Tourist information on Toulon, France

Tucked away on the southeast coast of France, roughly midway between Marseille and Saint-Tropez, Toulon may lack the evident tourist appeal of other major resorts on the Riviera, but its snug old town, pretty beaches, wealth of museums and stunning Provençal scenery make it an attractive and distinctive holiday destination. The capital city of the department of Var in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Toulon thrives as both a tourist centre and the location of one of France's largest naval bases. The unique topography in which Toulon is situated makes it a natural military seaport, protected on three sides by steeply sloping mountains and with the entrance to its harbour guarded by the Saint-Mandrier peninsula. It not hard to see why the city has played an important role in France's naval battles of the past and why it is still of great strategic importance. Ship building, armaments manufacture, fishing and viticulture are Toulon's other main industries. It is also France's busiest ferry port for the island of Corsica.

Toulon was founded by the Romans in around 2 BC, one of several colonies they established on the southeast coast of France. Previously, the area had been inhabited by the Ligurian settlers since the 4th century BC. Named Telo Martius (which later became Toulon), it was an important harbour town for trading vessels, and was also one of the two main Roman centres of dye production. As Rome fell in the 5th century, Toulon frequently succumbed to invading barbarians. After Provence had been incorporated into the kingdom of France in 1486, Toulon became a major centre of shipbuilding and an important military port. The city was fortified in the mid-17th century on the orders of King Louis XIV, as part of his grand design to make France a formidable sea power. During the French Revolution, the city remained loyal to the monarchy and fought a standoff with the support of the British navy. It was by bringing the city to heel and expelling the British, at the Siege of Toulon, that a young commander named Napoleon Bonaparte, made a name for himself. In the late 18th and early 19th century, Toulon served as a base for France's conquest of its North African colonies (including Napoleon's Egyptian expedition). In the mid-1800s, Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann was appointed Prefect of the Var and embarked on a major reconstruction of Toulon, replacing the old fortifications with imposing squares and wide boulevards, as he would do in Paris a few years later. Toulon was severely bombed by the Allies during WWII and much of the city was destroyed. After the war, Toulon was extensively rebuilt and was soon established as France's main naval port on the Mediterranean.

Although little remains of the historic old town, Toulon still has a few quaint old streets which offer a pleasant retreat from the crowded beaches, noisy bars and austere post-17th century architecture that was inflicted on the city by Haussmann and his successors. The Vieille Ville (Old Town) is the historic centre of Toulon, a pedestrianised area that lies between the Bouevard de Strasbourg and the Cours Lafayette. The main area of interest is the part of the Vieille Ville behind Quai Stalingrad and Quai de la Sinse, which miraculously escaped the Allied bombings in WWII. At the heart of the old town is the Place Puget, with its ornately sculptured fountain from 1780. Nearby is Toulon Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Seds), built between the 11th and 18th centuries in a harmonious mix of Romanesque and Classical styles. Its main features are its elaborately decorated façade (damaged during the French Revolution but later restored) and its 36 metre high clock tower.

The Cours Lafeyette is one of the main thoroughfares in the old town, and the site of a busy street market that is held every morning except Monday. Just south of the old town is the bustling promenade and harbour, with a nearby abundance of shops, cafés and restaurants. Situated between the harbour and the Cours Lafeyette is Place Louis Blanc, which is dominated by l'Église Saint François de Paule, a Baroque 18th century church. The Tour Royale is a fortress built early in the 16th century to defend the harbour and was later used as a prison. Another of Toulon's landmarks is its Tour de l'Horloge, a clock tower of the 1770s built within the city's naval base, but visible from the entrance. Its loud bell used to sound the start and end of the working day. Rising up north of the old town is the Haute Ville (Upper Town), the more recent part of the historic centre, which is dominated by Baron Haussmann's severely linear urban design. Prominent features of this area are the Opéra de Toulon (the largest opera house in Provence), the Grand Hôtel, the Palais de justice, the train station and the main square, the Place de la Liberté.

Towering over Toulon is the 584 metre high Mont Faron, which offers the best views of the city and its harbour. A cablecar is the best way to reach its peak, which is the site of the Mémorial du débarquement de Provence, a memorial and small museum erected in honour of the liberation of the city by the Allies in 1944. Several pleasant beaches are to be found south of Le Mourillon, the area to the east of Toulon near the harbour entrance. Better beaches can be found further along the coast - at Cap Brun and Anse Magaud to the east and at St-Cyr-sur-Mer, 20 km to the west. The latter has a long sandy beach that is ideal for families. Toulon has several attractive parks and gardens which show a pleasing variety of landscaping and planting schemes. The oldest of these is the Jardin Alexandre I in the Haute Ville. Others include: the Jardin d'acclimatation, noted for its large collection of exotic plants, the Jardin Porte d'Italie and the more recent Jardin de la Tour Royale.

Toulon also has several interesting museums. Situated on the Place Monsenergue, on the west side of the old port, is Toulon's main tourist attraction, the Musée national de la marine (Museum of the French Navy). Housed in one of the few structures in this area to survive the Allied bombing in WWII, this traces Toulon's longstanding association with the sea through an impressive collection of model ships, drawings and memorabilia. The Musée d'art de Toulon is the city's main art gallery and offers an outstanding display of paintings, sculptures, photographs and archaeological artefacts from the 15th to the 20th centuries. The pride of this collection is a set of landscape paintings by Provençal artists of the 19th century. The Musée du vieux Toulon et de sa region recounts the history of Toulon and its region through a remarkably diverse collection of paintings, models, maps and artefacts. The Musée d'Histoire Naturelle is Toulon's natural history museum and has a large collection of minerals and animals found in the region, including dinosaur remains. The Musée des arts asiatiques exhibits a varied collection of paintings and objets d'art from India, China, Japan and other areas of the Far East.

Toulon is served by Toulon-Hyères Airport, which is 18 km east of the city. This provides connections to a limited number of European destinations (including Paris, Charleroi, London and Rotterdam). There is a bus service from the airport to the city centre. Alternatively, fly to Marseille or Nice and take the train to Toulon. Toulon's train station (Gare de Toulon) connects to several French cities, including Paris, Marseille and Nice, and other towns in the region. From the port of Toulon there is a frequent ferry service to Corsica.