Walking tour
Coastal Path
203 km long, mostly made up of the old "Chemin des Douaniers", it stretches from Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer to Saint-Raphaël and all around the "îles d'Or", following the slightest crevices of the coast. It combines more than twenty different itineraries with very varied landscapes, alternating between fine sandy beaches, steep cliffs and pine forests. Among the most beautiful sections, we recommend the tour of the Giens peninsula, from Cap Lardier to Cap Taillat, from Pradet to Carqueiranne, from Dramont to Saint-Raphaël. In spite of some vertiginous passages or in ledge, this path is practicable by young children from 7 years old. The advantage of this itinerary is that you can take it from any point on the coast and leave it the same way, to quickly get back to the motorable roads.
Long distance hiking trails - GR
The Var is crossed by six long-distance footpaths - for a total of 758 km - of which you will find maps and access diagrams in the tourist offices.
Cycling, bicycle touring and mountain biking
The coastal cycling route - 102 km
It uses the route of the old Provence railroad which linked Toulon to Saint-Raphaël by the coast. Most of the route is on its own, offering total safety to cyclists and the absence of steep ramps makes it suitable for everyone, including young children. Rest areas and information sites are located along the route. There are many junctions with the road network, which means that it can be taken and left in every town it passes through.
Mountain bike trails
Mountain bikers looking for adventure on less passable roads will find what they are looking for in all parts of the department, with 538 km of marked trails.
With seven trails open all year round - two green, three blue and two red - Fréjus has more than 140 km of marked trails, dotted with magnificent views between the Mediterranean and the Esterel massif. For its part, the Verdon Regional Nature Park offers, also all year round, thirty-one trails - five green, ten blue, nine red, seven black - and 218 km of routes in three municipalities.
The velorail
The Vélorail is an original and friendly way to travel the kilometers of French rails that are now disused. A steel machine, two or three pedals, and off you go for a most unusual journey to conquer the historical and cultural heritage of France! In the Var, the only current option is the route linking Pourcieux to Saint-Maximin: count 15 km round trip for about 2 hours of fun ride; the activity is accessible to most people.
Golf
The Var has thirteen golf courses of varying difficulty, some of which are much sought after by the world's best champions. Fans of the little white ball are spoilt for choice..
Mountaineering, climbing, via ferrata
The Var is full of cliffs and walls of all kinds that allow experienced climbers or not to take up the most acrobatic challenges. Some sites are located very close to the sea, around Toulon and Saint-Raphaël, others at the top of the department, for example, in Aiguines, on the Verdon, which offers more than four hundred routes! In terms of difficulty, some walls have nothing to envy the great Alps. Moreover, these climbing sessions are free of the cold of altitude, and can be practiced with a minimum of clothing, which leaves the body a great deal of freedom of movement. The commune of Châteaudouble, north of Draguignan, has cliffs and climbing sites listed and equipped with no less than three hundred and thirty routes of all levels of difficulty. All these routes are described in detail in the book Châteaudouble - Escalade en Dracénie. About twenty climbing schools initiate the techniques in magnificent panoramas such as the Cryde, the Gros Cerveau, Cimai, baou de Quatre-Ouro, the Faron, the Coudon, Carcès, Roquebrune-sur-Argens, the Blavet, the Roussiveau, the Perthus, the Dramont, Châteaudouble, the Verdon, Correns, Aiguines and the Sainte-Baume. Last but not least, the superb site of the Sourn valley, between Correns and Châteauvert, is really suitable for climbing.
Paragliding
Excitement awaits you on board a hang glider or under the dome of a paraglider. From the Sainte-Baume to the Pre-Alps, or in the Verdon gorges, hang-gliding is practiced all year round over the Var countryside, where the aerological and climatic conditions are exceptional. From the top of a baou, you take off like a bird and you can make the pleasure last for hours.
