Port Cros

690 hectares bathed in sunlight, a cristalline sea, a deep forest from which the springs gush forth : welcome to Port-Cros, the mellow. Curled up in the hollow of a deep cove, the pink ochre hamlet of Port Cros, a minuscule village of 20 permanent inhabitants, has just a few restaurants and houses dotted amongst the palm trees.

The peace of the landing stage, with its mock Carribean air, seduces the most blasé of travellers. 

Overlooking the port, the Moulin fort, which for a long time has watched over the island, today peacefully welcomes its visitors, right by a little cemetery. Once past the inhabited spots, the bushland begins, with its dense vegetation of myrtle, mastic trees, strawberry trees, olive trees and heather that compete with the pines and holm oaks.

Port Cros is the oldest French National Park and the rules are strict : it's forbidden to smoke or make a fire, to camp or bivouac, in order to avoid any risk of fires ; there are speed limits for boats and above all, complete interdiction to hunt, to fish or to gather shellfish or plants.

It's a small price to pay to protect the 530 recorded species of plants, some 1500 species of birds - including the gannet, the ash puffin and the shag - and the 250 species of Lepidotera, including the largest butterfly in Europe.