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Renting a car on arrival can be cheaper than driving your own car. Other advantages include left-hand drive and replacement vehicles if the one you rent breaks down. Packages combining flights, car rental and accommodation can be very good value, or you can rent a vehicle for part of your stay from major rental companies at airports or in all main towns and resorts. Most car rental companies require drivers to be over 21 with a clean record.

If travelling from elsewhere in Europe, using your own car has its advantages: you can bring more luggage, see more of France, and take home more souvenirs. You must have adequate insurance cover and French law also requires modifications to headlights and a range of accessories including fire extinguisher, replacement bulb set, warning triangle and first-aid kit. Emergency breakdown insurance is also advisable: consult your insurer or motoring organization.

Taxis are reliable and use meters (compteurs ) but are not flagged down on the street – find one at a taxi rank, book by phone, or ask your hotel or restaurant to call one.

France has some of the best public transport in Europe and getting around the region’s major cities by bus, tram and (in Marseille) metro presents few problems. Fares are integrated, so a single ticket can be used on any combination of transport for one hour. Day passes and books of tickets (carnets ) are also available (see Carnets).

From Marseille, rail lines run west to Arles and Nîmes, north to Aix and Avignon and east to Nice and Monaco. TER (regional express trains) also operate an inland route from Nice to Digneles-Bains. A range of discounts is available (see Rail Passes).

Inter-city buses supplement trains between major cities and numerous companies operating from long-distance bus stations (gares routières ) in cities and larger towns. Smaller villages and rural towns are poorly served by buses: many villages have no service at all, others have only one or two services a day.

Cycling is a great way to explore Provence. Mountainous regions such as the Vaucluse and the Alpes may be only for the super-fit, but there are gentler rides in the lowlands, along the coast and in the dead-flat Camargue. Mountain bikes (velos tous terrains or VTT) can be hired in all major towns and resorts (tourist offices have lists) and marked cycle trails range from demanding to totally relaxed (see Mountain Biking).

Provence is superb walking country, offering guided or marked walks through historic cities and coastal paths, sentiers balisés (local trails) and sentiers de grande randonnée (long-distance hiking tracks), part of a network that crosses France. Main long distance trails are the GR5, GR51 GR6 and GR9. Maps and guides are available from tourist offices (see Top 10 Walks).

Horses can be hired by the day or for longer, with or without a guide, on gentle or more demanding trails. The Camargue especially is ideal riding country (see The Camargue).

The Riviera is prime sailing country and every kind of vessel, from small yachts and catamarans to fully crewed motor-cruisers, can be chartered out of marinas including Nice, Cannes, St-Tropez, Antibes and St-Jean.