Hi im looking to holiday in france in early august but dont know where to head for.im basically after the equivelent of a quite laid back coastal village in cornwall or devon, but in one of the hotter parts of southern france. Would like some cultural type places to go see and some stuff to do/restaurants bars etc but not being in a busy town or city dont mind being on the outskirts tho.would look to fly or train into france. Can hire a car if needs be.quiet beaches and sun are top of the list. Any recommendations/ experiences please??
Cheers..

P.s. its me and the girlfriend so a family destination is not a necesity.

Have a look at Bandol on the Riviera ..
Been there half a dozen times on adventures and it still ticks all the boxes .
Nothing is cheap on the coast but not as commercialised as most and has plenty of beaches to choose from .

8)

Banyuls sur mer

Frejus or St Raphael. Mandelieu-la-Napoule (near Cannes)

Have a look at Fayence, lovely part of the Provence

Banyuls sur mer

Stayed over for a night there on the drive to err….Benidorm. Lovely little place & would go back, however there’s a few places by the coast near Montpellier that we loved, Pavalos les Flots. La Grande Motte, Auges Mortes (SP?) Very quiet but plenty to see. You could have a day out to Avignon or Perpignon too.

Just to expand a little

Nice little town, marine reserve so great snorkelling and diving, wine tasting, Perpignan is close by (can fly to here), foot of the Pyrennees GR10 starts here so good walking.

Favourite swimming spot

Unfortunately didn’t get a photo of the squid we saw

[url=https://flic.kr/p/5jVyrc]Stripey Fishes[/url]

Fantastic.thanks for all the recommendations.not many of you expanded on why you liked them so much.what was it that made them special? Cheers..

Collioure, near to where ebygomm is talking about, I think.

http://www.collioure.com/en/

Hourtin. Small village next to the sea, you don’t need to drive anywhere. Surf. Cycle through the pines.Visit Bordeaux and buy wine in the Medoc region. WNTL?

Check out Bormes-les-Mimosas

‘quiet’ and the french coast don’t really go hand in hand. Esp. The Mediterranean. The Atlantic Coast is huge beaches and waves, and very much surf. The Med is no waves and more rocky ‘bays’ etc. We live near Grenoble, and would never entertain the idea of going down to the Med in summer! Round Perpignan as suggested aboove might be a good shout as opposed to Cannes/ Nice/ Marseille areas etc.