Where to stay in Provence: the best towns and hotels

In the 14th century the popes moved to Avignon, and they left behind the Palais des Papes, a colossal Gothic fortress-palace that still dwarfs the old town. The city's medieval ramparts are almost complete, the half-finished Pont Saint-Bénézet, the bridge of the nursery rhyme, juts into the Rhône, and every July the whole place turns into a stage for one of the world's great theatre festivals.

Stay inside the walls and you'll walk everywhere. La Mirande is a luxurious hotel steps from the Palais des Papes, and the Hôtel d'Europe is a classic with a garden restaurant. The Cloître Saint-Louis occupies a 16th-century building a five-minute walk from the palace, and the Hôtel de l'Horloge has been completely renovated, with a terrace suite looking over the rooftops. Fast trains from Paris stop at Avignon's TGV station.

South of Avignon, the jagged limestone ridge of the Alpilles rises out of olive groves and vineyards. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, at its foot, is a chic little town of fountains, boutiques and a celebrated weekly market. Van Gogh painted some of his most famous works while staying at the asylum just outside town, the ruins of Roman Glanum are next door, and the dramatic hilltop village of Les Baux-de-Provence is a short drive away.

Hotels here are intimate country retreats. Le Vallon de Valrugues has a full spa, indoor and outdoor pools and a gastronomic restaurant, and the Château des Alpilles is a 19th-century mansion in a century-old park, with rooms in the château, a country house and little houses dotted around the grounds.

Gordes is the postcard you've seen a hundred times: a village of honey-coloured stone stacked up a hillside, crowned by a Renaissance château. Just outside, the Cistercian Sénanque Abbey sits among lavender fields that bloom purple in early summer, and the Village des Bories is a cluster of ancient dry-stone huts. Come early or late to dodge the day-trippers.

This corner of the Luberon has some of the most romantic hotels in France. Airelles La Bastide de Gordes is a palace hotel in the village itself, with a full spa and an indoor pool. Le Phébus & Spa, in neighbouring Joucas, is a favourite with couples, the Mas des Herbes Blanches is a former Provençal farmhouse 8 km from Gordes, and Le Jas de Gordes has a pool and bikes to hire.

The Luberon is a long, wooded ridge strung with perched villages, each prettier than the last. Lourmarin has a Renaissance château, café terraces and a busy market; Bonnieux tumbles down its hillside facing the Petit Luberon; Ménerbes, made famous by Peter Mayle, sits on a narrow spur; and in Roussillon the houses are painted every shade of ochre from the cliffs around the village. Vineyards, cherry orchards and lavender fill the valleys between.

Capelongue overlooks Bonnieux and the Petit Luberon from the edge of a plateau, with a panoramic pool and a spa. In the heart of Lourmarin, the Hôtel de la Fontaine is an intimate hideaway of white stone vaults and arches, and Le Moulin de Lourmarin is a minute from the château. In Roussillon, La Clé des Champs is a boutique hotel with a spa, a short drive from the ochre cliffs. You'll need a car.

Clear green channels of the River Sorgue wrap around L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, turning old mossy water wheels as they go. The town is famous for its Sunday market and its antique dealers, and it makes a handy base between Avignon, about 30 minutes away, and the Luberon villages. L'Isle de Leos is an elegant boutique hotel with a spa in the heart of town, and the Domaine de la Petite Isle sits in a peaceful park beside the river, with spacious rooms that suit families.

Aix is Provence at its most refined. The Cours Mirabeau, a broad avenue shaded by plane trees and lined with cafés and mansions, cuts through an old town of fountains, honey-stone squares and daily markets. Cézanne was born here, his studio is open to visitors, and the bare white bulk of Montagne Sainte-Victoire, which he painted again and again, rises to the east of town.

Villa Saint-Ange is a five-star with a spa, a nine-minute walk from the Cours Mirabeau, and Le Pigonnet is a historic hotel in gardens close to the centre. The Grand Hôtel Roi René, five minutes' walk from the Cours, has a heated pool. For vineyard views and space, Les Lodges Sainte-Victoire is a luxurious retreat in a park of vines and olives close to the mountain, 10 minutes' drive from town.

Marseille is loud, sunny and full of life, a 2,600-year-old port that is more Mediterranean melting pot than chocolate-box Provence. Fishermen sell their catch on the Vieux-Port each morning, the lanes of Le Panier climb behind it, the striking MuCEM museum guards the harbour entrance and the gilded statue atop Notre-Dame de la Garde watches over everything. To the south, the Corniche runs past little fishing coves towards the wild limestone inlets of the Calanques.

Stay around the Old Port. The InterContinental occupies a grand 18th-century former hospital in Le Panier, with terraces overlooking the harbour, and the Sofitel Vieux Port has some of the best views of the Old Port from its restaurants. The Grand Hôtel Beauvau, where George Sand and Chopin once stayed, sits right on the harbour, and La Résidence du Vieux-Port has a chic 1950s retro look and faces Notre-Dame de la Garde.

Cassis is everyone's favourite little port: pastel houses around a harbour of bobbing boats, waterfront cafés pouring the local white wine, and the great ochre cliffs of Cap Canaille rising to the east. Boats leave the harbour for the Calanques, narrow fjord-like inlets of white rock and impossibly blue water, and the walking trails above them are spectacular.

Les Roches Blanches is an Art Deco five-star on the rocks, with two pools and a spa, and the Hôtel de la Plage Mahogany sits right on the beach near the Calanques. In the centre, the Liautaud has a rooftop terrace, and Best Western Plus La Rade has a pool looking out to Cap Canaille.