;;49er;;ABN AMRO 2;;Abu Dhabi Yacht Show;;Accastillage Diffusion;;AEZ RC 44 Sailing Team;;Alain Gautier;;Alberto Barovier;;ALEPH;;Aleph;;Alex Pella;;Alex Thomson;;Alinghi;;Alliaura;;Alphena Yachts;;Amel;;America's Cup;;America’s Cup;;Andrew Meiklejohn;;Anna Corbella;;Antonio Piris;;ARC;;Archambault;;Armand Coursodon;;Armel Le Cléac’h;;Artemis Racing;;B&G;;Banque Populaire;;Barcelona World Race;;Bayliner;;Ben Wright;;Bénéteau;;Benjamin Chandelier;;Bernard Stamm;;Bertrand Pacé;;BMW ORACLE;;BMW ORACLE Racing;;Bol d'Or;;Bombard;;Boot Düsseldorf;;Bordeaux 60;;Boris Herrmann;;Boston Whaler;;Brad Marsh;;Bruno Cathelinais;;Bruno Garcia;;Bruno Troublé;;Cali Sanmartí;;Cameron Appleton;;Ceeref;;Central Lechera Asturiana;;CER;;Challenge Julius Baer;;Championnat de France de Course au large en solitaire;;Charles Caudrelier;;Chris Bake;;Christian Binder;;Classe 40;;Corum;;Coupe de l'America;;D35;;Damian Foxall;;Daniel Calero;;David Murphy;;Dean Barker;;Décision 35;;Dee Caffari;;Des Top News;;Django;;Dominique Wavre;;Ellen MacArthur;;Emirates Team New Zealand;;Energy Team;;Eric Tabarly;;Ericsson 3;;Ericsson 4;;Ernesto Bertarelli;;Erwan Israël;;Estrella Damm;;Estrella Damm Sailing Team;;Evgeniy Neugodnikov;;Extreme 40;;Extreme Sailing Series;;Facnor;;Farr 40;;Fédération des Industries Nautiques;;Fédération Française de Voile;;FFV;;Figaro Bénéteau;;Finot/Conq;;Foncia;;Fòrum Marítim Català;;Fountaine-Pajot;;FourWinns;;Fran Palacio;;Francesco Bruni;;Franck Cammas;;François Gabart;;French Match Racing Team;;French Olympic Sailing Team;;French Sailing Federation;;GAES Centros Auditivos;;Generali Solo;;Gérard d'Aboville;;Gerard Marín;;Gitana;;Golden Gate Yacht Club;;Grand Surprise;;Green Dragon;;Groupama 3;;Groupama 4;;Groupama 70;;Groupama Sailing Team;;Groupe Bel;;Groupe Edmond de Rothschild;;Guennadi Timtchenko;;Guy Cotten;;Hallberg Rassy;;Harken;;Harm Müller-Spreer;;Henry Lloyd;;Hervé Le Quilliec;;Hugo Boss;;Ian Williams;;Igor Lah;;Iker Martínez;;iker-xabi.com;;Ikone;;Imoca;;Inaki Castaner;;International Superyacht Coatings Conference;;Ironbound;;ISAF;;Islas Canarias Puerto Calero;;IWC Schaffhausen;;J Boats;;Jacques Caraës;;James Spithill;;Jaume Mumbrú;;Jean Le Cam;;Jean-François Fountaine;;Jean-Luc Nélias;;Jean-Pierre Champion;;Jean-Pierre Dick;;Jeanneau;;Jérémie Beyou;;John Bassadone;;Jose Maria Ponce;;Juan Merediz;;Juan Vila;;Katusha;;Kito de Pavant;;Kris Owczarek;;Lagoon;;Larry Ellison;;Laurent Pagès;;Loïc Dorez;;Loïck