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The Carlton is a Cannes landmark, home of the stars during the Film Festival and appropriately luxurious, with its own private beach and high standards of service. Part of an international chain, it retains an individual character.

On the ninth floor of one of Nice’s finest luxury establishments, the hotel’s beauty and fitness centre offers everything from sauna and massage to manicure and make-up advice.

A hidden luxury retreat, La Pérouse has the most outstanding views of Nice’s promenade. Choose a sea-view room with its own terrace.

Stylish, individual and hidden away in a tiny square with a view of the fishing port, this hotel is in the perfect place to escape the mayhem of the town in summer.

Beloved of rock stars and fashionistas, Le Byblos also has one of St-Trop’s trendiest nightspots attached to it. Painted in Art Deco colours worthy of a fashion shoot (for which it is frequently used) Le Byblos is among the most luxurious hotels in Provence.

The flagship of the whole Riviera, the Negresco is the grandest of grand hotels, from its splendid belle époque façade and public areas to its immaculate rooms and attentive service. One of the world’s most opulent hotels.

This offshore island fortress was built in the 16th century to protect the city’s port and was turned into a prison in 1580. Among its inmates were the real Comte de Mirabeau, and the fictional Count of Monte Cristo, the antihero of Alexander Dumas’ novel of the same name (see Alexandre Dumas). The fortress is accessible by ferry from the Vieux Port.

Grasse is a rather unprepossessing town at first sight, but its air is scented by the perfume factories for which it has been famous for more than four centuries. Vast quantities of blossoms are processed here for their essential oils, and a jasmine festival is held each year in August. You can find out how perfume is made at the Musée Internationale de la Parfumerie (see Musée International de la Parfumerie, Grasse).

Cassis is overseen by France’s highest coastal cliffs, whose scale reinforces the intimacy of the narrow little harbour and old town centre down below. Tourists crowd the beaches – the best bathing is in the creeks to the west – but Cassis remains a fishing port, and well retains its authenticity (see Cassis).

This delightfully pretty fishing port (see Cassis) with its brightly coloured fishing boats anchored in a harbour on a rugged, rocky coastline, was a favourite with painters such as Dufy, Derain and Matisse (see Painters in Provence), all of whom were inspired by its clear light and bright Mediterranean hues. Amazingly, it has escaped being spoiled by tourism, and there are pretty rocky coves (calanques ) and beaches nearby. Cassis is also noted for its excellent seafood (fresh sea urchins are considered a local delicacy) and there are plenty of good restaurants.

Home of Henri Bardouin, the connoisseur’s pastis . Like all pastis , Bardouin is based on star anise but here they add 50 other herbs and spices, many from the surrounding hillsides. The result is an apéritif more richly flavoured than better-known brands.

Fashionable folk flock here, and no wonder. The village is perched above the Coulon Valley, and its little houses appear piled on top of one another. In the centre, the chateau oversees the whole with Renaissance dignity.

Ménerbes was superbly sited for defence. As a Protestant stronghold, it held out for five years during the 16th-century Wars of Religion. The position remains dramatic, but peace now reigns around the citadel and townhouses. The views are terrific.

Moustiers, loud with the sound of a swift-running stream which flows through the middle of the village, is simply delightful, with its tall old houses, shady plane trees and flower baskets and, for those who can face the climb, a superb view of the Gorges du Verdon from the clifftop church of Notre-Dame-de-Beauvoir (see Notre-Dame-de-Beaulieu, Cucuron). The village was and is famed for its faïence ware, and you can see wonderful examples in the Musée de la Faïence (see Moustiers-Ste-Marie).

The finest Roman theatre in Europe has its original stage wall, guaranteeing perfect acoustics (see Parc de la Colline St-Eutrope, Orange).

The prettiest harbour in the Var remains a proper fishing port, bobbing with boats. Beyond, palm trees fringe a frontage of pastel façades. Activity varies from relaxed to intense, notably during the morning market which enlivens the Allées d’Estienned’Orves. The beach is nearby. So, too, are plaques commemorating Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht and other German writers who took refuge from the Nazis here in the 1930s.

This village was the source of Arles’s water supply in Roman times, via an aqueduct. A 12th-century church and ruined castle stand in the village.

To mingle with the rich, famous and beautiful, book a room at St-Trop’s most fashionable hotel and swan into Les Caves du Roy, the hotel’s nightclub. Les Caves in season is the haunt of super models, film stars and racing drivers. Gucci, Versace or Armani almost compulsory (see Les Caves du Roy, St-Tropez).

France’s oldest music festival, started in 1860, has the town’s magnificent Roman theatre as its main venue (see Roman Theatre, Orange). The original stage wall ensures perfect acoustics for the classical operas which have earned the event an international reputation.

Some 1,000 boats from 50 nations compete in this sailing event.