, Monaco (a comic opera high-rise ghetto) and St Tropez (over-priced, over-crowded and underwhelming). I'm also, usually, looking for more than just prettiness. I like oomph, and perhaps a story, in a place. In short, these are the seaside towns and villages I get most excited about revisiting. 0408 France's best seaside towns 'It's St Tropez without the obnoxious sense of exclusivity' Population: 7,800 You're a family, you require a full-tilt holiday, you go to Cavalaire. The resort shares the same sun, sea and insouciance as St Tropez, 12 miles yonder, but without the obnoxious sense of exclusivity. They like families here. Granted, quaint it ain't. Once a fishing village, Cavalaire is now a mainly post-war creation of apartments and modern streets. But palms and pines, light and sea attenuate the effect, the corniche surroundings are grand – and youngsters don't care for quaint anyway. They want activity. Cavalaire has every maritime pursuit known to man, short of whaling. The main three-mile beach (take the free shuttle bus) is itself ideal for bucket-and-spadery. Further out are creeks and more elemental beaches. Behind rises the Massif des Maures, and that gets wild in moments. Stay: The Hotel du Parc ( hotelduparc-cavalaire.com , B&B doubles from £189). 'It's six square miles of heathland, cliffs and creeks' Population: 832 Off the Finistère coast, Ouessant ('Ushant' to British mariners) is a concentration of the greatest hits of Brittany, hacked off and hurled out to sea. It's six square miles of heathland, cliffs and creeks. Seas surging around the rocks regularly sink ships. These include the Drummond Castle, which went down in 1896, en route from South Africa to England. T){kind=link}
The finest towns on the French coast, offering Belle Epoque glamour, sandy beaches, dramatic landscapes or oysters and chilled rose
It’s summer. Maybe you want to go to the French seaside. But where, exactly? Here’s a top 20 of coastal spots. My top 20. I’ve tried to avoid too many of the blindingly obvious. Others are omitted because I’m not keen, such as Cannes (a film festival with an uninteresting town attached), Monaco (a comic opera high-rise ghetto) and St Tropez (over-priced, over-crowded and underwhelming). I’m also, usually, looking for more than just prettiness. I like oomph, and perhaps a story, in a place. In short, these are the seaside towns and villages I get most excited about revisiting.
‘It’s St Tropez without the obnoxious sense of exclusivity’
Population: 7,800
You’re a family, you require a full-tilt holiday, you go to Cavalaire. The resort shares the same sun, sea and insouciance as St Tropez, 12 miles yonder, but without the obnoxious sense of exclusivity. They like families here. Granted, quaint it ain’t. Once a fishing village, Cavalaire is now a mainly post-war creation of apartments and modern streets. But palms and pines, light and sea attenuate the effect, the corniche surroundings are grand – and youngsters don’t care for quaint anyway. They want activity. Cavalaire has every maritime pursuit known to man, short of whaling.