Toulon

The Cours Lafayette market, the naval port and Mont Faron in a day

Toulon packs a market, a naval museum, a beach and a mountain cable car into one day. Start at the Cours Lafayette market and the old town around Place Puget, then visit the Musée national de la Marine and take a harbour cruise or a Réseau Mistral boat past the warships. Swim at Le Mourillon in the afternoon and ride the cable car up Mont Faron before sunset.

Morning. Start with the market along Cours Lafayette, where stalls of olives, cheese, fruit and flowers run down the street under the plane trees towards the port. Buy a slice of hot cade, the chickpea pancake, from a vendor, then take a coffee on Place Puget beside the ivy-covered dolphin fountain. Wander the old town lanes to the cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-la-Seds, a mix of medieval and Baroque.

Late morning. Walk down to the quay to see the Génie de la Navigation, then to the Musée national de la Marine at the monumental old arsenal gate, with ship models and figureheads from the age of sail. From the quay, a harbour cruise gives a commentary on the warships, aircraft carrier included when it is in port; the cheaper option is a Réseau Mistral boat across to La Seyne, which sails past the same grey hulls.

Afternoon. Eat fish on the quay, then go east to Le Mourillon. Swim from the sheltered beaches below Fort Saint-Louis and walk part of the coastal path towards Cap Brun, with its small coves and villas.

Evening. Take the cable car up Mont Faron about two hours before sunset. At the top, the memorial to the 1944 Provence landings tells the story of the Allied landings on this coast, and the view across the roadstead to the Saint-Mandrier peninsula is the best in the city. Come down for a drink at Le Chantilly on Place Puget, a brasserie open since 1907.

Cade, bourride and Bandol wine in Toulon

Toulon's street snack is cade, a chickpea pancake sold by the slice at the Cours Lafayette market. From the sea, order bourride, white fish in a broth thickened with aïoli, or fish soup with rouille; one street back from the waterfront the cooking is often better value. The wine to order is Bandol, red or rosé.

Toulon eats like the fishing port it still partly is, with Provençal market food on the side. The local street snack is cade, a thin, golden pancake of chickpea flour, olive oil and water baked in huge round trays and sold by the slice, sprinkled with black pepper. It is Toulon's version of the socca of Nice, and the vendors at the Cours Lafayette market are the place to find it.

From the sea, look for bourride, white fish poached in a broth thickened with aïoli, a dish many locals prefer to bouillabaisse. Fish soup with rouille and croutons, grilled sea bream and fried small fish appear on most quayside menus, and the restaurants along the Vieux Port specialise in them. Prices are higher on the waterfront; one street back the cooking is often better.

The market itself is the best lunch. Pick up tapenade and anchoïade, olives in a dozen styles, goat cheese and Provençal herbs, and add a fougasse from a bakery for a picnic on the Mourillon beaches.

The wine to order is Bandol, from the terraced vineyards a few kilometres west around the town of the same name. Its reds, based on Mourvèdre, are among the most respected in Provence, and its rosés go with everything from the sea. Several estates open their cellars, and the drive through the vineyards makes an easy half day out.

For something different, the city's catering school runs training restaurants serving set lunches and some dinners in term time; book by phone.