The Var département is located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region of southern France, to the east of the Rhône valley towards Italy.
The Var
The département was created in March 1790 as part of the French Revolution. It takes its name from the coastal river, which is now administratively attached to the neighbouring departments of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes.
A result of the division of Provence, with Toulon as the original capital until 1793, before Grasse, Brignoles and Draguignan, with the prefecture returning to Toulon in 1974.
The region
With a surface area of 5,973 km2, a population of 1,108,364 (2022, les Varois.es) and a population density of 179 inhabitants/km2, the Var stretches along the Mediterranean coast between the Bouches-du-Rhône to the west, the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to the north and the Alpes-Maritimes to the east.
Bouches-du-Rhône to the west, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to the north and Alpes-Maritimes to the east.
The highest point in the département is the Montagne de Lachens, at an altitude of 1,712 metres in the Massif des Préalpes de Castellane.
The département is made up of 12 inter-municipal bodies ( 2 metropolises, 5 conurbations, 7 communities of communes) and 153 communes, the main towns being :
Toulon (Préfecture), La Seyne-sur-Mer, Hyères, Fréjus, Draguignan (Sous-préfecture), Saint-Raphaël, Six-Fours-les-Plages, La Garde, La Valette, La Crau and Brignolles (Sous-préfecture).
Transport in the Var
Buses and coaches, trains, road network, cycle routes…
Transport solutions in the department:
Cartography
- Map of the department
Where to sleep in the Var?
Hotels and accommodation in the département, with online comparison and booking:
- Toulon , La Seyne-sur-Mer , Hyères , Fréjus , Draguignan , Saint-Raphaël , Six-Fours-les-Plages ,Brignolles
- The whole Var department:
Related links
- Topo-guide to cycle tourism in the Var: 22 discovery tours
- Coastal cycle route: the Var by bike
- The communes of the Var, the inter-municipalities of the Var
Latest publications: Var
Travel+
- Department of Var, Wikipedia