The Var department takes its name from the river Var, which flowed along its eastern boundary, until the boundary was moved in 1860. It is part of the French Riviera, bordering Marseille, and includes major ports (Toulon in particular – we generally catch our ferry to Corsica here). It includes towns most don’t consider the Cote d’Azur and I’ll respect that, ending my notes at Hyères and the islands from it.
Le Castellet
We stopped to wander around Le Castellet (pretty historic town) on the way – this is really lovely, a tourist magnet for sure, but it has a lively feel, excellent views. Don’t miss the central church – romanesque, but doubled – they mimicked the shape to double the size, resulting in two rooms.
For a future visit, Galen wants to go to Circuit Paul Ricard.
Giens Peninsula
The Giens Peninsula juts out from Hyères. It’s a major tourist destination as a day trip (along the long sandy strip connecting to the populated part) – thousands of cars, thousands of people. There’s a second road that’s a surprise – the old salt evaporation ponds, today marshland known for its population of flamingos (there were many!).
Despite hiccups, to follow, we liked it and would consider returning. The south side inlets for ocean swimming are wonderful – I emphasize this after visiting Porquerolles; the swimming is not better there. (Don’t stay on the north side, totally different experience.) In mid-August 2023, it was fairly quiet, calm – not packed at all, quite relaxing. It has a low-key vibe – with a better lodging option, this would be a strong recommendation.
We stayed at *Le Provençal – the only hotel we saw, aside from camping and family-oriented options. Aside from the pool (which they said was part of the hotel, I’m not entirely sure if that’s true), it was pretty terrible. Really worn out, not particularly clean, awful and expensive breakfast. They also have a few restaurants, including the expensive and not-good *Le Bar Du Soleil. Apparently the next generation is working to tune it up (expect it to be a long process).
Porquerolles
Porquerolles has an almost mythic reputation – “a protected park with crystal clear waters, calanque-style beaches, a major art collection, and a crowd that’s been coming back for generations – or showed up on their yacht for the day.” For most, the arrival is via ferry – a short ride from the Giens Peninsula (ferry times here). We … didn’t love it and don’t plan to return. It feels a lot like Catalina in California, or to put it in more direct terms – this is like camping, when you weren’t prepared to camp. All dirt roads, beaches in general dirt and sea grass, hotels were not excellent, food was expensive and not great. It does clear out at night, but it wasn’t that hectic to begin with (at least if you wander 50 meters out from the main square), so the difference didn’t feel dramatic.
We had a very bumpy hotel experience. We booked *Auberge des Glycines for two nights, and were so underwhelmed we checked out after one and rebooked ourselves at **Le Mas Du Langoustier. It wasn’t exactly terrible (the Auberge), but the staff just were so bored and lackluster, and everything had a flavor of that tone – the sheets were clean but the floors were gritty, breakfast was extremely basic, the lunch we had was just okay and served with ennui.
In the central town area (where you’ll arrive on the ferry) – there’s a large dirt square ringed by hotels and restaurants (in many cases, both – with rooms upstairs). We had looked at Villa Sainte Anne and while it didn’t look like a bad choice, it seemed kind of forgotten and low energy. We did eat at the more exclusive **Hôtel Restaurant Au Porquerollais, and had a very tasty meal with formal service. This could be a nicer choice if it was important to you to stay near the square (I’m not sure it really matters).
Once in town, there are a few things you can do: go to the beach (on bike, or on foot), and visit **Villa Carmignac – Fondation Carmignac: a farm turned futuristic subterranean art museum. This is very worth it – they do one show a year in the beautiful building, typically high concept and large format. Also on the property you can have a meal, do wine tasting, and walk around the extensive grounds. I appreciated the nice touch of a flavored glass of water upon arrival, as nearly all arrive dusty and tired, after a long walk uphill.
Onto the beaches. One of the better choices we made was immediately renting e-bikes (seriously, not the normal bikes) and canvasing the beaches. The island runs 11 km end-to-end, and these are not great roads – dirt, rocks, lots of hills. We swam at Plage Notre-Dame (I’d call this acceptable, if not amazing), and liked the look of the steep descent down to Gorges du Loup. Everything else seemed rather busy, with dirty-sand beaches.
Hotel number two: **Le Mas Du Langoustier. We had lunch, as well as dinner, on the property, which are surprisingly different experiences – lunch is fancy (La Pinède), for guests, and dinner is included with your stay (which is quite expensive). Dinner honestly was on the average side, lunch was much better, and the breakfast was excellent. Service is middle of the road. Volume of pheasants is very fun.
Like everything on the island – this experience isn’t quite what you hope it to be. It’s a bit sparse and worn, classic designs and clean, but in need of new carpet, a fresh coat of paint, etc. You can walk to the sea and swim – but it’s not the best beaches. There’s a massive private pool that looks rather nice. You’re very isolated and far from most everything. It reminds me of classic hotel stays in Switzerland, kind of charming, but expect historic, not the equivalent of a newer 5 star stay (and price).
I’m tempted to go to Port-Cros (adjacent island), but we’ll leave it for another trip.
Further reading:
https://www.yolojournal.com/just-back-fromporquerolles/
https://littleweekends.fr/guides-voyage-france/hyeres/
Collobrières
We took the scenic inland route – about three hours of driving from Hyéres – up the D88, and then along to D14 through Collobrières and then on until hitting the main north-south road to Saint-Tropez. Arguably not worth it, as it’s a very narrow road, and not that fun to drive (every oncoming car is a challenge).
The visit to **Chartreuse Verne, however, was worth it. Built by Carthusian monks around 1174, destroyed many times, this was effectively gone until the 1990s, when major works were taken on to bring it back to life. It’s not particularly easy to get to, but the scale of the repairs are remarkable, as is the fact that this is a functioning, occupied religious site.
