The Lerins Islands: Sainte Marguerite & Saint Honorat

Drive to the parking lot where you will leave your car all day to go visit the Lerins islands by boat and on foot.

Take the first boat to Sainte-Marguerite island at 9:00 am so you have time to visit both Lerins islands and enjoy your time by visiting historical places, walking in the nature and enjoying the beach.

After 15 minutes crossing, this is the place where the boat leaves you and will pick you up after touring the island. You can walk around the whole island, enjoy the smell of the Eucalyptus trees in the middle or enjoy the sea breeze with beautiful views by following the coast around the island. It is up to you according to the weather and the heat.

The Royal Fort Museum is a historical classified site. It is a fortress that was built by Richelieu and Vauban between 1682 and 1712. You can visit the cell of the man in the iron mask, he was incarcerated here between 1687 and 1698. We are still not sure who we was, maybe the brother of the king Louis XIV, the legend is still alive and inspired many books and movies. The fort also houses a maritime museum with an aquarium showing fauna and flora of the area.
Open hours Monday - Sunday 10:00 - 17:45.

Walk around the whole island following the coast for beautiful views. Or you can walk on nice paths on the middle of the island enjoying the Eucalyptus forest with shade if it is very hot outside. You can stop wherever you want for a swim and enjoy the beach.

Walk the whole island following the South Coast enjoying beautiful views of the other island Saint Honorat that you will visit this afternoon. You can stop for a swim wherever you feel like and finish your tour around the island at this nice viewpoint.

Have lunch at this restaurant with nice views. They have delicious fresh local food. It is open every day for lunch. Book a table.

You can take the boat back to Cannes at 14:15, so you will be in Cannes at 14:30. Then in Cannes, you will take the boat at 15:00 for Saint Honorat and arrive on the island at 15:15. Unfortunately, there is no direct boat between the two islands which are very close to each other. Check the website.

You can start your exploration of the island here. It is a very small island with well preserved nature. So you can walk around pretty easily and it does not take very long.

This is a small chapel on the East side of the island so you can walk around the whole island following the coast.

The island has been inhabited by monks for the last 16 centuries and it is still the case all year round. They produce wines and liquors that you can buy in the shop. You can visit the beautiful church, you just need to be properly dressed (no swimwear). You can find more information in French on their website.

Walk until this fortress for amazing views with open sea. This is a medieval fortress.

Check out this chapel on your walk around the island. All the chapels are made of old stones.

This is another chapel on the island like many others. It makes a beautiful walk around the island before taking the ferry back to Cannes. The last one is at 18:30 in Summer but check before leaving what time you are planning to come back.

Get back to Cannes by boat and pick up your car. You will drive to another part of Cannes which is also beautiful and a nice place to have dinner.

This part of the city is called Pointe Croisette. You can have a walk around before dinner to watch sunset and enjoy the beautiful views on the Croisette and the famous bay of Cannes. Have delicious dinner with fresh fish at this nice restaurant before going back to Nice.
Open hours Monday - Sunday 10:00 - 14:30, 19:00 - 22:30.