Toulon

Toulon is France’s main Mediterranean naval port, the headquarters of the fleet, and the capital of the Var département in Provence. It sits on the coast east of Marseille, and with about 165,000 people it is the third largest city on this coast after Marseille and Nice.

It is also the least touristy of the three, which is much of its appeal: a working city with a real market, an old town of narrow streets and fountains, and a mountain behind it — and prices that reflect none of the Riviera glamour an hour to the east.

Mont Faron

The mountain rises 584 m directly above the city, and the view from the top over the roadstead is the single best thing in Toulon. Two ways up:

• The cable car from the city — quick, and the obvious choice.
• The road — a narrow one-way loop climbing the western side and descending the eastern. It is one of the harder sections of the Paris–Nice and Tour Méditerranéen cycle races, which tells you what the gradient is like.

The mountain also shelters the centre from the mistral, the cold wind that scours the rest of Provence in winter and spring — one reason Toulon feels milder than towns a short way inland.

What to see

The old town

The pedestrian historic centre lies between the port, Boulevard de Strasbourg and Cours Lafayette: narrow lanes, a great many fountains — Toulon is known for them — and the cathedral. The morning market on Cours Lafayette is one of the best Provençal markets on the coast and, unlike most, is aimed at people who live here.

The Vauban fortifications

From 1678 Vauban built an elaborate ring of defences around the city. The section along what is now Boulevard de Strasbourg was demolished in the mid-nineteenth century to let the city expand, but much survives — including the Porte d’Italie, one of the oldest gates, through which Napoleon set out on the Italian campaign in 1796.

The upper town

Between Boulevard de Strasbourg and the station is the nineteenth-century quarter, laid out under Louis-Napoléon. The plan was begun by Baron Haussmann, who was prefect of the Var in 1849 before he rebuilt Paris — the boulevards here are a small rehearsal for what he did later.

The harbour

The rade of Toulon is one of the finest natural harbours in the Mediterranean, which is why the navy is here. Boat tours run around the naval base — the only way to see the warships properly — and ferries cross to Saint-Mandrier and La Seyne.

Beaches

Plage du Mourillon, 2 km east of the centre, is the city beach: several stretches of imported sand with pines behind, playgrounds and cafés. It is a family beach rather than a scenic one, and free.

The spectacular coast is a little further: the calanques east towards Le Pradet, and the peninsula of Giens with the salt flats and the crossing to the Îles d’Hyères. See also the best beaches in the region.

Getting to Toulon

By train. Toulon is on the main coastal line with direct TGV services from Paris (about 4 hours) and frequent regional trains to Marseille (under an hour), Saint-Raphaël and Nice. The station is a short walk from the centre. See trains in France.

By air. Toulon-Hyères airport is about 25 km east, with mostly domestic flights; most international visitors arrive via Marseille or Nice.

By car. The A50 and A57 meet here. Parking in the centre is paid and the old town is largely pedestrian — use one of the car parks by the port. See parking in France.

By sea. Ferries run to Corsica and Sardinia from the commercial port.

What to eat

This is Provençal cooking with a strong fishing-port accent: soupe de poisson, bouillabaisse at the harbour restaurants, the cade toulonnaise — a chickpea-flour flatbread, cousin to the socca of Nice — and chichi frégi, sugared doughnut sticks sold at the beach.

The Var is also serious wine country: this is the heart of Côtes de Provence rosé. More in Provençal cuisine and wine routes in France.

A note on the city

Toulon has a reputation among French travellers as rougher than its neighbours, and the area immediately around the station and parts of the old town are shabby. In practice the centre is unremarkable by the standards of any port city — ordinary care at night is enough. The city has been steadily restoring the old town for two decades and it shows.

Around Toulon

• Îles d’Hyères — Porquerolles and Port-Cros, national park islands with the clearest water on this coast; see Porquerolles and Port-Cros
• Bormes-les-Mimosas — a hillside village of flowers east along the coast; see the guide
• La Ciotat and Cassis — west towards the calanques; see La Ciotat
• Saint-Tropez — an hour east; see the Saint-Tropez guide

When to go

Summers are hot, over 30 °C in August. Storms are possible in June and late August, and autumn is wet. Winter rarely drops below freezing, though the wind can make it feel much colder. May, June and September are the best months — as everywhere on this coast.

See when to visit Provence.

Where to park in Toulon

Weather in Toulon

Updated: 1 September 2026