Bandol Attractions

The Ile de Bendor is a rocky island only 1km/.5mi south of Bandol, a trip of only seven minutes by boats which leave the mainland every 30 minutes. Its attractions include a reconstructed Provençal harbor, the Musée de la Mer (Marine Museum), the Fondation Paul Picard, with art exhibitions and courses and a huge painting by Salvador Dali, the diving center known as the Centre International de Plongée, a little zoo and a seawater swimming pool.

About 5km/3mi south of Six-Fours-la-Plage, on the southern edge of the Bay of Sanary, lie the Iles des Embiez. The Ile de la Tour- Fondue (95ha/235 acres) is the chief island in this diverse group and has been developed into a center for water sports. The south of the island, which is 64m/210ft high and steeply sloping, is characterized by a salt-works and bathing beaches. The Observatoire de la Mer, a marine observation station and museum, is worth a visit.

Sanary-sur-Mer, 4km/2mi southeast of Bandol, is a pretty former fishing village surrounded by wooded hills and with an extensive colony of villas. On a hill to the west of the village stands the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Pitié, built in 1560, which is well worth seeing and from which there is a splendid view. In the early part of the Second World War a number of well-known German intellectuals fleeing from the Nazis settled in Sanary.

Six-Fours-la-Plage, 10km/6mi south of Bandol, is a large community of several parts situated at the foot of a hill 210m/689ft high, with magnificent views of the Roads of Toulon and the Fort de Six-Fours. At the foot of the hill stands the Church of Vieux-Six- Fours, part of which is a well- preserved Romanesque building, containing a fine 16th C. winged altar.

Along the beach stretches an extensive complex of holiday homes.

St-Cyr-sur-Mer, a community of several parts situated 9km/6mi northwest of Bandol, has highly developed agriculture - flowers, capers, olives, grapes - and a ceramic industry.

The principal tourist area is the stretch of coast between the yacht harbors of Les Lecques in the northwest and La Madrague in the south.

The Musée de Tauroentum - once the site of a Roman villa - has some well-preserved mosaics from the A.D. first century, remains of pillars and amphorae.