Iles d'Hyeres

The Iles d'Hyeres, also called the Iles d'Or, are a group of four Mediterranean islands off the coast of Hyeres in the Var department of southeastern France. Known in antiquity as the Stoechades Islands, a Greek name meaning arranged in a row one behind another, the group has a combined area of about 29 square kilometers. The largest island, Porquerolles, covers 1,254 hectares, followed by the mountainous Port-Cros at 650 hectares, most of which forms Port-Cros National Park and is noted for its rare flora and as a bird refuge, the 45-hectare Ile du Bagaud with no public access, and the 900-hectare Ile du Levant, shared between a military installation and a longstanding naturist community. The islands are also notable as the place where the ancient botanist Pedanius Dioscorides first recorded the lavender species Lavandula stoechas.