> An independent editorial journal of the Mediterranean South of France — Provence, the Côte d’Azur, Languedoc and the Camargue. Hotels, tables, vineyards and the places we return to. *Source : https://the-south-of-france.com/en/* --- ![The Mediterranean near Villefranche-sur-Mer](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1535928021132-3dfd912533d7?fm=jpg&q=72&w=2200&auto=format&fit=crop) Issue N° 09 · Spring 2026 [EN](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/)[FR](https://the-south-of-france.com/fr/)[IT](https://the-south-of-france.com/it/)[DE](https://the-south-of-france.com/de/)[ES](https://the-south-of-france.com/es/) # The South of France A journal of the Mediterranean The Îles d’Or 48 hours · Hyères _Villa Gallici_ A night in Aix Trévallon Cult wines · Alpilles The Esterel Ten secret coves Cover Story · No 09 La Belle Vie Forty-eight hours on the Îles d’Or, where summer never ends. ![A hilltop village in Provence](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1600762849691-4b51bc94009c?fm=jpg&q=74&w=1600&auto=format&fit=crop) Cover Story · N° 09 Gordes at first light, Vaucluse — photograph by our editors. The Grand Report · Le grand reportage ## Forty-eight hours on the _Îles d’Or_, where summer never ends. Words — The Editors · Hyères, Var There is a stretch of the Var coast where the mainland loosens its grip and three islands float just offshore — Porquerolles, Port-Cros, Le Levant. We took the first boat out of La Tour Fondue, a notebook, and no return ticket. What we found was the South as it was promised: pine, salt, and the long afternoon light that painters chase and never quite catch. [Read the report — lire le reportage](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/journal/) The Spring Carnet · Carnet de printemps ### Six _discoveries_ our editors keep returning to. ![A Provence village house under blue sky](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1597512432969-dd65354dba02?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop) I ProvenceStay #### Hôtel Crillon le Brave Crillon-le-Brave · Vaucluse A perched village reimagined as a single hotel. Stone, lavender, and a pool above Mont Ventoux — the kind of place that ruins you for ordinary hotels. [Read the review](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/stays/) ![A Mediterranean harbour at golden hour](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1665237592603-b03f244e1496?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop) II LanguedocTable #### La Table de Castigno Assignan · Hérault A two-star table inside a wine-village resort, where Vincent Farges plays with the Languedoc’s bounty. The most quietly inventive kitchen west of Marseille. [Read the review](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/the-table/) ![Rocky red cliffs above the sea, the Esterel](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1604948559069-3287d5c5a6e5?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop) III AlpillesVintner #### Domaine de Trévallon Saint-Étienne-du-Grès Eloi Dürrbach’s mythical estate at the foot of the Alpilles. Forty years of biodynamic farming, and reds that age for thirty. Tastings by appointment. [Read the report](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/the-table/) ![A coastal village on the French Riviera](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1587579785043-eccb9f70391d?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop) IV Côte d’AzurStay #### Hôtel Les Roches Rouges Saint-Raphaël · Var A 1950s seaside hotel rescued from kitsch — bare terrazzo, a saltwater pool cut into the rock, and the red Esterel falling straight into the blue. [Read the review](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/stays/) ![A perched Provence village seen from above](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1597824854158-9226c52cd21b?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop) V Haute-ProvenceTable #### La Bastide de Moustiers Moustiers-Sainte-Marie · Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alain Ducasse’s country inn below the gorges du Verdon. A kitchen garden, a handful of rooms, and cooking that tastes of exactly where you are. [Read the review](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/the-table/) ![A countryside farmhouse among wildflowers](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1715792001784-708b1d2c0bcd?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop) VI CamargueStay #### Le Mas de Peint Le Sambuc · Bouches-du-Rhône A working rice and bull farm turned discreet hotel deep in the delta. Horses at dawn, salt on the wind, and the wide pink light the painters came for. [Read the report](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/stays/) Five coasts, one light · Cinq pays, une lumière ### Where shall we _wander_ next? [ I Provence Lavender, ochre and the back roads of the Luberon. 38 addresses →](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/provence/)[ II Côte d’Azur From Cassis to Menton, the sea at its most theatrical. 44 addresses →](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/french-riviera/)[ III Languedoc Wild vineyards, Cathar stone and an emptier shore. 26 addresses →](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/languedoc/)[ IV Camargue Salt flats, white horses and the wide pink light. 19 addresses →](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/camargue/) Our promise · Notre promesse We write only about places we have paid for, slept in, and would _return to._ Nous y allons nous-mêmes, et nous écrivons ce que nous avons vu. The Editors · Marseille