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Palm and olive groves and a small lake surround 4,000 roses planted in memory of Princess Grace of Monaco, who died in a car accident.

Port-Cros is the smallest of the Iles d’Hyères, and the national park protects the delightful island and 18 sq km (7 sq miles) of sea around it from the development that has overtaken so much of the coast. On land, it shelters beautiful butterflies and rare sea birds, and there is excellent scuba diving and snorkelling (see Scuba Marine Park, Port-Cros).

Mercantour National Park, sprawling over 700 sq km (270 sq miles), is one of Europe’s largest and its rocky slopes are home to rare species including chamois, ibex, moufflon and marmot. Golden eagles and the rare lammergeier vulture soar above the peaks (see Vallée des Merveilles and Musée des Merveilles).

The Luberon region contains a wide range of habitats. The northern mountains are wild and exposed, while the central massif shelters the southern slopes, creating a gentler environment. Moorland, cedar forest, chalk hills and deep river gorges shelter wild boar, eagles, owls and beavers (see Parc Naturel Régional du Luberon).

The Luberon has a wild, mountain beauty and it is the park’s job to maintain the balance between tourists and the environment. Covering 150,000 ha (375,000 acres), it takes in the rugged Petit Luberon of crags, gorges and perched villages to the west and the more rounded Grand Luberon to the east. It also stretches north to the Monts de Vaucluse. The park’s headquarters in Apt have information on walks, the ecology and the area’s traditions (see Parc Naturel Régional du Luberon).

Along the river Verdon, this national park is a huge patchwork of landscapes from the neatly cultivated lavender fields of the sunlit Valensole plateau (see Valensole Plateau) to the forested hills and pastures of the Artuby, the awesome chasms of the Grand Canyon du Verdon (see Grand Canyon du Verdon) and the beginnings of the Alps. There are brilliant blue lakes created where the Verdon has been dammed. This is a paradise for hikers, with a network of 700 km (450 miles) of paths, bridle-ways and ancient mule highways.

This 7-ha (17-acre) park contains a dense, varied collection of trees: canary pines, ginkgo biloba, agave and a great selection of palms. There’s a little zoo and, in the glasshouse, tropical plants and exotic birds.

Superb collection of Mediterranean trees and shrubs founded by Gustave Thuret in 1857.

Born in Aix, where he lived most of his life, Cézanne (1839–1906) painted hundreds of oil and watercolour scenes of his home town and the nearby Mont Sainte-Victoire (see Aix-en-Provence) in his own Post-Impressionist style. Better than any other painter, he captures the soul of Provence.

This realist painter (1834–71) painted sunny landscapes of his native Vaucluse, capturing the pure light of Provence’s rugged hillsides. Among his best known works is Deux Lavandières devant la Sainte-Victoire , on display in the Musée Grobet-Labadie in Marseille (see Musée Grobet-Labadié).