Parachute ascension
Accessible even to those who are afraid of heights and strong sensations, parasailing, a summer and beach activity par excellence, is finally a sweet option to contemplate the Var coastline. Towed by a boat, you will gain height as the plane accelerates. From Saint-Cyr to Issambres, passing by Sanary, Six-Fours or Lavandou, there is no lack of centers.
Leisure activities at sea
The beaches
Four hundred and thirty-two kilometers of coastline, some two hundred and thirty pebble or fine sand beaches, a rate of sunshine unequalled in France; the Var has many assets to seduce lovers of heliotropism. And there is something for everyone! You can find family beaches: large sandy beaches abound on the Var coastline, and you will easily find in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, in Cavalière and its surroundings, in Hyères or further west towards Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer, a nice little spot to lay your towel. Most of them have protected bathing areas, adding a little more to your tranquility. You will also find sports beaches. With its 5 km of fine sand and frequent mistral gusts, the beach of Almanarre in Hyères is the favorite playground of all kite surfers and windsurfers in the region. Several competitions are held there, and constitute qualifying stages for the French and/or European championships. One of the latest, the Almanarre Kite Master, took place in October 2016. A regional kite surfing jumping championship also takes place in April. To admire the ball of sails, or to try the practice of these sports, this is the beach to choose!
Finally, there are also naturist beaches. The Var coastline is dotted with about fifteen naturist beaches. Among the official ones, note the beach of Jonquet in Seyne-sur-Mer, of the Batterie Basse in Toulon, the creek of Monaco in Pradet, the beaches of Pentagon in Hyères (Les Salins), of Layet in Lavandou (near Cavalière), of Pampelonne (partly) and of Cap Taillat in Ramatuelle, of Esclamandes in Saint-Aygulf, or still the beach of Cap-Roux in Agay And for the complete stays in Adam and Eve outfit, don't hesitate to opt for the island of Levant, partly naturist.
Scuba diving
A few meters from the shore, the posidonia meadows, the coral branches and the underwater reliefs will reveal all their secrets. The gently sloping beaches without relief are of little interest, but the very uneven sites on the edge of the continental shelf offer underwater landscapes of great beauty. Dive preferably off Saint-Raphaël, Agay, the Golden Islands, Ile des Embiez and Le Brusc, where you will encounter numerous groupers, morays, conger eels, rays and schools of sardines... As a picture hunter, you will bring back the most beautiful pictures in the inimitable colors of the deep sea. Harpoon fisherman, you will proudly bring back the ingredients necessary to prepare the bouillabaisse of the year.
The introductory and advanced courses are available in the form of "à la carte" courses, accessible to children from 8 years old.
Traditional sports
The Var has three of the eight games listed in the PACA region that are part of UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage (ICP): Artignoscaise paume, pétanque and Provencal jousting.
Petanque
Coming from the depths of time, inspired by the games of bowls already in force at the time of the Greeks and Romans, it obeys today strict rules. Formerly boxwood balls studded by the "ferreuses" of the village of Aiguines, the balls are now made of full metal, made of two welded half-spheres, perfectly balanced to ensure a satisfactory ballistic behavior. The Place des Lices, in Saint-Tropez, becomes in summer a Mecca of petanque, where all the celebrities of show-biz engage in fierce competition. A variant, invented recently, honors square balls. The reason given, and which is not entirely without sense, is that their cubicity makes it possible to play in the small steep streets of the villages, where the spherical balls would not fail to roll endlessly to the bottom of the valley.
The water jousts
This is another very old tradition - probably imported from Italy, perhaps from Venice - practiced especially in the ports of the coast, Sanary, Saint-Mandrier, Port-Fréjus, Saint-Raphaël, Agay. The boats are each maneuvered by six rowers. On the raised front platform of each one, the tintaine, a jouster armed with a long wooden pole strives to make his opponent fall into the water. The crowd, massed on the banks, shouts loudly to encourage its champions. The winner is then carried in triumph, while the loser piteously gets out of the water to dry himself.
The Artignoscaise palm
Originating from Artignosc-sur-Verdon, it comes from the game of paume and the Basque pelota, and is similar to the latter, played with bare hands.
