The French Riviera has always felt a little harder to reach than it should. Beautiful once you get there, certainly, but often involving a trek across London before you've even left the country.
British Airways has now removed some of that faff and announced brand new London City Airport flights to Toulon-Hyères. Launched on 23 May, the new flights will be operated by BA CityFlyer on Tuesdays and Saturdays and will run through to 1 September 2026.
It's a short hop of just under two hours that lands you straight into the heart of Provence. And yes, you can use your Avios to book it.
The Route, Explained
Toulon-Hyères sits east of Toulon at around 50 kilometres from Saint-Tropez, which is why BA markets the destination as "Toulon Saint Tropez" in its materials, with characteristic optimism about what a 50-kilometre drive entails. The airport itself is small (seven destinations in total, including London City), which means no grinding queues that tend to accompany Nice or Marseille at peak summer.
Flights depart London City at 15:50 on Tuesdays and 07:00 on Saturdays and return from Toulon at 19:35 and 10:45 respectively. The aircraft is BA CityFlyer's Embraer E190, a compact and perfectly suited aircraft for a route where the main point is getting to a scenic destination without the associated circus.
Cash fares start from around £127 one-way, though prices can change depending on timing. BA Holidays has also packaged Toulon breaks around the route by bundling flights and accommodation for those who'd rather not coordinate them separately.
Why the Announcement Matters for Avios Collectors
Most people redeeming Avios for the French Riviera head straight for Nice. That's hardly a secret, which means reward flights during the summer can disappear quickly. Flights to French Riviera destinations have always been a staple short-haul redemption. Now, Toulon gives you another entry into the region, with Saint-Tropez, Hyères, Le Lavandou and much of the Var coast within reach. If you've struggled to find availability to Nice in peak season, this is a route worth keeping on your radar.
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There's also the London City factor. Anyone who regularly redeems Avios from the South East knows that flying from London City can feel like a perk in itself. Short security queues, a compact terminal and a quick journey from central London make it a more civilised experience than trekking out to Heathrow for a short-haul flight.
The other thing seasoned collectors will notice is that this is a brand-new route. New routes don't stay under the radar forever, but they can sometimes provide better reward seat opportunities while travel patterns are still bedding in. That doesn't mean Toulon will be easy to book, especially with a twice-weekly schedule operated by a smaller BA CityFlyer. It does mean it's worth setting an Alert with our British Airways Reward Flight Finder rather than leaving it to chance.
If you're interested, don't wait until next summer to start looking. With only two flights a week, there won't be a huge number of reward flights floating around, and this feels like exactly the sort of route that frequent Avios users will snap up once word gets around.
Even if you're building a balance for a specific long-haul trip, a short-haul European redemption on a new route can be a smart use of points without depleting what you're saving for the bigger trip.
What's it Like to Visit Toulon?
Sometimes, the less-travelled destinations surprise us in the most pleasant way. Visiting Toulon is not the same proposition as visiting Saint-Tropez. The city is a working French port with a characterful old town, local markets, and none of the pretension that comes with some of the Riviera's better-known postcodes.
That's not to say you're missing out on the Riviera experience. Quite the opposite. Some of the best bits of the Var region, which includes Cassis, the Calanques, and the Gorges du Verdon, are within easy reach, and the coast between Hyères and Saint-Tropez comes with beach access without the July and August surcharges that the more famous names command.
Holidays in Toulon suit travellers who want southern France on their own terms rather than on Instagram's. Instead of fighting your way through Nice Airport with everyone else heading south for the summer, you're arriving closer to the quieter side of the coast. You'll find fewer crowds, lower prices, and a more relaxed pace of life.
If that appeals to you, this route is worth bookmarking. And if you're committed to Saint-Tropez, the drive from the airport takes about an hour, less than the equivalent from Nice, which is where most people currently fly.
Part of a Wider Summer Picture
Toulon isn't the only new addition to British Airways summer routes this year. The airline has also launched services from London Stansted to Olbia, Sardinia and Glasgow to San Sebastián, all equally worth a look if you're weighing where to direct a short-haul balance.
British Airways
There's a pattern here. BA CityFlyer now flies to a network of approximately 30 European routes that all have smaller airports and a leisure feel over traditional business-heavy city pairs.
London City Airport flights have become more appealing to leisure travellers as a result. The airport's central location, fast security lanes, and relative calm make it an attractive departure point for a summer getaway, and the Toulon service leans into that. It gives you a better way into one of the most desirable stretches of coastline in Europe, while also giving London City Airport users another reason to stay loyal to an airport that many already regard as one of London's best-kept travel secrets.
