Visiting L’île Verte Provence’s Green Island

There’s only one island in Provence’s Bouches-du-Rhone with trees, and that’s the Ile Verte, off the coast of La Ciotat. It’s just a 10-minute hop by navette from the Vieux Port of La Ciotat to this tiny island which is just 430x260m in size.

Once there, you can enjoy the little beaches or take the 2km marked path around the island. Fort Saint-Pierre stands at the summit of the island—49m! When we visited, we did two circuits and enjoyed a picnic at one of the Calanques.

Shuttle Information L’île Verte:

The ferry (navette) leaves from this location:
12 Quai Général de Gaulle
13600, La Ciotat
Telephone: +33 (0)6 63 59 16 35
laciotat-ileverte.com

The service is seasonal, starting in April through October. It departs from La Ciotat on the hour beginning at 10 a.m. and returns 15 minutes past the hour.

Aside from beach picnics and short walks, diving and fishing possibilities are also available.

© laciotat-ileverte.com

Another Island Visit

Île de Porquerolles is the biggest of three small islands that make up the Îles d’Hyères or Les Îles d’Or (Golden Islands), located just off the coast of Hyères. The island of Porquerolles is small at 7km long and 3km wide. Since 1820, there has been a small village and a lighthouse from 1837. Francois Fournier purchased the island in 1912 and planted 200 hectares of vineyards. This vineyard was some of the first wines classified as Côtes de Provence. For art lovers, Porquerolles has the Fondation Carmignac, established as a corporate foundation in 2000. Today, there are over 300 artists’ works in the collection. In addition, the Foundation provides an annual photojournalism award, valued at 50,000 Euros, to the successful applicant.