Ile de Porquerolles

Porquerolles is the largest of the three islands : 7.5 kilomètres by 3. It is also the most inhabited - about 350 inhabitants - and the most visited. The trip from the continent takes less than an hour, but upon arrival, the change of scenery is immediate.
From its imposing mass, the Sainte Agathe fort overloooks the natural harbour, where dozens of sailboats bob about.

A horn blow, a bit of the quay, two big moorings. The islanders await the boat, their mail, the produce with which they fill their wheelbarrows. The traveller lands on a quai fringed with imposing palm trees from the Canaries. Red ochre houses frame a street bordered with oleander. A few steps to the Place d'Armes and the magic begins.
The eucalyptus quivering with fragrances, the little Mexican-like Sainte Anne church, the shaded sidewalk cafés filled with nonchalant customers, a path that slips away through a gap in the pines…

Ile de Porquerolles has remained authentique, despite tourism and pleasure boating : its purchase by the government has protected it from the real-estate development that has disfigured the coast, and the banning of cars protects it from noise and pollution. Bicycles or your feet are the only ways to discover the beautiful landscapes of the island.