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Ste Marguerite Island

02 August 2018 / 25 Comments

Île Sainte-Marguerite near Cannes - Lerin Islands in France

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One of the reasons we went back to Cannes and the French Riviera, was that we wanted to make a boat trip to Sainte-Marguerite, which we missed the last time we were here. The beautiful island Île Sainte-Marguerite is one of the so-called Lerin islands, and here we could, among other things, swim as well as check out lyxy yachts and odd water activities.

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The beautiful Lerin Islands

The islands known as the Lerin Islands (Lérins islands), or Îles des Lérins in French, consist of Île Sainte-Marguerite, Île Saint Honorat, Tradelière and Île Saint-Ferréol, all of which are located off the coast of France. Cannes on the French Riviera. The latter two are tiny, but there are regular boat trips to the first two. We chose to take a boat trip to the most popular and largest island, Île Sainte-Marguerite.

Located half a mile from Cannes, the island is 3 kilometres long and 900 metres wide. Eucalyptus trees and beautiful pine trees greet you here. The sea is turquoise blue and the water is crystal clear. Smoking is not allowed on the nature trails around the island, but only around the restaurant and at the harbour. It is incredibly beautiful to stay here and nature is allowed to take care of itself.

St Marguerite Cannes

Boat trip to Île Sainte-Marguerite

The boat to ile Sainte-Marguerite departs from the old harbour of Cannes, every half hour for most of the day. The boat trip currently costs 15 euros per person, return, which you pay at a ticket office in the harbour before departure. It was a smooth crossing that took maybe 20 minutes, some say 15 minutes but aim for 20. Along the way we passed one luxury yacht after another, as well as a lot of other large ships.

Båttur till Sainte-Marguerite
Fartyg

Île Sainte-Marguerite Island

The island is known to have been originally inhabited by the Romans (then called Lero) and later by crusaders who built a chapel. Legend has it that Sainte-Margurette led nuns on the island around the 15th century and subsequently the name. Her brother Saint Honoratus was the founder of the convent on the sister island of Île Saint Honorat.

The most fascinating thing about the island Île Saint-Marguerite is that you get out into wild and beautiful nature, despite being very close to the bustling Cannes. The forest roads invite hiking, and perhaps we would have walked around the entire island if 1) the temperature was a little lower than 35 degrees and 2) my (Helena's) sandal had not broken.

It reportedly takes about three hours to walk around the island. In the intense heat it was much more pleasant to swim! We found a small bay, where we could breathe in the shade and enter the turquoise water. Here we also feasted on water and an egg sandwich.

Sainte-Marguerite utanför Cannes
Lerin-öarna
Saint-Marguerite Island
Lerin-öarna

Luxury yachts and water activities

We have enough never seen so many luxury yachts in one day as on this trip. Wherever you looked, they were close together, close together. Some were more enormous than others, and on one, a helicopter suddenly landed ...

The people on board the luxury yachts, and the other boats in the area, weren't just lazing around in the heat. No, they were enjoying all sorts of imaginable and unimaginable water activities. Which of the following would you prefer to accessorise your boat?

  1. Water slide?
  2. Rubber boat in the shape of a winged horse?
  3. A flyboard?
Lyxyachter
Rutschkana från lyxyacht
1. Water slide from your luxury yacht perhaps?
Båtar
2. Why not a rubber boat in the shape of a winged horse?
Flyboard
3. or a flyboard - who doesn't want to walk on water?

Exclusively on "La Guerite"

When people on the luxury yachts get tired of the on-board chef, or simply want a change of pace, they can take a smaller boat to the island of Île Saint-Marguerite and have lunch at La Guerite restaurant.

We have to agree that it was incredibly charming and beautiful here, and the atmosphere was also high when three happy musicians started playing. It is perhaps not super cheapbut on the other hand, you don't have to order a seafood platter and bubbly. For our part? Here was a liquid break with beer and mineral water.

The small cemetery

The cemetery located on Île Saint-Marguerites is very small, and is for the French who fought in the Crimean War and died trying to recover on the island. Next to it, there is a small cemetery for the North African soldiers who fought for the Allies during the Second World War. This cemetery is located along the main path as you walk around the island.

Fort Royal and the man in the iron mask

On the island is the Fort Royal fortress. Peter paid 6 euros to get into the fort and up to the viewpoint. I (Helena) thought the 35 degree relentless heat was a good excuse to "dare to refuse the castle". Peter was very sweaty after all the stairs, but the rest of us can look at the pictures without having to climb up. Great, isn't it?

