Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as le Midi, is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin, Spain, the Mediterranean Sea and Italy. It includes southern Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the west, Occitanie in the centre, the southern parts of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in the northeast, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in the southeast, as well as the island of Corsica in the southeast. Southern France is generally considered part of southern Europe because of its association with the Mediterranean Sea.
Calanques National Park between Marseille and Cassis, in Bouches-du-Rhône
Southern France, based on a split along the 45th parallel
Nice is often considered abroad to be southern France's best-known city although Marseille is the largest.
Coastal road near Sainte-Maxime
Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the largest administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes in a territorial reform. Nouvelle-Aquitaine has an area of 84,035.7 km2 (32,446.4 sq mi) – more than 1⁄7 of Metropolitan France – and has a population of 6,033,952 as of 2020. The new region was established on 1 January 2016, following the regional elections in December 2015.
The Château de la Roque in Meyrals
The Dune of Pilat is the tallest dune in Europe.
Pic du Midi d'Ossau
Typical landscape in Corrèze
