About Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
For many people, both French and foreign, the jewel in France's crown is the eastern Mediterranean coastal region known officially as Provence Alpes-Côte d'Azur (population 4.51 million), abbreviated to PACA but simply referred to as Provence by most people, which comprises the departments of Alpes-de-HauteProvence (4), Hautes-Alpes (05), Alpes-Maritimes (6), Bouches-du-Rhône (13), Var (83) and Vaucluse (84). The magazine Le Point has more than once elected Aix-en-Provence (13), the 'capital' of Provence, the best French town to live in, and The Riviera Times recently wrote with reference to the Côte d'Azur: "Sun, blue skies, warm sea, delicious food and tasty wines, idyllic villages and an allure of luxury. Surely that's the life we are all looking for?"
Slightly larger than its Mediterranean neighbour, Languedoc-Roussillon, the PACA region occupies an area of 31,400km2 (19,510mi2) and has a population approaching 4.6 million. Economically, it's the second most important region in France after the Ile-de-France. Overall, the region is 40 per cent woodland (the second highest proportion in France), 15 per cent grassland, 10 per cent arable land and 35 per cent other uses (including urban areas).
The Provence area comprises the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse departments and part of the Var, although opinions differ as to exactly where Provence ends and the Côte d'Azur (Azure Coast) begins. The Côte d'Azur was 'discovered' by the British, who dubbed it the 'French Riviera' and helped to create the world's first coastal playground for the rich and famous. At the end of the 19th century, Queen Victoria was influential in developing the area's popularity through her visits to Hyères (just east of Toulon), which was then considered the western extremity of the Côte d'Azur. Today, many people regard Saint-Tropez, 45km (28mi) further east along the coast, as the limit of Provence and the start of the Côte d'Azur (known locally as la Côte).
Another school of thought (whose members understandably include many local estate agents) believes that the Côte d'Azur lies between Hyères and the conurbation of Frèjus-Saint-Raphael (east of Saint Tropez). There are also those who consider the French Riviera as the stretch of coastline from Menton, close to the Italian border, to just beyond Cannes, the Côte d'Azur encompassing the French Riviera and extending to Saint-Tropez. (Note that Monaco, although geographically part of the Riviera/Côte d'Azur, is a separate principality and not part of France.)
Wherever it exactly begins and ends, Provence is a fascinating land of romance, history (it has its own ancient language, Provençal, now spoken only in Italy) and great beauty and is celebrated for its excellent climate, attractive scenery, fine beaches, superb cuisine and fashionable resorts. It's one of the most exclusive areas of France, and few places in Europe can compete with its ambience and allure, glamorous resorts and beautiful people. However, it's also a region of stark contrasts, with a huge variety of landscape and scenery encompassing extensive woodlands, rugged mountains, rolling hills, spectacular gorges (the Grand Canyon du Verdon is the deepest cleft in the surface of Europe), dramatic rock formations, lush and fertile valleys carpeted with lavender, extensive vineyards (which stretch to the foot of the rugged Alpilles mountains in Vaucluse), and a ravishing coastline dotted with quaint fishing villages and fine beaches.
A journey through Provence is an indulgence of the senses, and its diverse vegetation includes cypresses, gnarled olive trees, almond groves, umbrella pines, lavender, wild rosemary and thyme, all of which add to its unique and seductive sights and smells. Provence produces a number of excellent wines and includes the prestigious vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas (mostly red) and Lilac (red, white and rosé) plus popular and drinkable wines such as Côtes du Lubéron and Côtes de Provence.
The region contains many naturally beautiful areas, notably the Lubéron National Park (Parc naturel régional du Lubéron), the heart of the provençal countryside and still a fashionable area for holiday homes and visitors, in spite of or perhaps because of Peter Mayle. The Camargue, between Arles and the sea (from which it was reclaimed), is one of the most spectacular nature reserves in France and famous for its wild horses.
Provence also contains a wealth of beautiful historic Roman towns and dramatically sited medieval villages, and both Marseilles and Nice provide sea links to Corsica and North Africa, where the holiday resorts of Morocco and Tunisia are popular with the French (being former protectorates where French is still widely spoken).
Although the Alpes-Maritimes and Bouches-du-Rhône departments have very little coastline which isn't built-up, Var has perhaps the most attractive, unspoilt coastline in the PACA region, between Hyères and Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël.
Not surprisingly, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is the most popular region in France for holiday and retirement homes and has a large foreign community, the British, Germans and Italians being among the largest buyers of second homes. In 2001 there were around 8,000 official British residents (Peter Mayle's televised book, A Year in Provence, caused countless Brits to pack up and head south). Popularity, of course, has its price, notably in respect of property costs, which have risen beyond the reach of many, who may look instead towards Languedoc-Roussillon, which currently has only half as many British residents as Provence.
©Text by David Hampshire, from Survival Books' Buying a Home in France
