THE RIVIERAS
I
i
I
THE RIVIERAS
BY
AUGUSTUS J. C. HARE
AUTHOR OF 'walks IN ROME,' ' DAYS NEAR ROME,' ETC.
WITH SIXTY-SEVEN WOODCUTS
LONDON
GEORGE ALLEN, 156, CHARING CROSS ROAD
1897
[A// rights )-ese>^ed\
Price Three Stiilliiigs
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
/// the Bnlliintyne Press
DC
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. INTRODUCTORY I
II. MARSEILLES TO CANNES 5
III. CANNES 27
IV. NICE AND MONACO 50
V. MENTONE 82
VI. BORDIGHERA lOO
VII. S. REMO 112
VIII. ALASSIO AND ALBENGA I28
IX. SAVONA AND PEGLI 1 36
X. GENOA 142
XI. THE RIVIERA DI LEVANTE 180
XII. SPEZIA 194
INDEX 203
ijPO'iJO'^*^
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
MONTMAJOUR
PONT S. FLAVIEN, S. CHAMAS
S. VICTOR, MARSEILLES
HYERES
FROM S. MAXIME
S. TROPEZ .
CHEMIN DE GRIMAUD
CHATEAU DE GRIMAUD
FROM MAISON S. FRAN9OIS, CANNES
MAISON S. FRANCOIS, CANNES .
VILLA NEVADA, CANNES
BOCCA WOOD, CANNES
S. CASSIEN
S. HONORAT, ILES DES LERINS .
LE PONT-A-DIEU .
ANTIBES
FORT OF ANTIBES
CAGNES
GARROS
S. POL .
NICE FROM CHATAIGNIER .
VILLAFRANCA ....
THE CRUCIFIX OF CIMIES .
S. BARTHELEMY, NEAR NICE
IN THE GARDEN OF VILLA ARSON
S. ANDRE, NEAR NICE
ASPREMONTE ....
THE ASCENT TO PEGLIONE .
PEGLIONE FROM THE EAST
PAGE
2
3
10
17
18
20
21
23
28
29
30
31
32
36
41
43
44
45
46
48
52
54
55
56
57
59
61
62
63
Vlll
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
BORDIGH
EZA
MONACO
CONVENT OF LAGHETTO
MENTONE FROM HOTEL d'ITALIE
STRADA LUNGA, MENTONE
PONT S. LOUIS, MENTONE
PEGLL\
CASTIGLIONK
GRIMALDI .
VENTIMIGLIA . .
AT BORDIGHERA .
SASSO .
DOLCEACQUA
APRICALE
S. MICHELE .
AT REBEKAH's WELL, NEAR
AT S. REMO .
AT S. REMO .
AT S. REMO .
GLEN AT S. REMO
COLLE .
LAMPEDUSA FROM TAGGIA
CASTELLARO
LA MADONNA DI LAMPEDUSA
APPROACH TO BADALUCCO
BADALUCCO .
CERIANA
S. STEFANO AL MARE .
CATHEDRAL OF ALBENGA
AT SAVONA .
CLOISTER OF S. MATTEO, GENOA
STAIRCASE OF PALAZZO DELL' UNIVl:
SEA FORT, RAPALLO .
APPROACH TO SESTRI .
THE PASS OF BRACCO .
GATE OF PORTO VENERE
LERICI ....
MASSA DUCALE
ERA
RSITA, GE
NOA
PAGE
64
71
78
84
85
87
92
94
97
98
lOI
105
107
108
109
no
"3
115
117
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
127
129
131
137
158
168
185
191
192
196
197
200
THE RIVIERAS
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
'X'RAVELLERS to the south of France generally hurry
-*- straight through to Marseilles, and the winter season
will not tempt them to linger. In warm weather there is
much worth visiting on their way. In the northern part of
their route, the best halting-places for two nights are Sens,
with an excursion to Villeneuve sur Yonne ; Tonnerre or
Montbard, for the great Burgundian chateaux of Tanlay and
Ancy le Franc, and the Abbey of Fontenay ; Dijon, with
excursions to Fontaine, Bussy Rabutin, and Beaune ;
Macon, with excursions to Cluny and Paray le Monial ;
Villefranche, for Ars and its sacred memories ; Lyons, with
an excursion to Vienne.
