Porquerolles
Car Free Island Off HyèRes, Mostly Protected Within Port Cros National Park, With Pine Backed White Beaches And The Fondation Carmignac Art Museum · Hyeres, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
Porquerolles is the largest of the Îles d'Or off Hyères, about 7 km long and 3 km wide, reached by a short ferry ride from La Tour Fondue at the tip of the Giens peninsula. The French state bought most of the island in 1971 to protect it, and it is now managed largely as part of Port-Cros National Park, so there are no visitor cars, no big hotels and very little building. The ferry lands at the village, a small grid of pastel houses around a tree-shaded square, and from there sandy tracks lead through pine, oak and scrub to the north coast beaches: Plage de la Courtade close to the village, Plage d'Argent to the west and Plage Notre-Dame to the east, with clear water over pale sand. The south coast is a line of cliffs with a lighthouse. Most visitors hire a bike. The island also has old orchards kept as a botanical conservatory, a few wine estates, the hilltop Fort Sainte-Agathe and the Fondation Carmignac, a contemporary art museum in a villa. Summer brings visitor limits, fire-risk closures and very full boats.
Île de Porquerolles, Hyères, Var, Hyeres, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France
The island is open all year and the village is lived in through the winter, but the rhythm is set by the ferries and by summer rules. Boats from La Tour Fondue run every day, frequently in summer and less often in winter, taking about 20 minutes; the last boat back leaves in the early evening, and missing it means paying for a water taxi or staying the night. In peak summer a daily cap on the number of visitors landing has been applied, of around 6,000 people in recent years, so book a crossing ahead in July and August and confirm the current rule. The Fondation Carmignac usually opens from spring to autumn only, is closed on some weekdays, and asks visitors to book a timed slot and go barefoot inside, confirm. In summer the prefecture sets a daily fire-risk level for the wooded hills, and on high or very high days the tracks away from the village and beaches can be closed, often from midday; check the level the evening before. Fort Sainte-Agathe opens mainly in summer. Many restaurants and bike shops close or shorten hours between November and March. Parking at La Tour Fondue is paid and fills early on summer mornings.