Lavender fields as far as the eye can see, sleeping volcanoes, pink granite cliffs or the wild expanses of the Camargue: some French panoramas are so photogenic that they have become postcards in themselves.
This selection honours landscapes shaped as much by geology as by centuries of farming or pastoral activity, which have helped draw scenes recognisable among a thousand.
Best seen early in the morning or late in the day, when the low light enhances reliefs and colours.
A huge farming plateau covered with lavender fields as far as the eye can see; in July Valensole offers one of the most photographed landscapes of Provence.
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Between the Rhône valley and Mont Ventoux, this prestigious site offers a superb panorama (orientation table at its summit) over the Comtat Venaissin plain and the surrounding hills.
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About forty kilometres of volcanic alignment gather a hundred cones and domes inherited from intense eruptive activity. Inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage since 2018, the Chaîne des Puys forms one of the most singular landscapes of the Massif Central.
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On this stretch of the Trégor coast, rocks of pinkish granite with shapes sculpted by erosion make up a landscape unique in France. The Customs Officers' path, between Perros-Guirec and Ploumanac'h, offers the most beautiful route.
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A delta shaped by the arms of the Rhône, the Camargue unrolls ponds, salt marshes and rice fields as far as the eye can see. White horses, black bulls and colonies of pink flamingos make up one of the most recognisable natural landscapes in France.
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Shaped like a cross set facing the Iroise sea, the Crozon peninsula multiplies rocky points and wild coves. Entirely within the Armorique regional nature park, it offers some of the finest panoramas of the Finistère.
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In the deep, wooded cirque of the Chausse, two great monoliths spring up, the Tuilière and Sanadoire rocks.
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A 27 km limestone canyon carved by the Tarn between the Causse de Sauveterre and the Causse Méjean, dotted with hilltop villages and dizzying viewpoints.
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A 5,276-hectare national nature reserve north of the Maures massif, the main French refuge of Hermann's tortoise, the country's only native land tortoise.
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This volcanic massif of dark red rocks plunges directly into the Mediterranean between Saint-Raphaël and Cannes. Criss-crossed by the Corniche d'Or, it combines wild calanques, scented maquis and summits offering wide panoramas over the Côte d'Azur.
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