Marseille

Travel from the coast through shifting landscapes up into Les Alpilles, a small range of low limestone mountains, to two medieval villages located inside what is today a regional park. At the first stop, Les Baux de Provence, your guided visit begins at the top: the town’s 11th-century chateau-fortress, perched on a high rocky outcrop. Its ruins and high walls offer exceptional views over the mountains, the valley below and over the Camargue.

Spend the day in and around Avignon, the seat of the Holy See between 1309 and 1377 and a city that remained under papal control until the French Revolution. This excursion begins with a scenic drive to the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, just north of Avignon, an area that is one of France’s most venerable grape-growing regions. The name comes from the popes’ summer residence and some vines in the surrounding vineyards date to the papal era.

Equipped with a battery-powered motor, an e-bike is just like riding a standard bicycle, versus a scooter or moped, with the benefit of access to power when you need a boost, or your legs need a break. Your guide will explain how its operations near the pier where you’ll get a helmet and be matched with the right-sized bike. Then it’s time to hit the road for a 13-mile ride. Follow your guide along the Corniche President Kennedy, the scenic coastal roadway that looks out over several small creeks and traditional fishing village.

The work of Le Corbusier had such a profound impact on modern architecture that 17 of his designs across seven countries have been collectively deemed UNESCO World Heritage sites. Discover one of the masterpieces of his creative genius in Marseilles at the famous La Cité Radieuse, a vertical concrete village built in 1952 that revolutionized residential design. Elevated on large pillars, the multistory complex includes uniquely conceived apartments as well as a hotel, restaurant, grocery and bookshop connected by interior streets.