After leaving Lyons, the most attractive resting-places
are Valence, with its excursion to Cruas, Rochemaure,
and Viviers ; Montelimar, with its excursion to the cele-
brated Chateau de Grignan ; the excursion to S. Paul trois
Chateaux and S. Restitut from the station of Pierrelatte ;
Orange and the excursion to Vaison ; Avignon, with the
excursions to the (i) Pont du Gard, (2) Carpentras and
Venasque, (3) Vaucluse, (4) Cavaillon and the Abbey of
Silvacane, and (5) Tarascon.
From Aries, with Aliscamps and Montmajour in its
immediate neighbourhood, there are even a more interest-
ing series of excursions to (i) Les Baux, the Petra of
A
2 THE RIVIERAS
France, (2) the beautiful Roman remains at S. Remy, (3)
the curious Byzantine church of S. Gilles, (4) S. Maries de
la Mer, the capital of the Camargue.
S. Chamas, with its fine Roman bridge, may be visited
Montmajour.
between Aries and Marseilles. All these places are fully
described in ' South-Eastern France.'
On emerging from the Tunnel de la Nerte, the Medi-
terranean appears on the r., and Marseilles, overlooked by
its Chapelle de la Garde, and its islands of the Chateau
d'lf, the rocky Pomegue and Ratonneau, are seen in the
distance.
APPROACH TO MARSEILLES 3
' En parvenant aux derrieres hauteurs qui dominent Marseille, on
est saisi subitement d'un spectacle magnifique, qui, enflammant Joseph
Vernet, hii rcvela son genie et sa vocation. Deux grandes chaines de
rochers s'entr'ouvrent, embrassent un vaste espace, et, se prolongeant
dans la mer, viennent expirer tres avant dans les flots. Marseille est
enfermee dans cette enceinte. Lorsque, arrivant du Nord, on parvient
sur la premiere cliaine, on aper5oit tout a coup ce bassin immense ;
son etendue, son eblouissante clarte vous saisissent d'abord. Bientot
apres on est frappe de la forme du sol et de sa singuliere vegetation.
5:.:^s;p^^»
Pont S. Flavien, S. Chamas.
II faut renoncer ici aux croupes arrondies, a la parure si riche et si
verdoyante des bords de la Saone et de la Garonne. Une masse
immense de calcaire gris et azure forme la premiere enceinte ; sur
chaque hauteur s'elevent des bouquets de pins d'ltalie qui forment
d'elegants parasols d'un vert sombre et presque noir. Des oliviers au
vert pale, a la taille moyenne, descendent le long des coteaux et con-
trastent, par leur petite masse arrondie, avec la stature elancee et le
superbe dome des pins. A leurs pieds croit une vegetation basse,
epaisse et grisatre. C'est la sauge piquante et le thym odorant, qui,
foules sous les pieds, repandent un parfum si doux et si fort.
4 THE RI VI ERAS
' Au centre du bassin, Marseille, presque cachee par un coleau long
et fuyant, se montre de profil, et sa silhouette, tantot cachee dans la
vapeur, tantot apparaissant entre les ondulations du sol, vient se
terminer dans I'azur des mers par la belle tour de Saint-Jean. Au
couchant, enfin, s'etend la Mediterranee, qui pousse dans les terres des
lames argentees. La Mediterranee, avec les iles de Pomegue et de
Ratonneau, avec ses Acts calmes ou agites, eclatants ou sombres, et
son horizon immense ou I'oeil revient et erre sans cesse en decrivant des
arcs de cercle eternels.'— 77^/6'/-j-, ' Le I\lidi de la France.''
