Hyeres, France Attractions

To the south of Hyères inner town can be found the Jardins Olbius-Riquier, a fine garden layout of 6.5ha/16acres with a great many exotic plants and birds.

By the sea south of Toulon-Hyères Airport lies the resort of Hyères-Plage with a racecourse and the harbor of Port St-Pierre-de-la- Mer (marina).

Northeast of Hyère's airport and on the far side of the mouth of the River Capeau are the seaside settlements of L'Ayguade-Plage and Le Ceinturon-Plage which have beaches of fine sand. This was one of the places from which the Crusaders set sail.

From the Notre-Dame-de-Consolation chapel the 306m/1,004ft high Mont des Oiseaux (view) can be climbed in about 1.5 hours.

The impressive Avenue Gambetta in Hyères leads south from the Place du Portalet into the New Town. To the east lies the Place Lefèbvre and here can be found the interesting Musée Municipal with archeological, local and natural history collections.

The suburb of Costebelle lies 3km/2mi south of the town center of Hyères on a 98m/322ft high hill. On the top of the hill there was a place of pilgrimage as early as the 11th C. There is a fine view from the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Consolation, the tower of which is surmounted by a statue of the Madonna. A pilgrimage to this spot takes place on August 15 and 16.

Near Hyères lay the Greek foundation of Olbia. The Romans fortified the settlement and the fortifications were subsequently extended, first by the Lords of Fos and afterwards by Charles of Anjou. During the Wars of Religion (16th C.) the town suffered considerably; after a siege lasting a year the Duc de Guise had the walls pulled down. At the beginning of the 17th C. the keep was destroyed (the remains have been preserved). Hyères was "discovered" in the 19th C. as a health resort.

South of Notre-Dame-de-Consolation are in Hyères are the ruins of the Monastery of St-Pierre d'Almanarre (Arabic al-manar = lighthouse).