Fifteen minutes by ferry · The clearest water
Two islands off the bay, twenty minutes from the apartment door. Sainte-Marguerite for the fort and the swimming, Saint-Honorat for the monastery and the wine.
8 places in 4 sections
From counters you eat standing up to the tables worth booking a week out.
Île Sainte-Marguerite · 15 min by ferry
Beach Club · Lunch · Book
On the Sainte-Marguerite shore, loud, expensive and much photographed, with lunch that stretches into the afternoon. Book well ahead, and note the boat transfer is charged separately on top.
Île Saint-Honorat · 20 min by ferry
Lunch Only · Monastery Wine
The only restaurant on Saint-Honorat, run alongside the abbey. Lunch service only, so check the return boat before you order another bottle of the monks’ wine.
The free public swims first, then the coast paths, then the clubs if you want a lounger.
Îles de Lérins · 20 min by ferry
Island Walk · Ferry · Lérins · ⛴ 20min from Vieux Port
Cistercian monks have tended vineyards here since the fifth century. Shorter and more contemplative than Sainte-Marguerite. The monks sell their wine at the abbey gate.
Îles de Lérins · 15 min by ferry
Snorkel Art Site · Île Sainte-Marguerite
Six sculpted faces rest a few metres down off Sainte-Marguerite’s south shore. Glass-clear water, free to visit. Take the Quai Laubeuf ferry and bring a mask.
Îles de Lérins · 15 min by ferry
Island Loop · Ferry · Lérins · ⛴ 15min from Vieux Port
A 7km loop through pine and eucalyptus forest, multiple swimming coves, no cars. Ferry €18 return. Take shoes for uneven ground, swimming kit and food for the day.
How to arrive, and how long to allow.
Îles de Lérins · 15 min by ferry
By ferry, 15 min · Ferry from Vieux Port, ~€17 return
Not by train, but too good to leave out. Sainte-Marguerite, the larger island, is pine and eucalyptus forest with hidden coves and the Fort Royal where the Man in the Iron Mask was held. Saint-Honorat is a working Cistercian monastery, with wine and liqueur made by the monks, and perfect calm.
Museums, galleries and the buildings worth going inside.
Île Sainte-Marguerite · 15 min by ferry
Fortress · Free to Walk
The seventeenth-century fort above the ferry landing. The ramparts are free to wander and give the best view back across the bay to Cannes. Dogs are not allowed inside the museum.
Île Sainte-Marguerite · 15 min by ferry
Museum · About €6.50
Inside the fort: the cells where the Man in the Iron Mask was held, Roman shipwreck finds, and a small aquarium that shuts between one and two. Everything labelled in English as well as French, which is rarer here than it should be.
Île Sainte-Marguerite · 15 min by ferry
Beach Club · Lunch · Book
On the Sainte-Marguerite shore, loud, expensive and much photographed, with lunch that stretches into the afternoon. Book well ahead, and note the boat transfer is charged separately on top.
Île Saint-Honorat · 20 min by ferry
Lunch Only · Monastery Wine
The only restaurant on Saint-Honorat, run alongside the abbey. Lunch service only, so check the return boat before you order another bottle of the monks’ wine.
Îles de Lérins · 20 min by ferry
Island Walk · Ferry · Lérins · ⛴ 20min from Vieux Port
Cistercian monks have tended vineyards here since the fifth century. Shorter and more contemplative than Sainte-Marguerite. The monks sell their wine at the abbey gate.
Îles de Lérins · 15 min by ferry
Snorkel Art Site · Île Sainte-Marguerite
Six sculpted faces rest a few metres down off Sainte-Marguerite’s south shore. Glass-clear water, free to visit. Take the Quai Laubeuf ferry and bring a mask.
Îles de Lérins · 15 min by ferry
Island Loop · Ferry · Lérins · ⛴ 15min from Vieux Port
A 7km loop through pine and eucalyptus forest, multiple swimming coves, no cars. Ferry €18 return. Take shoes for uneven ground, swimming kit and food for the day.
Îles de Lérins · 15 min by ferry
By ferry, 15 min · Ferry from Vieux Port, ~€17 return
Not by train, but too good to leave out. Sainte-Marguerite, the larger island, is pine and eucalyptus forest with hidden coves and the Fort Royal where the Man in the Iron Mask was held. Saint-Honorat is a working Cistercian monastery, with wine and liqueur made by the monks, and perfect calm.
Île Sainte-Marguerite · 15 min by ferry
Fortress · Free to Walk
The seventeenth-century fort above the ferry landing. The ramparts are free to wander and give the best view back across the bay to Cannes. Dogs are not allowed inside the museum.
Île Sainte-Marguerite · 15 min by ferry
Museum · About €6.50
Inside the fort: the cells where the Man in the Iron Mask was held, Roman shipwreck finds, and a small aquarium that shuts between one and two. Everything labelled in English as well as French, which is rarer here than it should be.
Nothing here under that name. Try another word, or choose Everything.
Riviera Séjour
Notes from the coast, now and then. Nothing more.
Thank you, you are in.
