When you think of the French Riviera, Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez, yachts and beach clubs come to mind.
Porquerolles is the exact opposite.

This island off the coast of Hyères, reachable in a few hours from Northern Italy, is one of those places that seem to belong to another era. Cars don't circulate, we travel by bicycle and the days follow a very different rhythm from what we are used to.
It is one of the easiest places to reach and hardest to forget.

Useful information before leaving

Boarding: Tour Fondue (Hyères)
Ferry: approximately 20 minutes
Bike rental: from around €18-25 per day
Cars: not allowed on the island
Best period: May, June and September
Recommended time: at least a full day, preferably two

For the updated timetables of ferries we recommend consulting the official website e information on the natural park

How much does a day in Porquerolles cost?

Indicatively:

• Return ferry: around €25-30
• Bike rental: €18-25
• Light lunch or picnic: €15-25
• Dinner on the island: from €25 up

With around €60-90 per person you can live a full day without any particular sacrifices.

How to get to Porquerolles from Italy

Getting to Porquerolles is easier than it seems.
From Finale Ligure it takes just over three and a half hours by car to reach the Fondue Tour, the departure point for ferries to the island.
The journey is already part of the experience. You cross the Riviera, you enter Provence and, kilometer after kilometre, the landscape changes.
Once you leave the car on land, time begins to expand.

The French Riviera you don't expect

The first surprise arrives as soon as you disembark: no traffic, no parking, no queues.
Only bicycles, tree-lined streets and a small village gathered around the main square.

Towards evening the tables slowly fill up. Someone orders a pastis, someone plays a game petanque under the trees. The bowls sliding on the gravel almost become a soundtrack.
If you are looking for the French Riviera of glossy photographs, you will probably be disappointed.

If you are looking for the authentic one, you will feel in the right place here.

What to do in Porquerolles besides the beaches

Explore the island by bicycle

The best way to get to know Porquerolles is rent a bicycle just arrived. The network of paths passes through pine forests, vineyards and panoramic points over the sea. There's no need to plan too much.

One of the best things about the island is that the best discoveries often come by chance.

Walk in the village

The center is small but full of atmosphere.
It is worth stopping without haste, observing the comings and goings of the bicycles and taking a break in one of the cafés in the square.

Experience the ritual of pastis and pétanque

If there is a ritual that represents Porquerolles it is this. Sit in the shade of the plane trees with an iced pastis and watch a game of pétanque.
It's not an activity to do, it's a way of being.

The most beautiful beaches of Porquerolles

Plage Notre Dame

It is probably the most famous beach on the island.
Transparent water, clear sand and a natural setting that has earned it the title of one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe several times.

Plage d'Argent

Easier to get to and perfect for families. Calm water, shallow water and an ideal location for a relaxed day.

Anse du Langoustier

Located in the western part of the island, it is one of the most evocative areas of Porquerolles.
Here the landscape changes continuously between cliffs, Mediterranean vegetation and the open sea.

It is also one of the places most linked to the presence of Georges Simenon on the island.

Where to eat and where to stop

One of the most iconic places on the island is the famous Le Mas du Langoustier.
Even without staying there, it is worth reaching it for lunch, dinner or simply to breathe in the atmosphere immersed in nature.

If, however, the journey to Porquerolles becomes an opportunity to explore the innermost Provence, an interesting stop could be the area of Golf de Barbaroux, surrounded by vineyards and Provençal hills.

Porquerolles for a day or a weekend?

Technically one day is enough.
But Porquerolles is not a checklist place, it is one of those places that deserve at least a night in the surrounding area.

Because the most beautiful moment often comes when the last boats leave and the island becomes silent again.

A book to read before leaving

My Friend Maigret by Georges Simenon

Porquerolles was Georges Simenon's Mediterranean refuge for years.
The writer stayed on the island for a long time between the 1920s and 1940 and set two novels particularly linked to the area here: "My Friend Maigret" and "The Mahé Clan".

If there is one book to pack before leaving, this is it “My friend Maigret”.
In the novel the commissioner arrives right in Porquerolles to follow a new investigation and many of the places described are still recognizable today.

For those who want to delve deeper into the connection between Simenon and the island, it is also worth reading “The Mahé clan”, set in the same Mediterranean setting.

And lavender?

If the trip falls between the end of June and July, it is worth continuing for a few days in the Provençal hinterland.
On the way back from Porquerolles we stopped in the area of Valensole, just as the lavender was in full bloom.

But that deserves a separate story.

Because Porquerolles remains imprinted

The truth is that you don't return from Porquerolles talking about a monument or an attraction. We return by describing a sensation, the sensation of having cycled without a specific destination, of having had lunch slowly.
That I spent an hour watching a bowls game for no particular reason.

They are small moments that make a day happy.

A place that resembles you

Maybe this is why Porquerolles is so popular with those who love to travel without a checklist: because it doesn't ask you to run from one point to another.
It simply invites you to slow down.

It's the same approach we look for in the journeys we tell about on A Place To Go: choose a house as a base, truly experience an area and leave room for discoveries that were not planned.
Because often the most beautiful places are not the ones that fill a list. They are the ones who can make you feel at home, even when you are on the other side of the sea.