VAR HOLIDAY TRAVEL GUIDE

With a sunny Mediterranean climate and a landscape which offers both mountains and sea, the department of Var is a great place to visit.

Var’s Mediterranean coastline is the gateway to the Cote d’Azur where daytime leisure activities revolve around sun and sea.

The family resort of Les Lecques has fine beaches, while east of the historic naval port of Toulon, fishing villages such as Le Lavandou are now popular resorts.

Old fashioned Hyeres, a winter favourite of Queen Victoria, has miles of sandy beaches nearby. Why not abandon the car and take a day trip to the protected islands of Iles d’Hyeres, once the haunt of pirates.

Wander through superb fauna and flora to unspoilt sandy coves and beaches with wonderful swimming including Porquerolle’s underwater dive trail.

Along the Corniche des Maures and beyond, the sand is silver, the resorts stylish, and the nightlife buzzing. Busy and beautiful St Tropez was a fishing village colonised by bohemians in the 1880s and again in 1930.

Its rediscovery by film makers in the 50s and 60s has led to celebrity resort status. View the latest fashions and spot the famous on their yachts whilst sipping a cocktail around the old harbour.

Behind the bustling resorts, the Massif des Maures, stretching from Hyeres to Frejus, reaches down to the coast in places as rocky cliffs. Coastal visitors can quickly reach this peaceful hinterland of fertile valleys and sunny hillsides and enjoy the sights and scents traditionally associated with Provence - olives, vines for Cotes de Provence wines, fruit, flowers and honey. Try produce at the fig festival at Sollies-Pont in August or discover truffles, mushrooms and even wild boar in huge forests of sweet chestnuts and cork oak where the protected Hermann’s tortoise makes its home.

As a welcome escape from the summer heat, Var can offer you a quiet holiday, perhaps walking in the breathtaking Gorges du Verdon where you can stop to swim or canoe in the lakes or visiting ‘villages perches’ - ancient villages high in the mountains - such as Castellet.