The French Riviera offers a privileged retreat for those who wish to spend the day to the rhythm of sea waves and the song of cicadas on the many islands there.
There are two archipelagos of great interest that characterize the south of France: the islands of Lérins, which include Saint’Honorat and Sainte-Marguerite, and the islands of Hyères, which correspond to Port-Cros, Pourquerolles, and the Île du Levant.
The Côte d’Azur islands include the two archipelagos of the Lérins Islands-Saint’Honorat and Sainte-Marguerite-and the islands of Hyères-Port-Cros, Pourquerolles, and Île du Levant.
ÎLE SAINTE-MARGUERITE
There are two islands in Lérins: the island of Saint’Honorat and Sainte-Marguerite. The latter is the largest and closest to the coast.
The Lérins Islands are only a twenty-minute boat ride from Cannes, yet the change of scenery is total. Wild, Sainte-Marguerite is covered with eucalyptus and pine forests.
The island offers the possibility of relaxing walks and swimming in the creeks.
While staying in Sainte-Marguerite, it is recommended to visit the Iron Mask Museum and the Royal Fort. In fact, it was within these walls that the Iron Mask was imprisoned during the reign of Louis XIV. Many hypotheses formulated about who was behind that mask, but his identity remains unknown.
ÎLE SANT’HONORAT
Another island belonging to Lérins is Saint-Honorat.
Dominated by the Abbey of Lérins, the island of Saint-Honorat is a true jewel among the islands of the French Riviera.
The coastline is low and less welcoming than that of the island of Sainte-Marguerite, from which it is separated by a narrow sea channel known as Plateau du Milieu. The vegetation consists of maritime and domestic pines.
Saint-Honorat is a marvel off Cannes Bay, where a few lucky monks live in an imposing central monastery, an architectural jewel. You can attend offices, hold a retreat, and taste and buy wine or liquor produced by the monks.
PORT-CROS
Between Porquerolles and Île du Levant in the Gulf of Hyères, Port-Cros is the smallest of the Hyères islands, but no less beautiful for that. Known in antiquity as Messea (middle island), it owes its name to a small port on the island that is shaped like a cross.
This majestic Côte d’Azur island hides five ancient defensive fortresses along colorful hiking trails of land and sea. A veritable Garden of Eden that does not leave one indifferent because of its intense relationship with nature.
The island was donated to the French government by its last owner (who died in 1966) to establish a national park there-the National Park of Port-Cros-which was actually established on December 14, 1963.
PORQUEROLLES
Pourquerolles is the largest and westernmost island in the small archipelago of the Hyères Islands. Not only that: in terms of its surface area, it is the second largest Mediterranean island in France after Corsica.
It possesses five small mountain ranges and the southern coast is composed of steep cliffs, while to the north are the harbor and sandy beaches covered with pine, heather and myrtle-the best known are the beaches of Notre Dame, La Courtade and Plage d’Argent.
The village of Porquerolles, with a small harbor, has given its name to the entire island and is inhabited by about 200 people who live almost essentially from tourism.
The main tourist activities are hiking and mountain biking, beaches and scuba diving.
In 1971 the French state bought 80 percent of the island to protect it from development. Much of the island is now part of a national park (the National Park of Port-Cros) and is an ecological nature conservation area (Conservatoire botanique national méditerranéen de Porquerolles).
ÎLE DU LEVANT
The last island constituting the Hyères Islands, Île du Levant, sometimes also called Le Levant.
In the heart of the Port Cros National Park, this Côte d’Azur island is protected by its own nature, offering only a small perimeter accessible to its visitors. The rest of the island-about 90 percent-is classified as a military zone.
In 1931, Heliopolis, the first village in Europe dedicated to the practice of naturism, was founded on the island. Even today, the village attracts naturists from all over the world who come to Île du Levant to spend their vacations in harmony with nature.