Total population: 4.3 million

Principal city: Marseille

Marseille, the regional capital, has a population of more than a million, and was the first city to be founded in France (by the Phoenicians in the 6th century BC). It is the principal seaport in France and third largest in Europe.

As it nears the Mediterranean, the Rhône, to the west of Marseille, splits into the large and small Rhône and forms an extensive delta containing the large, often marshy, expanse known as the Camargue. Partly cultivated with rice, it is best known as the home of white horses, black bulls and pink flamingos.

For many years, the Côte d'Azur has been one of the world's best-known holiday areas. The resorts are set out like the diamonds on film star's necklace: Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Cannes . . . and have something of a reputation for costing nearly as much. Nice, being one of France's largest cities and a magnet for the beau monde, needs no introduction. But 30 miles behind its famous beaches there are flower-swathed hillsides and spectacular Alpine scenery.

The Var is more laid back than the Côte d'Azur, with a measured sophistication. There is as much high life as you can find in any big city, but there is also deep, deep rurality on everyone's doorstep. The coastal resorts need no introduction at all: St-Raphaël, Fréjus, Ste-Maxime, St-Tropez, Bormes-les-Mimosas, and Hyères. The Var is also home to the largest canyon in Europe: the gorges du Verdon, which is a paradise for climbers and canoeists.

If you're talking Provence, you're probably talking about the Vaucluse département. This is the département Peter Mayle made famous to tourists — almost to bursting point — although it has always been a representative sample of life in the south. Artists are drawn to the hilltop villages of Provence, in particular Gordes and Bonnieux.

Orange, noted for its Roman remains, became French in only 1713; before that it had belonged to the Netherlands. Indeed, there are Roman remains wherever you go in Vaucluse. Vaison-la-Romaine is a delightful town in three distinct parts: the Roman city, the medieval hilltop town, and the new town.

Avignon is most famous for its bridge, originally consisting of 22 arches, of which only 4 now remain after a flood in 1668. The song Sur le Pont d'Avignon is actually a corruption: the dancing was originally performed on an island under the bridge. The 14th-century Palais des Papes, which overlooks the bridge, is testament to the fact that the city was for a short time the capital of Catholicism.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape, named after a papal fortress built there in the 14th century, is one of the best known French wines and is a byword for quality and character. This is largely thanks to a group of vignerons who in 1923 drew up a charter that is the basis of the Appellation Contrôlée.

The Queyras regional park and the Écrins national park are some of Europe's highest reserves. The latter contains such notable peaks as the Meije, Pelvoux, Ailefroide and Agneaux, and its aims are to sustain the traditional way of life, protect the Oisans massif, safeguard the ecological systems and record their rich diversity. Other points of interest are Saint-Véran, Europe's highest village (2040m), and the col d'Izoard, the highest point of the Tour de France.

Red wines are predominant here, and vary from the delicate and supple to the bold and curvacious. The gastronomy of the region is famously Mediterranean: bouillabaisse, aïoli etc … just about anything made with fresh vegetables, herbes de Provence and olives goes.