Toulon has been the French Navy's principal Mediterranean base since Louis XIV, and the city still carries that maritime authority in its bones, warships anchored in the roadstead below a harbor that's handled serious naval traffic for four centuries. Above the port, Mont Faron rises almost 600 meters straight from the waterfront, reachable by a cable car that opened in 1959 and, for drivers, by a road that switches back hard enough to test a car's composure at every turn, opening onto views over the entire rade by the time you reach the summit fort. From there the whole geography of the Var makes sense: Toulon anchors one end of the coast, Saint-Tropez and Cannes further along, the calanques of Cassis just to the west. It's a working city rather than a resort one, and the interest in something serious to drive reflects genuine local demand rather than passing tourist traffic. Rent or hire a sports car with Zeus Prestige and the Mont Faron road is there the moment you want to see the whole coast at once.