A little history...
The old town lies 4 km from the sea clustered around the Castle of Saint Bernard. As of the third century, the Phoeneceans founded the town of Olbia after having landed on Almanarre beach. Under Roman rule, Pomponiana soon became an important stop for coastal trade and after the fall of the empire, the area became infested with bandits and Saracens forcing the local population to move to the nearby coastline. Sea trade was re-developed during the 9th century and in 1254, Saint Louis returned from his seventh trip to Hyères. In 1620, Louis XIII destroyed the castle that defended the town and then went into hiding in Toulon.
As history would like it, Hyères-les-palmiers, as it was called then, was one of the first seaside resorts on the Côte d’Azur. During the 18th century, many important families already frequented the area and during the 19th century its winter tourism took off with many prestigious visitors such as Talleyrand, Lamartine, the Queen of Spain, Queen Victoria, R.L Stevenson and Tolstoï. Not to mention the many English Lords and their families.
Around 1930, more and more holidaymakers started flocking to Hyères and the tourism industry grew.
Things to see
The old town is small and quaint and exudes a special charm. The 12th century tower of Saint Blaise, which used to be the commandery of the Templar Knights, is found on the Place Massillon.
The Collégiale Church can be found on the Place Saint Paul.
Interesting facts...
Hyères is home to the Hyères International Fashion and Photography Festival, a huge fashion and art photography event which has taken place annually at the end of April since 1985. This festival was among the first to recognize the talents of Viktor & Rolf.