Page 76 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

74  PROVENCE AREA B Y AREA

8 Iles de Lérins

Although only a 15-minute boat ride from the glitter of
Cannes, the Iles de Lérins reflect a contrasting lifestyle,
with their forests of eucalyptus and umbrella pine and
their tiny chapels. The two islands, separated only by
a narrow strait, were once the most powerful religious
centres in the south of France. St-Honorat is named after
the Gallo-Roman, Honoratus, who visited the smaller
island at the end of the 4th century and founded . Fort Ste-Marguerite
a monastery. Some believe that Ste-Marguerite was Built under Richelieu and
named after his sister, who set up a nunnery there. Its strengthened by Vauban in 1712, its
ground floor has a maritime museum.
fort is well known as the prison of the mysterious 17th-
century Man in the Iron Mask, who spent 11 years here.
Ile Ste-Marguerite Port for ferries to and
from Cannes

Etang du Batéguier
Allée des
Eucalyptus
Chapelle St-Michel
Ile St-Honorat

Chapelle
St-Sauveur

St Honorat et les Saints Chapelle St-Caprais
de Lérins St Honorat was the disciple
This icon of St Honorat can be of St Caprais during his first
found in the Abbaye de Lérins. visit to Provence.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp198–9 and pp208–11