Toulon

Toulon is a medium-sized city (15th town of France) between Marseille and Nice. It is in the west of French Riviera and in the southeast of Provence.

Climate
Climate is typical of the South of France. The summers are relatively hot, with temperatures usually higher than 30 °C. June is a hot month but a sudden storm may occur every once in a while. July usually features hot temperatures and blue sky. August may be even hotter, but storms may begin to occur especially after the 15th of the month. Autumns are rainy. Storms will occur. Winters are dry. Temperatures don't usually drop sharply under 0 °C, but the wind factor causes a loss in Celsius degrees equal to one less degree per 10 km wind speed, thus with a wind blowing at 50 km/h 0°C will feel like minus 5°C.

Unlike many other towns of France, there is no big river which crosses this city. As a matter of fact, there are no big rivers in the whole department of Var. A few smaller ones in the city are: Rivière neuve, Le Las, L'Eygoutier also known as Rivière des amoureux (lover's river for a no apparent reason). All the other rivers are in tunnels under the town, and not visible.

Economy
The economy relies on the presence of a big French naval base that creates thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Tourism is also important. the town has up to 167,400 tourists every year

History
The history of Toulon dates back 3000 years. The Ligures settled here because of exceptional conditions:
 * a hill protects the center of the town from the Mistral, a strong wind which blows in the southeast of France (you will experience wind almost everyday).
 * on the south face of the hill, several sources gush out, which is exceptional in the so dry Provence. The name Toulon is linked to Telona, an ancient Ligurian goddess of sources.
 * the hill (named Faron, about 500 m high) enables one to view boats arriving from very far away, specially enemy boats. The name Faron cames from the Greek pharos (English: lighthouse) for this reason. At the top of Faron, there still is a military camp dedicated to communications with submarines.
 * the water of the port is very calm, because it is protected by a peninsula (Saint-Mandrier) that nearly closes the port as a lagoon. It was possible to watch boats entering the port from there.

For all these reasons, Toulon early became a town of military vocation. When the Romans invaded the Provence (Latin: provincia romana), they settled a military base and renamed the town Telo Martius, where martius recalls Mars, the Roman god of war.

During the Middle Ages, Provence was under the coup of lords, before being integrated into the French Kingdom in 1482. During the 18th century, Toulon became an important military port for France, were boats and sails were being built. A famous convict prison was built. During the French Revolution, Toulon gave support to the monarchy, but Bonaparte (later known as Napoleon I) took back the town. During World War II, Toulon was invaded on November 27, 1942. The seamen scuttled all the boats so that the Nazis couldn't use them. The town was freed by the Allied Forces on August 25, 1944.

By boat
Toulon is a large harbour and offers several ferries by Corsica Ferries to the ports in Corsica: Ajaccio, Bastia and L'Île-Rousse. Among the international routes there is a service to Civitavecchia (close to Rome). An advance booking is advised in all cases.

By car
The main roads are from east to west (and the opposite). There are highways from Nice (A57) and Marseille (A50). You'll have to pay a toll to go outside the suburbs of the town on these highways.

Get around
Metropolitan bus and ferry network is operated by Réseau Mistral.

Vieille Ville


Vieille Ville (old town) or Basse Ville (lower town) is a historical centre of the city. It is NE of the harbour. As it was built in the Middle Ages, it's a really a maze of narrow streets. A couple of bigger ones, Rue d'Alger and Cours Lafayette, are bordered by numerous shops and crowded every Saturday.



Haute Ville
Haute Ville (upper town) is located on the north of the historical center. The most of the buildings and squares there are in splendor of the late XIXth century style. The major part of Haute Ville was built under the guidance of Georges-Eugène Haussmann (aka "Baron Haussmann", who was later called to build Paris).


 * The railway station is 100 m northwest of the Place de la Liberté, also of 19th century style.
 * The railway station is 100 m northwest of the Place de la Liberté, also of 19th century style.
 * The railway station is 100 m northwest of the Place de la Liberté, also of 19th century style.

