87 articles
Narbonne
Narbonne (Narbo Martius), Aude, Occitanie: Rome's first colony in Gaul (118 BC) and once a major port, now a growing commune of about 57,600 known for wine, the Canal de la Robine and Roman and Gothic heritage.
Nice
Nice (Niça), fifth-largest city of France on the Mediterranean Côte d'Azur, ceded to France in 1860, UNESCO-listed in 2021 for its winter-resort districts, Promenade des Anglais, and 7 km of pebble beaches.
Nîmes
Nîmes (Nemausus), city of over 150,000 in Gard, Occitanie, France, famed for Roman monuments: Maison Carrée (UNESCO 2023), amphitheater, Tour Magne; Latin colony from 44 BC.
Nistos
Nistos is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in Occitanie, southwestern France, in the Pyrenean foothills near the Neste and Barousse valleys, promoted for heritage and outdoor tourism.
Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pau, New Aquitaine: commune and prefecture of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France, historic capital of Béarn, birthplace of Henri IV (1553) and Bernadotte (1763); 80,441 inhabitants (2023), first world aviation school (1911).
Périgueux
Périgueux, prefecture of the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France; ancient Gallo-Roman Vesunna on the Isle river. 29,055 inhabitants (2023), Saint-Front Cathedral UNESCO-listed, Vesunna museum by Jean Nouvel.
Perpignan
Perpignan (Perpinyà) is a city in southern France, prefecture of Pyrénées-Orientales. Continental capital of the Kingdom of Majorca 1276–1344; 121,616 inhabitants in 2023; poverty rate 36%.
Poitiers
Poitiers, prefecture of Vienne in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, is a city of about 90,000 on a rocky spur between the Clain and Boivre rivers, a former regional capital with 86 listed monuments and 31,000 students.
Puyloubier
Puyloubier, commune in Bouches-du-Rhône, France (INSEE 13079), on the southern piedmont of Montagne Sainte-Victoire; wine village of AOC Côtes de Provence Sainte-Victoire, Roman villa sites, Saint-Ser ermitage, Domaine Capitaine Danjou.
Rognes
Rognes, a commune in Bouches-du-Rhône, France, between Trévaresse and the Durance near Aix-en-Provence; known for the Domitii Aquenses Gallo-Roman mausoleum at Barbebelle, prehistoric sites, and the 1909 earthquake-damaged Saint-Marcellin chapel.
Roujan
Roujan is a commune in Hérault, France, tentatively identified with Medilianum. It is noted for its 1st-century Gallo-Roman sanctuary and the founding of the Cassan priory.
Sacoué
Sacoué, a small commune (71 inhabitants) in the Barousse valley, Hautes-Pyrénées, France, at the foot of Mont Sacon, site of a Gallo-Roman mountain sanctuary and a former glassmaking village.
Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume
Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, a Var commune in Provence, France, home to the Gothic Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine holding the relics of Mary Magdalene; 17,896 residents in 2023.
Saint-Pierre-d'Aurillac
Saint-Pierre-d'Aurillac, a commune on the right bank of the Garonne near Langon in Gironde, France; former Benedictine priory of Aurillac abbey with a Gallo-Roman villa site and a 19th-century neo-Romanesque church.
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, a commune in Bouches-du-Rhône at the foot of the Alpilles, home to the ancient city of Glanum, birthplace of Nostradamus, and site of Van Gogh's asylum stay at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole; 9,599 inhabitants in 2023.
Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez, Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur: Mediterranean resort commune (3,582 residents in 2023) famous for its port, 17th-century Citadel, Brigitte Bardot, and seasonal crowds of up to 140,000 visitors a day.
Sausses
Sausses is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department of southeastern France, on the right bank of the Var 12 km north of Entrevaux, with 132 inhabitants at the 2019 census.
Seix
Seix, Ariège, Occitanie, France: Pyrenean commune known for marble quarries (Vert d'Estours green-veined marble, griotte d'Estours, Escalirous white marble, Pont-de-la-Taule site) and Salau tungsten mineralization.
St-Félix-de-Pallières
St-Félix-de-Pallières, a small commune in the Gard, Occitanie, France, on the Cévennes border; site of the former Croix-de-Pallières lead-zinc mines (closed 1971) and of lasting heavy-metal soil contamination and Umicore remediation litigation.
St-Jean-du-Gard
St-Jean-du-Gard, Gard, Occitanie: Cévennes commune on the Gardon at the confluence of the Borgne and Française valleys; Benedictine priory town, first mentioned 1119 as Saint-Jean-de-Gardonnenque; Barrington Atlas ancient mine site.
St-Yrieix-la-Perche
Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche, Haute-Vienne commune in Limousin, France, heart of a historic gold district (Gallic aurières, 1982-2001 modern mines, 28.4 t gold) and of kaolin quarries feeding Limoges porcelain.
Toulon
Toulon is a commune in southeastern France and the prefecture of the Var department, best known as the home of France's principal naval base on the Mediterranean.
Toulouse
Toulouse, la ville rose: fourth-largest French city (514,819 commune, 841,524 Métropole, 2023), capital of Haute-Garonne and Occitania, European aerospace hub (Airbus, CNES, Thales Alenia Space), Canal du Midi, 120,000 students, third metro line under construction.
Uzès
Uzès (Usès) is a Gard commune in Occitanie, southern France: Roman Ucetia, source of the 50 km aqueduct ending at the Pont du Gard, seat of the first duchy of France (1565), City of Art and History since 2008, 8,519 inhabitants in 2023.
Vendres
Vendres, a commune in the Hérault department, Occitanie, France, on the Étang de Vendres, known for the Gallo-Roman villa "Temple de Vénus" with baths of about 80 AD, a circular fishpond tower, and a Roman aqueduct.
Ventavon
Ventavon is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France, perched on a hilltop overlooking the Durance valley roughly midway between Gap and Sisteron.
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer (INSEE 06159) is a French Riviera commune in the Alpes-Maritimes near Nice, founded in 1295 by Charles II of Anjou, with a deep Mediterranean rade, the 1557 Citadelle Saint-Elme, and the Cocteau-decorated Chapelle Saint-Pierre; population 5,008 (2023).