Most towns come alive with at least one market day per week and local farmers will travel from one to the next, selling fish, fruits, vegetables bread, cheese, olives, spices and wine. Look out for lots of other local goods on sale, often including linens, clothes, and antiques

our recommendations

• Frejus, just a couple of miles from
  Le Montourey, hosts two food festivals that no self-respecting Destination Cooker can afford to miss. The first is the Fête du Raisin, which celebrates the arrival of the first grapes through the medium of wine tasting and traditional dances! Every September there is an Omelette Géante – that’s right, a giant omelette – festival. The siblu team still hasn’t been, but we hope to report back soon!

• Port-Grimaud, about 18 miles along the coast from Le Montourey, has an organic bio market which takes place on Mondays and Fridays. There are organic fruit and vegetables, fresh products, food bread and bio wine, plus natural beauty products.

• St Tropez (20 miles from Le Montourey is known for its tans, but every Tuesday and Saturday the Place des Lices in this famous town transforms into one of the biggest markets in Provence. Stalls sell a range of products, including fish and locally sourced food. As a break from Destination Cooking, try your hand at bartering with the stall holders for arts and crafts and antiques.

• The pretty squares of Aix-en-Provence, 70 miles from Le Montourey, are transformed into a sea of colours, sounds and appetising smells as the Grand Marché sets up its stalls on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 08h to 12h30. Destination Cookers should follow their nose to the Place des Prêcheurs and Place de la Madeleine.

• Marseille’s famous fish market on the Quai des Belges is a wonderful place to wander around. The local traders use the phrase Peché le nuit, vendu le matin to describe the freshness of their goods: “Caught in then night, sold in the morning”. Take the day to explore this incredible southern city, which is 90 miles from Le Montourey.