The "Midi" region of France covers a good portion of the southern part of the country. It's surrounded by mountains - the Pyrenees in the southwest, the Alps in the east, and the Massif Central to the north. The southern border, of course, is the Mediterranean sea itself. We tend to focus on the eastern part of the region most because of where my family lives, but it is all worth visiting!
Unless you get into the mountains, you'll find a rather temperate Mediterranean climate throughout the area. It is one of the best areas for growing wine trees (as I call them), so you'll also find many vineyards and wine producers. Farming in general is common throughout, and you'll also see plenty of livestock.
Most people come to visit the cities, such as Marseille, Toulouse, Nice, Cannes, and Carcassonne, as well as the litany of quaint villages that dot the mountains and seaside. There are also a few national parks that give good hiking options if you prefer to get out of the city a bit.
Parks
Calanques offers superb hiking options through a beautiful seaside landscape
Camargue is great for birding, long walks, and very different wildlife
Towns and Cities
The architecture in the "old" Nice is unique and colorful
La Promenade des Anglais, or "the footpath of the English," is the most popular part of Nice
If you prefer exploring the urban landscape, these are some good spots:
• Nice (very popular with English-speaking tourists, so it's easy to get by even if you don't speak a word of French)
• Carcassonne (immortalized with its own board game, this ancient walled city is quite impressive to wander through)
• Toulouse (impressive architecture from various eras, and many activities besides)
• Marseille (the oldest city in France, fantastic for history buffs)
Wine
No discussion of le Midi would be complete without mentioning the wine! Some of the country's best wines are grown here.
Pic-Saint-Loup is our family's favorite wine region (hands down). If you are in the region we will highly recommend trying the wine from this region since it is particularly hard to find these wines internationally or even within France. You can visit one of the many vineyards in the region.
Good wines to consider:
• Domaine Garoloup (you can't go wrong here)
• Domaine de Mortiès (a beautiful vineyard on a hill)
• Mas Gourdou (a hidden gem)
• Bergerie du Capucin (can be found internationally)
If you cannot visit the vineyards, consider visiting a cave that stocks wines from different vineyards. Otherwise, we recommend La Belle Vigne for a sit-down experience or simply Carrefour for bottles since it carries some of our favorite wines from the region, usually at good prices.
