Le Cannet des Maures

Sightseeing here happens on foot. Start with the old village, perched on its rocky spur, and the cemetery chapel with its oven-vaulted apse. Allow about forty-five minutes to walk around it.

Then comes the nature. The walk around Lac des Escarcets is the highlight, right in the heart of the Plaine des Maures nature reserve. Hiking trails also climb up into the Massif des Maures, on foot, by bike or on horseback. Local wine estates round off the visit with their tastings.

The story of this village unfolds in two chapters. The old Cannet, once the castrum of Caneto, is thought to have been founded in the 9th century after the decline of Forum Voconii, a Roman settlement built along the Via Aurelia. Its church of Saint-Michel dates back to 1027.

Everything changed in 1862 with the arrival of the railway. In 1903, a decree moved the town centre down to the station district, 127 metres below. The medieval heritage of the upper village survived intact, now a listed site, giving you a rare glimpse of a Provençal hilltop settlement in the Middle Ages.

Getting here is easy. By road, the A8 and A57 motorways meet at this point: take exit 13, at the Le Luc / Le Cannet-des-Maures toll. The DN 7 crosses the town from east to west, the RD 17 climbs towards Le Thoronet and the RD 558 heads down to La Garde-Freinet.

By train, the Le Luc-et-Le Cannet station sits within the town's boundaries, served by TER trains on the Marseille – Toulon – Les Arcs-Draguignan line. The nearest airport is Toulon-Hyères. The regional Zou! bus network completes the picture.

The town has around twenty places to eat, from the village bistro to sushi takeaway. La Table Saint-Roux, set on the estate of the same name along the road to La Garde-Freinet, tops the reviews. Its French and Mediterranean cooking is built on local produce, with the vineyards right outside the window.

The rest of the choice is simpler and more family-friendly: pizzas, a brasserie near the station, Middle Eastern food, sushi. For real regional cooking, look to the seasonal set menus and to the winegrowers themselves.

Le Cannet-des-Maures is a French commune in the Var department, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It covers 73.64 km², which makes it a large territory for its population of roughly 5,100 inhabitants.

Altitude ranges from 52 to 628 metres. That gap explains the contrast between the farmland of the plain and the wooded hills above. The commune belongs to the Cœur du Var district and to the canton of Le Luc.

The local calendar stays busy. Every Saturday morning, the Provençal market and the flea market set up on the station car park. It's the best moment to meet the producers of the area.

As for festivities, the Saint-Louis celebration brings the old village to life on the third weekend of August. The Christmas market takes place in early December, followed by the Festivités de l'Ours at the end of the year. Car boot sales are held on 1 May and on the first Sunday of October. The local events committee organises much of this cultural programme, together with residents.

The location is easy to remember: in the centre of the Var department, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The town lies between Le Luc and Vidauban, on the northern edge of the Massif des Maures and the plain of the same name.

On the map, you are halfway between the inland countryside and the French Riviera. The landscape mixes farmland, vineyards, wooded hills and protected wetlands.