The hillsides are all sprinkled with cottage-villas, called
hastides, before reaching
863 k. Marseilles .
CHAPTER II
MARSEILLES TO CANNES
' Luce e fiore ! Ecco in due parole sintetizzata la Cornice.'
— Le Cento Citta cV Italia.
[Onnnbtis : those of Hotels du Louvre, de Noailles, de Marseille,
and des Colonies, i fr. 50 c. ; the others i fr.
Carriages with two places, i fr. 25 c. by day, and i fr. 50 c. by
night for the course ; 2 fr. 50 c. the hour. With four places, i fr. 75 c.
by day, and 2 fr. by night the course ; 2 fr. 75 c. by day, and 3 fr. 50 c.
by night, the hour. Each package, 25 c.
Hotels : de Noailles, 24 Rue de Noailles ; de Marseille, 28 Rue de
Noailles ; dti Louvre et de la Paix, Cannebiere prolongee — these are
the three leading hotels in Marseilles, all sumptuous and expensive ;
des Colonies, 15 Rue Vacon (close to the Cannebiere), is old-fashioned,
and very clean and comfortable; r Orleans, Rue Vacon; dii Petit-
Louvre, 16 Rue Cannebiere ; de PUnivers, i Rue du Jeune Anacharsis.
At the station is the great Terminus hotel.
Post Office, 53 Rue Grignan.]
A DRIVE of two or three hours will usually be considered
■^~*- quite enough to give an impression of Marseilles — the
metropolis of the Mediterranean shore. The town has few
objects of interest. No one would linger here for pleasure.
The air is clear and the climate dry ; but Marseilles is
unendurable when the mistral blows — the terrible wind,
to which the ancient inhabitants erected altars, as to a
savage divinity. ' Marseille a livre au mistral le dernier
grain de sa poussiere,' says Mery. It is not, however,
entirely unwelcome, as it purifies the air, and drives away
the fevers engendered by the dirtiness of the streets in
this and in many other southern towns.
5
6 THE RI VI ERAS
The city is divided by two great arteries under varying
names, and its most central point may be said to be the
Rue Cannebiere, which, with its continuation of the Rue
de Noailles, is the handsomest street in Marseilles, and
the principal street leading to the old port. To the N.
of this is the old town, in which the principal artery is
the modern Rue de la Republique, whilst to many of
its narrow tortuous older streets a description of the last
century may still be applied.
' On risque d'etre convert d'ordures dans les rues etroites, nial
pavees, et fort sales. Faute de commodites, on jette tout par les
fenetres, sans autre avertissement que le mot : Passeres, qui arrive
souvent trop tard.' — ' Voyage du Pere Labat, 1709.'
The Latin name of the town was Massilia ; the Proven-
gals of the Middle Ages called it Marsillo. It is believed
to have been of Phocean origin.
' L'an 600 avant J. C, un vaisseau, parti de la ville ionienne de
Phocee, jeta I'ancre dans un golfe de la cote gallo-ligurienne, a Test
des bouches du Rhone. Ces rivages appartenaient aux Segobriges, un
des clans gaulois qui s'etaient maintenus dans le pays depuis I'etablisse-
ment des Ligures. Nann, chef ou roi des Segobriges, mariait ce jour-
la sa fille ; il fit aux etrangers un accueil hospitaller, et les invita au
festin. Suivant la coutume de ces peuples, la jeune vierge choisissait
lil:)rement un epoux entre ses pretendants reunis autour de la table de
son pere. Sur la fin du repas, d'apres I'usage, la fille de Nann parait,
une coupe a la main ; elle promene ses regards sur I'assemblee, s'arrete
en face du chef des Grecs et lui tend la coupe.
