Toulon
City Tours
Production : 
© 2011
Production : © 2011
IIn an internationally recognized travel guide, I read (paraphrased): «The unpolished Toulon simply does not fit into the sparkling world of the Côte d'Azur. Built around a roadstead (providing a sheltered bay with moorings), France's second largest naval port has a certain brittle charm and is not as awful as it once was, yet most visitors wisely just pass through.»
I have no idea in which Toulon the author of these lines was. In any case, he or she was not where we were for the first time in 2011 and where I return now.
If you are looking for bling-bling, you are wrong here. But if you want to stroll through the cozy alleys of the old town, to look at shop windows or to slim down your wallet in one or the other art shop, you're in the right place.
And then there is also Mont Faron, which you can walk along a road, climb by bike - or, less strenuous, simply take the cable car up to the top to see the beauty of the sea, the offshore islands and the view along the coast to Ciotat with its world-famous cliff. However, this requires a very clear view.
In any case, I think Toulon is an interesting, lively port city with friendly, open-minded people - as I actually everywhere in the Provençe ran across.
