Le Fort Royal & l'île Sainte-Marguerite
Island & fortress visit
It is the outing we recommend first to anyone discovering Cannes, and by far the best way to see the bay: a quarter of an hour's crossing from Quai Max Laubeuf and you change century entirely. Sainte-Marguerite is the largest of the Lérins islands, two hundred and ten hectares of which one hundred and fifty-two are state forest, and the Fort Royal has crowned it since 1617. You visit the Iron Mask's cell, walk back down the paths to the coves, and lunch at La Guérite. Our advice: leave early, before the shuttles fill, and bring closed shoes, the path is not a walk in sandals. We arrange the crossing, by shuttle or by private boat that waits for you, and book the lunch table at the same time.
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The Fort Royal and the Iron Mask's cell
The fortress was begun in 1617 by the Duke of Guise and listed as a historic monument in 1927. You see the cell where the prisoner history knows as the Man in the Iron Mask was held for eleven years, and you will not leave with the answer, which is precisely the charm of the place. The Musée du Masque de Fer et du Fort Royal also holds underwater and land archaeology collections, murals by Jean Le Gac and a Huguenot memorial.
The forest and the Étang du Batéguier
The island covers two hundred and ten hectares, of which one hundred and fifty-two are state forest: Aleppo pine and eucalyptus, shaded paths and coves where you swim a long way from the Croisette. The Étang du Batéguier, to the west, has its own hide: terns, yellow-legged gulls and grey herons. It is the part of the visit children remember, and the only genuinely cool walk in the area in high August.
Lunch at La Guérite
The island's table, a few steps from the landing stage: Mediterranean, festive by mid-afternoon, and impossible to get at short notice in July and August. It is the natural extension of a morning at the fort, and the reason many of our clients turn the half day into a whole one.
Half a day, or a full day with lunch on the island
All year. The museum closes on Mondays from October to May and opens daily from June to September. Last admission thirty minutes before closing
Pricing
We have not yet settled our accompaniment rate for this visit. What will determine it: the crossing (scheduled shuttle or a private boat waiting at anchor) whether a qualified guide comes along and in which language, and the lunch arrangement. Museum admission is separate and settled on site.
Location
Île Sainte-Marguerite, 06400 Cannes
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Activities in Cannes
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