' Nann crut reconnaitre, dans le choix de sa fille, I'ordre des puis-
sances celestes ; il salua son hote comme son gendre, et lui donna pour
dot la plage ou les Grecs avaient pris terre. L'heureux voyageur
construisit sur une petite presqu'ile du golfe une ville qu'il appela
Massalie.' — He7iri Martin, ' Hist, de France.^
The early Marseilles was a republic governed by a
council of fifteen. Having risen to great power and im-
portance, it assisted the Romans to destroy Carthage and
conquer Liguria. But having taken part with Pompey,
it underwent a terrible siege from Caesar, who destroyed
MARSEILLES 7
its fortifications, deprived it of its colonies, and occupied
it by a Roman garrison. The town early received Chris-
tianity, some say from Lazarus of Bethany, others from
S. Victor, martyred c. 288. Ravaged by Visigoths, Bur-
gundians, Saracens, and pirates, the X. c. found it almost
in ruins; but in 11 12 it reconstituted itself a republic,
with the exception of the 'ville haute,' which was ruled
by the bishop, and the faubourg governed by the abbot
of S. Victor. Thus in the Middle Ages there were three
separate towns. In 1256 they were taken by Charles
d'Anjou, in 1423 by Alphonso of Arragon ; but in 1524
the courage and devotion of its women saved it when
it was besieged by the Connetable de Bourbon. Under
Louis XIV. it was united to France.
The custom prevailed here till recently of parading an
ox with a little John Baptist through the streets three days
before the Fete Dieu. Nurses used to make their children
kiss the muzzle of the ox to preserve them from toothache.
The Cannebiere takes its name from rope-walks (Latin,
cannabis: Proven(jal, cannebe). At its entrance is the
Botirse, built 1852-60, from designs of Costa. 'Si Paris
avait la Cannebiere,' say the natives, ' Paris serait un petit
Marseille.'
Those who spend a single day at Marseilles may (in
the morning) take a carriage, or the tramway cars (10 c.)
marked ' Longchamp,' from the Bourse or Cannebiere, by
the handsome Rue de Noailles and the AUee de Meilhan,
planted with plane trees. On the 1. we see the Co7/rs
Belsunce, commemorating Monsignor de Belsunce, a bishop
who nobly devoted himself to the people during the plague
of Oct. 172 1. His statue, by Ramus, stands on the spot
where, with bare feet and a cord round his neck, he cele-
brated mass when the danger was at its height. The Cours
ends in the Arc de I'riomphe, built 1825-32, in honour of
the conquerors of Trocadero.
The modern Churcli of S. Vincent de Paul is from
8 THE RI VI ERAS
designs of the Abbe Pouguet. It is a noble I-atin cross,
with lofty aisles and chapels beyond them. The windows
of the clerestory are filled with stained glass.
Here the Longchamp tramway may be taken again by
the Cours du Chapitre and the Boulevard de Longchamp
to the splendid Palais des Arts, built since i860, from
designs of the native architect, Henri Esperandieu. The
waters of the Durance are made to fall between great bulls
below a group of statuary in the central pavilion, which is
connected by open semicircular porticoes with two vast
wings containing the museums. The parapet is feeble and
the details are insignificant, but the rush of water over
artificial rocks between masses of evergreens is magnificent,
almost as fine as the fountain of Trevi before the change
of government of Rome, and far finer than it is now. The
Palais du Trocadero, at Paris, is a very feeble imitation of
this building. The Musce des Beatix Arts, open daily from
8 to 12 and 2 to 6, except Mondays and Fridays, contains
one of the best provincial collections in France, though it
has such noble halls as are worthy of still better contents.
The pictures are named, but not arranged in the order of
their numbers. The lower halls are devoted to the French
school. The central hall on the first floor contains works
of the old masters, and some by native artists ; we may
notice, when we meet with them : —
52. Franfoise Duparc. La Vieille.
54. F. Duparc. La Tricoteuse — a very charming picture.
133. Nattie}-. Mme. de Pompadour as Aurora.
166-171. Pictures of merit by the native artist Pierre Piiget.
237. Tocqtie. Le Comte de S. Florentin.
238. Domeitico Feli. The Guardian Angel.
*33i. Periigino. La Famille de la Vierge— the best picture in the
collection. The Virgin and Child are throned with .S.
