Synonymous with champagne-popping, yacht-bobbing, the see-and-be-seen crowd – the South of France is bumper to bumper in summer. The smart move for those who want to experience it without the throngs? Come in shoulder season – late October – when roads clear, restaurants open back up to locals, and the sun still happily shines.
I first holidayed in Provence six years ago, in the hazy hilltop town of Gordes – back before the crowds properly caught on. I fell wildly in love. With Provence, yes, but also this whole corner of the South: the old-school glamour of Ramatuelle, the creative edge just outside Nice, the food markets and dusty olive groves of the Luberon.
