The Estérel

West of Cannes the coast turns dark red. The Estérel is volcanic porphyry, and it comes down to the sea in cliffs and jagged little headlands with pines on top and deep clear water at the foot — the most dramatic stretch of shoreline between Marseille and Italy.

There is almost nothing built on it, which on this coast is rare enough to be the whole reason to go. It is the halfway mark on a Saint-Tropez day and the best thing to look at on the way home, when the late sun turns the rock properly red.