Peyron;;Louis Vuitton;;Louis Vuitton Trophy;;Luc Gellusseau;;Ludovic Aglaor;;Luna Ross;;Luna Rossa;;Macif Centre de Voile;;Maffioli;;Mapfre;;Marc Guillemot;;Marcel Van Triest;;Marinepool;;Mark Turner;;Markus Wieser;;Martin Krite;;Martin Strömberg;;Mascalzone;;Mascalzone Latino;;Max Sirena;;Maxi Banque Populaire V;;Maxim Logutenko;;MedCup;;Michel Desjoyaux;;Michel Desjoyeaux;;Michèle Paret;;Mini Fastnet;;Mirabaud;;Mirabaud LX;;MOD 70;;MOD70;;Monaco Yacht Show;;Multi One Attitude;;Multi One Design;;Muscat;;Nautic;;Nautitech;;Navicom;;Neutrogena;;Nils Frei;;NKE;;No Way Back;;North Sails;;OC ThirdPole;;Okalys-Corum;;Olivier Mainguy;;Oman Air;;Oman Air Masirah;;OMEGA;;ORC;;ORMA;;Pachi Rivero;;Pascal Bidégorry;;Paul Campbell-James;;Paul Cayard;;Peninsula Petroleum;;Pepe Ribes;;Phil Harmer;;Philippe Poupon;;Pierre Barbleu;;Pierre Rolland;;Pierre Tissier;;Pieter Heerema;;PlanetSolar;;Prince de Bretagne;;Prix Bateau bleu;;Ray Davies;;RC 44;;Red Bull Extreme Sailing;;Rémi Duchemin;;Renault;;René Mangold;;Rod Davis;;Roland Jourdain;;Roland Jourdin;;Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race;;Roman Hagara;;Route du Rhum;;Russell Coutts;;Ryan Breymaier;;Salon Nautique de Paris;;Salon Nautique International de Paris;;Samantha Davies;;Sea Ray;;Sébastien Audigane;;Sébastien Josse;;Sébastien Marsset;;Seldén;;Sidney Gavignet;;Singapore Yacht Show;;SNG;;Société Nautique de Genève;;Société Pen Duick;;Sodebo;;Solitaire du Figaro;;Solo Figaro Massif Marine;;Stéphane Guilbaud;;Stève Ravussin;;SuisseNautic;;Swiss Sailing;;SwissTech;;Synergy Russian Sailing Team;;Syz & Co;;Tanguy Cariou;;Team Aqua;;Team Australia;;Team Extreme;;Team GAC Pindar;;Team New Zealand;;Team Nice;;Team Sea Dubai;;Terry Hutchinson;;The Artemis Challenge;;The Transat;;The Wave;;The Wave, Muscat;;Thomas Coville;;Thomas Ruyant;;Torbjorn Tornqvist;;Torvar Mirsky;;Tour de Belle-Ile;;Tour de France;;Transat AG2R;;Transat Cornouaille-Martinique;;Transat Jacques Vabre;;Trophée Jules Verne;;Vendée Globe;;Veolia Environnement;;Vincent Lauriot-Prevost;;Vincenzo Onorato;;Virbac Paprec;;Virbac-Paprec;;Voiles de Saint Barth;;Volvo Ocean Race;;VPLP;;Vulcain Trophy;;Watt and Sea;;We Are Water;;Whitbread;;William Douglass;;World Match Racing Tour;;World Yacht Racing Forum;;X-Yachts;;Xabi Fernández;;Yacht 17;;Yacht Club de Genève;;Yacht Racing Design and Technology Symposium;;Yann Eliès;;Yann Guichard;;Yann Riou;;Yannick Bestaven;;Yves Detrey;;Yves Parlier;;Zodiac

