastal path, around the peninsula and all the beaches to Cavalaire-sur-Mer. The 12½-km (7-mile) route to Tahiti Beach has longish stretches on sand beach and takes about 3½ hours. Leave from the Tour du Portalet or the Tour Vieille at the edge of the Quartier de la Ponche. Follow the footpath from Plage des Graniers along the beaches and cliffs overlooking the water, often with views toward the Estérel or out to the open sea.

At Tahiti Beach, you can walk the 3.5 km (2 miles, 50 minutes) inland stretch back to town or continue another 5 km (3 miles, 90 minutes) along the Plage de Pampelonne to the Bonne Terasse Beach. From here it gets serious, with another 19 km (12 miles, 6 hours) to Cavalaire to complete the entire trail. But you'll need to plan ahead to catch one of the few buses back to St-Tropez. Otherwise, it's 18 km (11 miles) back to town.

This popular trail starts out from the town cemetery and winds through a magical, multicolor palette de pierres (of rocks) replete with eroded red cliffs and chestnut groves. The circuit takes about 45 minutes. Its opening hours are complicated, so check ahead with the tourist office.

The "King's Path" is a marked trail just below Boulevard des Pyrénées. At the top, near the Boulevard Aragon, look for the map identifying the main peaks of the Pyrénées in the distance.