Arguably one of the most attractive regions in France, Provence spans the snow-capped mountains of the southern Alps and the deltaic plains of the Camargue, while it also boasts the most spectacular canyon in Europe, the Gorges du Verdon. Fortified towns guard their ancient borders and villages cling to their hilltop perches, while the historic cities of Arles, Aix and Avignon are full of cultural wonders. The sunshine, food and wine, and the heady perfumes of Provençal vegetation, offer visitors a constant, sensual inducement to stay a moment longer. Small wonder it has long attracted the rich and famous, artistic and reclusive, and now ever-growing throngs of summer visitors. Yet inland Provence remains remarkably unscathed: evidence of its many past inhabitants—Greeks, Romans, raiding Saracens, schismatic popes, and an endless succession of competing counts and princes—remains everywhere apparent. In Provence and the Midi, the soft local accent evokes the population’s relaxed lifestyle, where there is no greater pleasure than enjoying a delicious and nourishing meal with friends—this is the picturesque Provence of Pagnol, Raimu and Fernandel.