Quince festivals and truffle markets: Why Provence is better in shoulder season

🌎 In October, food is a serious matter for the inhabitants of Cotignac.

✅ While foreign tourists flock to the south of France in summer, locals in the know prefer to save Provence for the autumn.

When the beach crowds fade, the Var region transforms. In Cotignac, some 230 metres above sea level, the air cools and life slips into a slower rhythm.

October brings food festivals and markets brimming with seasonal delicacies to what is known as one of the most beautiful villages in France.

Here’s how to make the most of prime season in a Provençal village.

✅ Visit one of France’s most beautiful villages this autumn

Cotignac is a clutch of 16th and 17th-century houses painted in warm ochre and yellow tones with light blue shutters.

The village is surrounded by luxuriant forest and backed by a soaring cliff face known as the Rocher (the rock).

This limestone crag is an imposing 400 metres long and 80 metres high, and run through with troglodyte caves.