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Tarasque, a dragon-like beast, terrorized Tarascon in the 1st century AD, until St Martha sprinkled it with Holy Water. Tarascon converted to Christianity (see Château de Tarascon) and Tarasque remains central to the town’s June festival.

This majestic Roman monument, built from local white stone, was erected in 6 BC to mark the boundary between Italy and Gaul and to honour Augustus’s Gallic conquests. Towering over the small village of La Turbie, high above Monte Carlo, with breathtaking views of the Riviera, it still has the power to impress (see La Trophée des Alpes).

Also known as the Trophée d’Auguste, this remarkable Roman monument is the only building of its kind still in existence. Its towering columns can be seen from afar and there are views along the Riviera. A museum shows a video about the monument’s history (see La Trophée des Alpes).

Wriggling up the hill to the north of the Vieux Port, Le Panier is Marseille’s oldest sector. This is where the Greeks settled and, in subsequent centuries, where the city’s immigrants began their new lives. They still do – the tiny streets are alive with different accents and cultures. The main feature is La Vieille Charité, the 17th-century workhouse now transformed into a wonderful cultural centre. It houses the museums of Mediterranean Archaeology and of African, Oceanic and Amerindian Art. Especially noteworthy is the domed central chapel – Italian Baroque at its purest.

Twin temples, a Roman forum, baths and a fortified gate can be seen at Glanum, near St-Rémy, which also reveals traces of a 4th-century Greek settlement. Another triumphal arch (10 BC) marks more Gallic victories (see St Rémy-de-Provence and Glanum).

Like other large Roman arenas in Provence, the amphitheatre at Fréjus (see Fréjus Old Town), which can seat up to 10,000 people, is still used regularly for bullfights and classical music concerts. It was originally built in the 1st–2nd centuries AD. Nearby are parts of the original Roman wall.

Within 15 minutes of Marseille’s centre, you are out of the city and into a different world. Here white rocks plunge into the blue sea and the road snakes into creeks (calanques ) of great beauty, and small settlements. This is where the Marseillais spend their weekends, eating, drinking and keeping rich developers out. After the “village” of Les Goudes, the road peters out and access to other, even more picturesque creeks (towards Cassis) is by foot or boat (see Calanque d’En-Vau, Cassis).

Probably the prettiest mountain range in Provence, the Dentelles are formed by three ridges of chalk topped by ragged crests. The French think of these as lacework (dentelles ), but they can look more like fangs in rough weather. Within the range, tiny villages (Suzette, La Roque Alric) cling to the crags as if by magic and climbers are attracted to the sheer rock-faces. The walking, too, is spectacularly good, notably up to St Amand, at 730 m (2,400 ft), the highest point. Round the western edge cluster the picturesque wine villages of Beaumes-de-Venise, Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Séguret. It’s advisable to stop here after, rather than before, a ramble (see Vineyards and Distilleries).

In AD 800 a congregation of monks ogled female Saracen prisoners being led to the River Durance and were turned to stone as punishment. There they remain – a 2-km (1-mile) line of rocks, some 100 m (300 ft) high, looking like repentant monks with their cowls up (see Les Mées).

Perched on a limestone crag, Les Baux is among the most dramatic fortified villages in Provence. It is crowned by a ruined citadel, the Château des Baux, whose walls date from the 10th century AD. At its entrance, the 14th-century Tour du Brau houses an interesting small museum. The village is closed to cars (see Les-Baux-de-Provence).