Rick Steves' Provence and the French Riviera

You can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when traveling in Provence and the French Riviera.

In this guide, you'll find a dazzling mix of enjoyable cities, warm stone villages, Roman ruins, and breathtaking coastline. Experience Roman history with self-guided tours of the Pont du Gard aqueduct, Roman theater in Orange, and Arena in Arles. Explore sun-soaked Riviera beaches and resort towns, from cosmopolitan Nice to colorful Villefranche-sur-Mer. Get inspired by artistic masterpieces by Renoir, Matisse, Picasso, and Chagall. After a day of sightseeing, relax at a café with a view, dive into a bowl of bouillabaisse, and watch fishermen return to the harbor.

Rick's candid, humorous advice will guide you to good-value hotels and restaurants. You'll learn which sights are worth your time and money, and how to get around by train, bus, car, or boat. More than just reviews and directions, a Rick Steves guidebook is a tour guide in your pocket.

Rick Steves has spent 100 days every year since 1973 exploring Europe. Rick produces a public television series (Rick Steves' Europe), a public radio show (Travel with Rick Steves), and a podcast (Rick Steves' Audio Europe); writes a bestselling series of guidebooks and a nationally syndicated newspaper column; organizes guided tours that take thousands of travelers to Europe annually; and offers an information-packed website (ricksteves.com). With the help of his hardworking staff of 70 at Europe Through the Back Door—in Edmonds, Washington, just north of Seattle—Rick's mission is to make European travel fun, affordable, and culturally broadening for Americans.

Steve Smith manages tour planning for Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door and has been researching guidebooks with Rick for two decades. Fluent in French, he's lived in France on several occasions, starting when he was seven, and has traveled there annually since 1986. Steve's wife, Karen Lewis Smith, who's an expert on French cuisine and wine, provides invaluable contributions to his books, as do his two children.