Museums and places of interest

 * The Boat-Museum named La Dives, pointe de la Mitre (+33 4 94 02 06 96), opened May to October. Before being a museum, this boat was dedicated to the transportation of tanks for a landing.
 * Take the cable car (French: téléphérique) to go to the Mont-Faron Hill. Téléphérique du Mont-Faron, boulevard Amiral Vence (or bus 40, stop at téléphérique), +33 4 94 92 68 25. It gives direct access to the Memorial Museum of landing in Provence.
 * Memorial Museum of landing in Provence (French: Musée-Mémorial du débarquement), top of Mont-Faron, +33 4 94 88 08 09.
 * Mont-Faron zoo (French: Zoo du Mont-Faron), +33 4 94 88 07 89. It is a center for wild beast reproduction.
 * Take the cable car (French: téléphérique) to go to the Mont-Faron Hill. Téléphérique du Mont-Faron, boulevard Amiral Vence (or bus 40, stop at téléphérique), +33 4 94 92 68 25. It gives direct access to the Memorial Museum of landing in Provence.
 * Memorial Museum of landing in Provence (French: Musée-Mémorial du débarquement), top of Mont-Faron, +33 4 94 88 08 09.
 * Mont-Faron zoo (French: Zoo du Mont-Faron), +33 4 94 88 07 89. It is a center for wild beast reproduction.

Parks

 * On the top of the Mont-Faron hill (500 m high), you'll be able to enjoy a birdseye view of the town . If you drive by car, the road is impressive. If you ride up by way of the cable car, the feeling is even more impressive. Several paths allow hikers to walk across the forest and go to/from the museums, the zoo, the cable car, etc.
 * Alexandre the 1st Garden (French: Jardin Alexandre Ier), at the west of the Municipal Library, garden opened with entertainment for young children, and a bandstand with casual concerts on Sundays.
 * Frédéric Mistral Garden (French: Jardin Frédéric Mistral), cours Frédéric Mistral, garden with collections of exotic species. Newlyweds often choose to go there to have their wedding photographs taken, on Saturday afternoons

Out of town
Fort de Brégançon — a summer residence of the President of France, which is located near the town of Bormes-les-Mimosas. Now it can be visited by a prior reservation.

Events

 * Jazz in Toulon, annual music festival.
 * On July 14th, Bastille Day is commemorated with a military march on the main boulevards. During the afternoon, there is usually an aircraft show that will be best seen from the beach and, at midnight, fireworks.
 * On August 15th, fireworks at the Saint Louis fort next to the beaches.

Beaches
The town features several beaches just south of the Mourillon quarter. They were set up in the 1950s to develop tourism. More beautiful beaches may be found elsewhere on the coast. In any location, you should be prepared to crowd on the beach. The beaches of Toulon are associated to a park with entertainment for children of all ages. At the east of the town, the Cap Brun and Anse Magaud beaches are more isolated, far less crowded, but more difficult to reach (need to climb a little).


 * Les Sablettes in la Seyne sur Mer.
 * L'Argentière, in the town of La Londe-les-Maures (30 km east of Toulon).
 * La Capte, near Hyères (15 km east of Toulon). The bottom is of pure sand (no seaweed) and the depth increases very very slowly.
 * St Cyr sur Mer some 20 km west of Toulon features a long sandy beach, perfect for families and kitesurfers. There too the seabed drops rather slowly, enabling one to reach way out into the water.

Sport

 * RC Toulon — A club with a proud history, the rouge et noir (red and black) are a major force in French and European rugby, thanks to a deep-pocketed owner (comic publisher and Toulon native Mourad Boudjellal). Toulon, who play at Stade Mayol in the heart of the city, have assembled an impressive array of international stars, and won an unprecedented three consecutive European club championship crowns from 2013 to 2015. Tickets may be hard to come by for some big matches, and the club plays one or two major matches a season at either Stade Vélodrome in Marseille or Allianz Riviera in Nice.

Learn

 * Toulon University (for science and technology)
 * University of law
 * Engineering schools ISITV
 * École Internationale de Design

Stay safe
Public hospitals:
 * Sainte-Anne hospital, 2 boulevard Sainte-Anne, +33 4 94 09 90 00, fax. +33 4 94 09 92 16.
 * Chalucet Hospital, rue Chalucet, +33 4 94 22 77 78.

Avoid walking alone at night in the historical centre of the town. Or remember to be nice to the people you may meet there. This is the "red" quarter of the town.

Go next

 * Néoules - a town to the north
 * Nice - eastern major city
 * Marseille - western major city
 * Îles d'Hyères - an archipelago on SE. Direct day trips by boat in July and August, otherwise see individual islands for regular connections.