Porquerolles

Porquerolles is the largest and westernmost of the Iles d'Hyeres, off Hyeres in the Var department (Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur). The island measures about 7 km long by 3 km wide (1,254 hectares), with cliffs along its south coast and sandy beaches to the north, including Notre-Dame, La Courtade and Plage d'Argent. Its village was founded in 1820, its lighthouse built in 1837 and its church in 1850.

The island has no structured harbour or marina: nautical access is by anchoring, currently free of charge over the sandy seabed off the main beaches. The Port-Cros National Park, which protects much of the island since the French state acquired around 80% of it in 1971, regulates navigation and anchoring through a prefectural order (speed limits, restricted zones). A mooring and light-equipment area project, with buoys spread across several sectors, is under study by the national park for implementation by around 2028, aimed at limiting the impact of anchoring on Posidonia seagrass beds.

The village of Porquerolles is explored mainly on foot or by bicycle, as motor traffic is heavily restricted. The island is home to the Conservatoire botanique national mediterraneen, several forts, including Fort Sainte-Agathe, reachable via cycling routes, and coastal paths within the national park. Since 2010, the island has hosted the "Jazz a Porquerolles" festival each summer.

In 1912, the industrialist Francois-Joseph Fournier bought the entire island, according to several sources as a wedding gift for his wife Sylvia. Having made his fortune in gold and silver mining in Mexico, he developed vineyards, citrus crops, market gardening and livestock there, equipped the island with a power plant, a cooperative grocery store and a medical dispensary, and organised its maritime links. The vineyards he planted were among the department's first classified Cotes de Provence estates.