Hyères, today

The Golden Triangle that is the Var region’s Côte d’Azur

Text:Sandrine Moirenc

Year:2009

Hyères and the Giens peninsula, Brégançon Hyères awakes to the sensual delight of a bright spring, the kind familiar to Provence: ensconced in a mineral setting boasting a unique geomorphology, between the harbour of Toulon and the bay of Saint Tropez, it is positively golden in the sunshine and the mildness of the Côte d’Or, betwixt the sky and the Mediterranean. Hyères is known as the town with 7,000 palm trees! Indeed the small seaside resort has an historic tradition tied in with the cultivation of this tree and its exotic undertones, and this has been the case for over 4 centuries. It has made them into a never-ending crown, which fringes its entire coastline for over thirty kilometres or so… It has to be said that it is one of the most sprawling towns in France! Add to that there is a gentleness to life which is echoed in the shopping streets, the numerous terraces, its monuments, its collegiate church, its pretty port, and you’ve quickly fallen victim to its charm! An excellent prologue for this pastoral jaunt soothed by sea air and spray in the discovery of this jewel of the Var region’s Côte d’Azur! From the port, the Giens peninsula, formerly an island, stretches along its entire length, linked to the continent by two tombolos. A bike is the thing for covering the ground here, early in the morning, or at the end of the day, in the discovery of treasures hidden behind its deceptive insigniﬁcance. A few turns of the pedals and, surprise, already a fabulous saltworks from the middle of the 19th century is revealed: Les Pesquiers saltworks. It’s a remarkable site which has been preserved and its value reasserted by the coastal academy. Here, accompanied by a guide, you discover a universe featuring unsuspected biodiversity! From observing the grid which makes up the different basins, you learn about the industrial logic of the time which made Hyères, about the salt wheel and the main Genoese producer. You can also find buildings from the period for packaging and storing the salt, as well as a very rare pinion – paddle wheel – and then there’s the flora with the changing colours of its samphire and the reeds which fold in the sea breeze. Further away, a heron stands, unshakeable, despite the distant purring of the passing cars and the pink flamingos that go for an unexpected fly past. The bike ride continues right around the saltworks, from where you can also make out a fair number of birds. Continuing on, we reach the charming village of Giens with its picturesque little fishing port, which can accommodate a few boats on days when the Mistral is blowing. Early in the morning is the time when fish lovers come here to buy the fish of the day, fresh from the nets. On the other side of the headland, you reach the Tour Fondue, the remnants of a fortification from the 17th century and the departure point for the ferry to the Iles d’Or (Golden Isles). You can then drop back down the western tombolo where you still stand a good chance of being able to see flamingos again, mid-flight, or simply observe them as far as the beautiful beach of Almanarre. This long strip of white sand, spanning over 4km in length, licked by the clear waters whose colours change according to the wind, is a famous spot for windsurfing, funboarding and kitesurfing! A preserved paradise, a little stopover here is a must if you are to enjoy a picnic fit for a king, or even the first dip of the year for the more reckless. The most curious will doubtless want to visit the nearby archaeological site of Olbia, which comprises the remains of a maritime trading post founded by the Greeks in 4BC. To the East of the peninsula, around 8 nautical miles away, it is interesting to note the steep section of coast which accommodates the fort of Brégançon, a holiday destination for the French Presidents. Apart from this minor detail, the site provides fantastic anchorages, with the cove of Estagnol and its fantastic beach protected from the road by the pine forest and the private domains.

The Iles d’Or (Golden Isles)

