Giens Peninsula

The Giens peninsula (Presqu'île de Giens) is a former island in the commune of Hyères, Var, joined to the mainland by two sand bars. It holds sheltered family beaches, a wind-sports beach, a flamingo lagoon and the main ferry port for Porquerolles, so it suits beach days, birdwatching, coastal walks and island trips.

A double tombolo

Two strips of sand formed about 3,000 years ago, a double tombolo, now tie Giens to the coast. Between them lies the Étang des Pesquiers, with the Gulf of Giens to the west and the Hyères roadstead to the east. The lagoon was worked as a salt marsh from 1848 to 1996, producing up to 30,000 tonnes of salt a year, and is now a stopover for migrating birds; flamingos are often seen on it. The Route du Sel along the western bar gives the best views of the water and closes to cars in winter, when it stays open to walkers and cyclists. The southern part of the peninsula is mostly cliffs and forest.

Almanarre for windsurfing, La Capte for families

On the western bar, the Almanarre is a long beach known for windsurfing and kitesurfing. On the eastern side, La Capte is sheltered from the mistral and popular with families. Around the peninsula are smaller spots such as the Anse du Four à Chaux, La Madrague, Le Bouvet and La Vignette, which is fully equipped for disabled visitors with a ramp, lifting and transfer equipment, an audio system for visually impaired bathers and adapted showers and toilets. A coastal path circles much of the peninsula. All beaches are free.

Olbia, the Tour Fondue battery and the Arrogante wreck

In antiquity the Greek colony of Olbia stood on the western side and later became the Roman town of Pomponiana. The Tour Fondue battery on the south-east coast dates from the 17th century. On 18 March 1879 the warship Arrogante was driven ashore on the east coast with the loss of 50 sailors. The poet Saint-John Perse, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1960, died on the peninsula in 1975 and is buried in the Giens cemetery. Until 1940 the peninsula and nearby islands were the last refuge of the monk seal on the French mainland coast.