FesqMichaud, domaine public (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons
Hyères
Hyères claims to be the oldest of the Côte d'Azur's winter towns, visited from the nineteenth century by European aristocrats drawn by its mild climate and its countless palm trees, planted in such numbers that the town has made them one of its symbols. The medieval old town, clustered on the slopes of the Castéou, keeps steep lanes, the collegiate church of Saint-Paul and the remains of its ramparts, while below spreads the modern town with its Belle Époque villas, including the Villa Noailles, a masterpiece of 1920s modernist architecture. The departure point for the Golden Isles, Hyères also marks the geographical start of the Côte d'Azur, with its Giens peninsula and salt marshes extending the town to the sea.
