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The town of Le Lavandou

The town of Le Lavandou, Bormes seperated from the town of Bormes in 1913, consists of twelve beaches alternating creeks and long sandy beaches, always showing different colors all along the day

Each comes with a nickname that suits it well: the beach of Anglade known as the "Fashionable", the large beach of Le Lavandou” the Family beach”, the beach of Saint-Clair "the Levant Pearl", the beach of  La Fossette “the Smiling beach", the beach of Aiguebelle "The Charmer", the beach of the Elephant "the Wild one", the beach of  Jean Blanc "the Silver Shrine", the beach of the  Rossignol “the Secret beach”, the Layet beach “the Buccaneer’s Cove” , the Cavalière beach “Sweet Alconis”, the Cape Nègre beach" the peaceful beach "and finally the beach of Pramousquier “the Mysterious beach”. All in all, 12 enchanting beaches lying side by side on the Var coast

The painters of Saint-Clair

When you get to the second beach "the Levant Pearl" in St. Clair, you will follow the "path of the painters". Neo-Impressionist painters Théo Van Rysselberghe and Henri-Edmond Cross (who translated his name "Delacroix" into English to distinguish himself from Eugène Delacroix) both lived in St. Clair and died there May 16, 1910 (Henri-Edmond Cross) and 13 December 1926 (Théo Van Rysselberghe). Théo Van Rysselberghe’s only daughter had a daughter with André Gide : Catherine, the writer’s only daughter, only much later acknowledged by her father, and who died in April 2013 aged 90

Brégançon

The Fort
Rebuilt as we know it today by Cardinal Richelieu in 1617, the fort is built on a 35 meter high rock standing on an island of 2,000 square meters. It was severed from its surrounding lands at the time of the French Revolution in 1792 turned into a military fortress that Napoleon empowered around 1799 with much artillery and garrison. It was decommissioned as a military site in 1919, only to be recommissioned as a picturesque site in 1924 and become part of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs official buildings in 1968, after General de Gaulle stayed there for the first time in 1964. It became the official residence of the President of the French Republic by Decree on January 5, 1968

This former royal fortress very close to Cape Bénat, has been open to the public since June 2014, but only in the summer from June 29 to September 29, from 9am to 7pm and visits are to be pre-booked directly at the Tourist Office in Bormes-les-Mimosas

The Castle
The castle is a private property and a large 17th century house, the former farmhouse of the Marquisate of Brégançon, whose stronghold was the fort, just opposite

This property slopes down to the exceptional beach of Estagnol, the "Pearl" of the Var. On it, more than 50 hectares of vineyards to the  south are composed of renowned grape varieties such as Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon …

The owner will welcome you on his wine estate, classified since 1955, to have you taste his wines (rosé, red and white) considered as ranging among the very best of the "Côtes de Provence" designation ( one in the four AOC Var vineyards since 1977) ... Only too few know that the oldest vineyards in France are in the Var

The Gardens of Rayol

Beyond the twelfth and final beach "The Mysterious beach", you will discover "The Mediterranean Gardens" of RAYOL, open all year round, owned by the “Conservatoire du Littoral” since 1989

You will find no fewer than ten gardens (respectively called Garden of the Canaries, of California, of South Africa, of Australia, of subtropical Asia, of New Zealand, of arid America, of subtropical America, of Chile and of the Mediterranean) for you to visit over 20 preserved hectares by the sea facing the islands of Hyères

Bormes-les-Mimosas

The town of Bormes, now known as Bormes-les-Mimosas (since February 15, 1968) due to the presence on its soil of a large number of Acacia trees, whose flowers are mainly yellow, but also white or orange from December to April, is 642 meters above the sea level. As yet, there are over 1,200 species of mimosa trees in the world, which were released by English navigator and great cartographer Captain James Cook (1728-1779) in the course of his travels from Australia to Europe

Take a weekend or a day off to discover the eight steps of the Mimosa Route "the mimosa in all its forms" consisting of visits of perfume shops, mimosa forcing and preparation rooms. Meet mimosa growers, go on a guided walk or bus tour in the heart of the Maures along the Cornice of the Esterel, over hills, dales and gardens covered in fluffy yellow flowers

Also visit the botanical garden of the "Cigalou Park" (almost 9000 square meters in the heart of the village) and the botanical garden of the "Gonzales Park" nearby (3000 square meters of Austral terraced gardens bequeathed by painter Roberta Gonzales (1909 -1976), the wife of painter Hans Hartung) then stroll on Saint-François square at the top of the village, where the statue of Saint Francis of Paola stands, the Calabrian monk who saved the villagers from the plague in 1481

Bormes-les-Mimosas offers a range of exceptional restaurants and countless souvenir shops and local products