Legend has it that in ancient times, Prince Olbianus, a respected gentleman of the land, had four very beautiful daughters who loved swimming. One morning, whilst bathing off the shore, a pirate ship loomed on the horizon. The gentleman implored them to come back but the princesses, too far away, couldn’t hear his desperate calls. Olbianus then asked the gods to come to their assistance and rather than being snatched by the pirates, they were turned to stone. These are the three golden isles and the Giens peninsula, which symbolises one of the girls touching the shore with her hand. Mineral beauties, they remain genuine insular princesses! First of all there is Porquerolles, the closest to the mainland, 2.5 nautical miles offshore. We soon arrive at the port and its sea of jangling masts. Not far from the quay, the fishermen’s pontoon plays host to the typical Provençal fishing boats in their acid hues, laden with a whole picturesque set of tackle for fishing out the flavours of the Mediterranean that you find on the restaurant menus. Leaving a string of shops fringing the port to the left, you reach the village’s charming square, cooled by the shade of the eucalyptus trees, and the Sainte-Anne church tower, which exudes the atmosphere of the place: the warm simplicity of the southern mildness. There are only two ways of discovering the island, a big rock spanning 7.5km in length and 2.5km wide and carpeted with lush vegetation throughout: on foot or by bike. And so much the better, as the amount of people hiring mountain bikes are omnipresent here! Initially the track leads along the path from the silver beach, a long strip of white sand hemmed by a bank of dried Posidonia seagrass, which constantly flirts with the scandalously translucent water. The area is quite simply divine! Another good two and half kilometres and the Langoustier headland reveals itself as a strip of land edged by two very different beaches: the immaculate white sand beach and the black sand beach of Port Fay, in the wilder, more surprising Parfait cove. We head back now, into the village, branching off toward the Hameau, an area which accommodates the island’s botanical conservatory and its orchards. The institution, which works towards the conservation of the Mediterranean plant heritage, manages plots of garden and tree collections: the track which leads out to the lighthouse exhibits 190 varieties of Mediterranean olive trees and 140 different varieties of ﬁg trees, almond trees, citrus fruits, which are a delight to look at! From the other side of the village, another trip onto the beaches of the Courtade and Notre-Dame ends casting a spell over us… We might have only been about ten minutes away from the ‘mainland’, but even so, it’s like another world, sweetened by authenticity and an absolute delight! Port-Cros, 10 miles from the mainland, proves to be wilder still. Indeed, since 1963, this incredible natural sanctuary has formed part of the Marine National Park of Port-Cros which spans 700 hectares of land above sea level in a total area of sea covering 1288 hectares. The island can also be approached via the port and its little village, but this can only be explored on foot. There are three paths which have been created to explore the coast and the park’s interior. The first, referred to as the History path, climbs up into the hills and the island’s five forts. You need a whole day to complete the entire circuit. The Botanical path meantime, reveals the richness and luxuriance of the surrounding flora: pine trees, oaks, strawberry trees, myrtles and wild olive trees… There are a cocktail of plant species all about this little section of the Maures massif and it is not dissimilar to Corsica. The walk leads as far as the beach in Palud, a jaunt lasting about three quarters of an hour and edged by tamarisk and reeds. It’s here that the Underwater path was developed which can be discovered with a mask and snorkel: with or without a guide, the underwater life plays before our astounded eyes; Posidonia seagrass, large mother-of-pearls, octopus, mullet, paper nautili and sea cicadas… an incredibly well preserved nautical ballet! Another possibility in the discovery of this sea bed is on offer to confirmed divers with the exploration of a rock called La Gabinière, which plays host to some exceptional underwater encounters apparently! Meanwhile, the Ile du Levant, just half an hour’s sailing from Port-Cros, is something rather out of the ordinary. In this sturdy little paradise, soldiers and naturists have chosen to live together! Indeed here, you have to be prepared: the majority of the Levant belongs to the French Navy and, in the area which is accessible to the public, outside a botanical path developed to regale visitors with its abundant flora and its equally precious minerals, the island prides itself on having founded Héliopolis in 1931, the first naturist centre in Europe.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Hyères Tourist Office
3 av Ambroise Thomas
Tel.: +33 4 94 01 84 50

Yacht charter
APACA, 21-28 centre du nautisme
83400 Hyères les Palmiers
Tel.: +33 494 38 33 84
(a.pasquier@apaca.fr)

International Yacht Club de Hyères (Hyères International Yacht Club)
61 avenue du Dr Robin 83400 Hyères - Tel.: +33 494 57 00 07

Port St-Pierre
There are two entrances, one to the South with its three harbour basins, the harbour master’s office, a careening zone and the petrol station; the other, to the North with its adjoining harbour master’s office and a second careening zone. Be careful on the approach if there’s a strong easterly wind. Otherwise the port is very well organised, with all the services a sailor could wish for, and it demonstrates a real concern for the protection of the environment. Tel.: +33 4 94 12 54 40

L’Estagnol Restaurant
Between La Londe and Cap Bénat, the Estagnol cove accommodates a very good restaurant beneath the pine forest in high season. With your feet in the sand, you can revel in the cuisine, with everything cooked over a wood fire. Tel.: +33 4 94 64 71 11

Port of Porquerolles
Nice and protected, it provides 300 berths and 62 anchorages for visitors. However, be careful about the shortage of water. Once the daily allowance 60m3 of water has been consumed, the port cuts off the water supply. It is forbidden to wash your boat. Interesting then that there’s fuel and a careening zone on the island!
Tel.: +33 4 98 04 63 10

Le Mas du Langoustier Restaurant
A gastronomic restaurant situated on a promontory overlooking the two beaches at the western end of the island.
Tel.: +33 4 94 58 30 09
Port of Port-Cros
It’s not a safe shelter in a strong Mistral but it has 45 berths and 42 buoys with ecological anchors for its visitors. Please note too that the port doesn’t supply electricity and in peak season it rations water users to 20 litres per day per person.
Tel.: +33 4 94 01 40 70

National Park
Tel.: +33 4 94 01 40 70

Le Manoir Restaurant
300 metres to the right of the port, this discrete, informal and friendly site, where the luxury lies in the ambient simplicity and good taste, really has soul, the likes of which is reflected in its tasty, southern French cuisine.
Tel.: +33 4 94 05 90 89