Île Sainte-Marguerite, Cannes

Île Sainte-Marguerite, Cannes

The Île Sainte-Marguerite is the largest of the Lérins Islands off the shore of Cannes.

The Île Sainte-Marguerite is the largest of the Lérins Islands off the shore of Cannes. The 3 km long and 0.9 km wide island is just a 15 minute ferry-ride away, and full of historical attractions and verdant forests of Aleppo pines and eucalyptus. Follow the marked trails to visit the best spots on the island.

Its highlight is the Fort Royal, built by the Spanish in 1635-'37 in the northern part of the island during the Thirty Years War. It contains the fortress prison in which the Man in the Iron Mask was held captive for 11 years in the 17th century on the orders of Louis XIV. Explore the premises to see the prison cells including that of artist Jean Le Gac, a Roman cistern room showcasing the system used to collect rainwater, the Huguenot Memorial which commemorates the 6 Protestant pastors who were imprisoned here, the Méditerranoscope which showcases Mediterranean flora and fauna in sea aquariums, and the Musée le la Mer (Museum of the Sea), featuring items recovered underwater from ancient Roman wrecks (Tradelière) of the 1st century BC and Saracen shipwrecks (Batéguier) from the 10th century AD. Near the fort is a cemetery for French soldiers who died during the Crimean War, and North African soldiers who died for the Allied cause during World War II.

To the west is the Batéguier pond visited by several species of migratory birds. The Pointe du Dragon here and the Pointe de la Convention to the east have 18th century cannonball ovens, which heated cannonballs for maximum impact. The southern part of the island is covered with Botanical Gardens, with Mediterranean and exotic vegetation including cypresses, cedars, palm trees, banana, lemon, orange, grapefruit, fig, almond, olive trees and flowering plants.