More ideas in our Summer 2008 special

The euro is at a record high against the pound, your holiday budget’s been downsized and it’s time to go bargain hunting.

Once you get to the south of France, you don’t have to raise your head from your beach towel to enjoy two of the best free natural attractions: the sunshine and the bright-blue Mediterranean Sea. But if it's attractions and events you want, here are the best budget-minded options:

FESTIVALS

The best beaches on the French Riviera

Away from the Riviera’s packed see-and-be-seen sands are beaches the locals like to keep to themselves

The perfect French Riviera retreat

Crowded place, France, but there’s one slice of the south that you can have for your very own

The smart guide to Var, Provence

Francophile Anthony Peregrine's six favourite regions - here he plots the perfect break in Var, Provence

BACKGROUND

• Six Riviera hotels for all tastes

• Instant weekend: Villefranche

• Summer 2007: St Tropez

• Provence’s best kept secret

• The toytown that is Monaco

Related Links

• A budget travel guide to Tuscany

• Le crunch: dining in France on a budget

Summertime festivals provide excellent free entertainment for kids of all ages. Enjoy the extravagant International Fireworks Festival in Cannes and Monaco; lavender-scented floats at Digne-les-Bains’ Corso de la Lavande (+33-4-92-36-62-62) or costumed troubadours at Mornas’ Marché Médievale (+33-4-90-37-01-26).

PARKS AND RESERVES

If you’re staying inland, you can enjoy the undisturbed beauty of Provence’s nature reserves at no cost. The 70,000-hectare Mercantour National Park is home to Europe’s largest collection of pre-historic rock engravings, while the cedar-cloaked Luberon Regional Park is perfect for hiking. Only created in 1997, the Verdon Regional Natural Park boasts the jaw-dropping Verdon Gorges and the shimmering Lac de Sainte-Croix.

Parks and gardens all over Provence are perfect for cheap family picnics. Grab a pan bagnat (tuna nicoise salad in a bap) in Nice before whiling away the afternoon beside the chateau ruins at Parc du Chateau or buy a whole spit-roast chicken from a stallholder at Uzes’ Saturday market to eat in the shade on the Promenade des Maronniers.

JUST DESSERTS

For dessert, indulge in scoffing traditional sweets from Léonard Parli (+33-4-42-26-05-71) in Aix-en-Provence or Confiserie Florian (+33-4-93-59-32-91) in Tourrettes-sur-Loup where you’ll see workers hand-dipping fruit into orange-coloured chocolate.

MUSEUMS

When you’re looking for family-friendly culture without an entrance fee, head to Marseille’s Musée Cantini (+33-4-91-54-77-75) with celebrated masterpieces by Rothko, Kandinsky and Picasso or Musée du Vieux Nîmes (+33-4-66-76-73-70) displaying serge de Nîmes (denim) that Mr Levi Strauss used to create jeans.

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