The 13 Best Cote d'Azur Beaches

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  • 1. Plage de Tahiti

    Plage de Tahiti
    Fred Bigio
    Great for:
    • Swimming

    Set just far enough out of the town of Saint Tropez yet within a stone's throw is one of the areas best known beaches - the Plage de Tahiti. Adjoining Pampelonne beach this broad stretch of sand has everything one would expect from one of the French Riviera's top spots.

    On quieter days, outside the summer holidays, the beach could almost be described as secluded, with its backdrop of… read more »

  • 2. Calanque d'En-vau

    Calanque d'En-vau
    © Michmuch06 / CC BY

    Set on the 10 mile stretch of coastline between Marseille and Cassis in southeast France are various stunning beaches, inlets and hidden coves. The calanques are fjord-like inlets carved into the white limestone by ancient rivers that have long since disappeared underground. Of all these deep inlets none is more beautiful than Calanque d'En-vau.

    Set at the end of a deep canyon is a small stretch of pristine white pebbles… read more »

  • 3. Notre Dame Beach, Porquerolles // Hyères Islands

    Notre Dame Beach, Porquerolles
    Great for:
    • Swimming

    Set on the sheltered north coast of the island of Porquerolles is the stunning Plage Notre Dame (beach of Our Lady). Fringed with eucalyptus and pine forest the beach here is reminiscent of a Caribbean bay with the yachts bobbing in the clear turquoise waters of the French Riviera.

    The Île de Porquerolles is just over a mile from the French mainland and is a mix of woodland and vineyards.… read more »

  • 4. Pampelonne Beach

    Pampelonne Beach
    © Daniel Kaesler
    Great for:
    • Swimming

    In the playground for the rich and famous that is Saint Tropez, it is Pampelonne Beach that has been at the centre of this glamorous scene since the 1950s. This stretch of coast was made famous by Brigitte Bardot in when she appeared in a gingham bikini on Tahiti beach in the 1956 film "And God Created Woman". In the years that followed the dress code became even… read more »

  • 5. Les Grottes (Île du Levant) // Hyères Islands

    Les Grottes (Île du Levant)
    #hyerestourisme
    Great for:
    • Snorkeling
    • Swimming

    One of the four islands which make up the Îles d'Hyères, the Île du Levant sits just off the southern tip of mainland France. Less than 10km off the coast the island is a quick ferry ride away, but a very different world awaits.

    The majority of the heavily forested 8km long island is owned by the French military and is out of bounds. Home to a missile testing facility it… read more »

  • 6. Plage de Piémanson

    Plage de Piémanson
    JeroSig
    Great for:
    • Swimming
    • Kitesurfing

    This remote beach lies on the edge of the Camargue wetlands at the mouth of the River Rhone. Backed by the salt marshes of Salin-de-Giraud this area really is somewhat cut off from civilisation. Access is limited by the wetlands to one side and the river to the other, with the nearest crossing point, a ferry, some 10km upstream.

    Given it's seclusion and the near-10 kilometre stretch of sand there is… read more »

  • 7. Plage de la Mala

    Plage de la Mala
    Jon Mountjoy
    read more »
  • 8. Plage de la Gravette

    Plage de la Gravette
    Aimelaime
    read more »
  • 9. Plage de Ponteil

    Plage de Ponteil
    Ethan Oringel
    read more »
  • 10. Plage de la Salis

    Plage de la Salis
    Laurent Wattieaux-Marquet
    read more »
  • 11. Plages du Midi

    Plages du Midi
    MOSSOT
    read more »
  • 12. Beau Rivage

    Beau Rivage
    © Julien Maury
    read more »
  • 13. Plage Castel

    Plage Castel
    © Julien Maury
    read more »