In the late 17th century Fort Royal was built and in the late 18th century it became a state prison. Here sat the man with the Iron mask, whose identity is still unknown. There was also an Algerian rebel leader, the inventor of the steamboat, whatever he did wrong, and one who actually escaped from the island.

Borg Cannes
Île Sainte-Marguerite

Maritime Museum

Inside the fort on the island of Île Sainte-Marguerite there is also a maritime museum or Museum of the sea. It has artefacts recovered from wrecks off the island from Roman times, and a nice exhibition of cool photos. Jason deCaires Taylor did the exhibition, and has also done one in Mexico. There is now also a hostel in the fort in addition to the 20 buildings on the island of Île Sainte-Marguerite.

Ile Sainte Marguerite
In Fort Royal
Utställning

Facts about Île Saint-Marguerite

  • Getting here: The boat leaves the port of Cannes every hour.
  • Living: There are only hostels on the island.
  • See more: Cannes is a lovely city on the French Riviera and there is plenty to do.

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02 August 2018 6:00
France
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24 Comments

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  1. Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:

    You could call them boats
    The heat is no more gentle here at home 32 degrees.

    02 August 2018 - 8:32

    Reply

  2. Ama de casa says:

    Oh! I am impressed that you dared to refuse bail! Maybe I can take a course with you? 😉

    Haha! The slide looked really fun. Small and neat too. If I get a boat at some point, I will definitely have such an accessory! But the fall height will not be quite the same considering the type of boat it could be. Not as much fun to have one on like an eka... 😀.

    What a lovely island that seems to be. Have never thought that there are islands there outside of Cannes, and that they are named after "our" wonderful artist Lars Lerin is also nice 😉.

    02 August 2018 - 9:22

    Reply

    • Comment by post author

      Helena says:

      Hehe, I almost never dare to refuse the bail, but yesterday I was tough! It was simply TOO hot 😉 And then it is important for you to find a slightly higher boat then, the slide from an oak tree will not make quite as big a success, I'm afraid 😉 But maybe from our houseboat ...????

      02 August 2018 - 14:59

      Reply

  3. Lena - good for the soul says:

    Wow, so many yachts! I would definitely choose a flyboard. It seems like a lot of fun!

    Hug Lena

    02 August 2018 - 9:42

    Reply

  4. Mr Steve says:

    What a great trip. The Lerin Islands are a completely new acquaintance for me.
    What comes up first when I google the Lerin Islands? Well, Freedomtravel's post of course.

    02 August 2018 - 9:50

    Reply

  5. Cathinka - On the move! says:

    A slide on the boat must be a must:)
    You should have in the Pampas!

    02 August 2018 - 12:16

    Reply

  6. Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

    What a beautiful island! We had no idea the islands existed. The hike around the beautiful nature I would have liked to do if it had been 15 degrees cooler. You don't get so tough in that heat.
    And what boats. It's a bit different from what we call luxury boats on the west coast.

    02 August 2018 - 14:30

    Reply

  7. Travel Linda says:

    Understand the choices you made in the heat! We also get a little extra lazy when it's 35 degrees!!! You have a boat, so you just have to invest in fun accessories / extensions now that you have found inspiration!

    02 August 2018 - 14:33

    Reply

  8. BP says:

    Good that you dared to refuse bail in that heat. As Ama writes, she'll probably have to go on a course with you, but it should be easy to fix a broken sandal;-)
    The island is great, but I am even more impressed by these luxury yachts. There are truly rich people who are in a completely different league than us "ordinary" mortals. It would be great to know which celebrities own these luxury yachts...?

    02 August 2018 - 21:27

    Reply

  9. Role o Carina says:

    You are just a bit warmer than we are at home!
    And what boats, slightly bigger than oak trees 🙂 .

    Take care and enjoy.....

    02 August 2018 - 23:02

    Reply

  10. Anna / Boihusbil says:

    Wonderful - if you have a luxury yacht you should have a slide!!! 🙂 I want to visit that island and walk around. We will pass when it is not so hot, so maybe we can walk around and tell you instead 🙂

    03 August 2018 - 8:22

    Reply

  11. Anonymous says:

    We have been there once and then it was totally low season so we were quite lonely and everything was closed. At some point I'll probably go there when it's time to swim because the water looked really nice. It was a bit too cold when we were there.

    03 August 2018 - 15:27

    Reply

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