Provence & Marseille

West of Saint-Tropez the Riviera ends and Provence begins: limestone instead of pine, and the Calanques national park’s fjords cut into white cliffs between Marseille and Cassis. The Frioul islands off Marseille and the Île de Porquerolles further east are the anchorages, and Toulon’s naval harbour sits between them.

It is a less crowded coast than the Riviera proper, and a windier one. The mistral funnels down the Rhône and out across this stretch of sea, so a charter here is planned around the forecast and rewarded with empty anchorages when it drops.