Provence is beautiful. But then so is Paris with it's rich history of museums beautifully dressed people and great wine. The south of France is my favourite part of the world. There is a small fishing village 20 kms east of Marseille called Cassis. It is has great small beach where the water is brilliant azure blue/green in summer and the swimming wonderful. The hotel right on the beach is called the Hotel de la Plage (The beach hotel). I will save up all my pocket money for a few years just so the next time I am in Europe I can go and stay there for a week in the high season and swim every day. The markets in Provence are wonderful and full of fresh fruit and vegies. I guess that is why the french have been able to retain these markets because they are still are highly ruralised country.