Anne behind them. At the sides are SS. Mary Cleopas,
Mary Salome, Joachim and Joseph, with six lovely children.
336. Zurbaran. A Franciscan Monk.
*397. Rubens. Boar Hunt.
MARSEILLES 9
In the opposite wing are the Collections of Natural
History (open on Sundays and Thursdays to the public,
daily to strangers). They are admirably arranged. Perhaps
owing to the position of Marseilles, the collection' of
conchology is unusually perfect. From the colonnades of
the Palace is a fine view, Notre Dame de la Garde on its
rugged hill rising above the houses. Behind is a public
garden, opening on the r. to the charming Zoological Gar-
dens (i fr.), with pleasant mountain views.
It will be best to take the tram back to the Cannebiere,
and one of the open omnibuses to La Joliette. Here, close
to the docks, we see a huge mosque rising, which seems
to have been imported direct from Constantinople. This
is the modern Cathedral^ nobly placed on a platform over-
looking the port with its piers. It is built of alternate
courses of white and pale green stone. The vast interior
is even more like a mosque, with its yellow and red marble
walls, its grey, black, and dark-red pillars, and its white
marble cornices, balustrades, and capitals. The original
architect of the cathedral was Leon Vaudoyer, upon whose
death, in 1872, the work was intrusted to his pupil,
Esperandieu, and when he died, two years after, to M.
Revoil. The first stone was laid by the Prince President
in 1852, though the work was not actually begun till 1858.
Since then it has progressed very slowly. The cost has
already amounted to twelve million francs, and two million
more will be required to complete the work, without count-
ing the cost of furnishing, and an additional four hundred
thousand for the sacristies. A fragment of the old cathe-
dral of La Major (S. Marie Majeure) on the N. is to be
destroyed whenever the new edifice is finished. Here, and
in other old churches of Marseilles, the Passion was played
with marionettes till 1 760.
The Rue de la Cathedrale leads to Place de Lenche,
containing a mansion which belonged to the family of
Mirabeau, and where Louis XIV. and Anne of Austria
lO
THE RI VI BRAS
stayed. Those who wish to see something of the old town
may return towards the Cannebiere by the Rue Caisserie
and Grande Rue, which will take them under the Hotel
Dieu, or they may take an airier way by the W. side of the
Vieux Port.
' Le port est une de ces choses qu'on ne trouve que la.' — Charles de
Brasses, 1739.
S. Victor, Marseilles.
The bodies of the Mameluks, pensioners of Napoleon I.,
so cruelly murdered by the Marseillais after the second
fall of the Emperor, for having presumed to rejoice over
his return from Elba, were thrown into this port.
In the afternoon ^ we may turn by the Quai du Rive
1 An omnibus runs from the Bourse to Notre Dame de la Garde, passing very
near S. Victor.
MARSEILLES ii
Neuve along the E. side of the Port, to where, opposite
the Bassin de Carenage, a long staircase leads up to a
terrace, on which rise, like a fortress, the black, massive,
castellated towers of the curious old Church of S. Victor,
remnant of the famous abbey, founded by S. Cassien in 410,
destroyed by the Saracens, rebuilt 1040, again destroyed,
and finally rebuilt 1200-79, 8-"d fortified by Urban V. in
1350, of which date is the existing tower. In the cata-
combs of S. Victor it is said that S. Lazarus lived, and
that S. Victor is buried with his companions in martyrdom.
The crypt, belonging to the earliest church on the site,
communicates with a number of galleries and chapels cut
in the rock, and once contained many early Christian tombs,
now absurdly removed to the Museum. Urban V. was
abbot of S. Victor before he was pope, and he is buried here.
The Rue d'Andoune and Boulevard Tellene lead up
from S. Victor to the bare rocky hill — a noble position ill
occupied by the ugly pilgrimage church of Notre Dame de
la Garde, rebuilt 1864, on the site of an old chapel of
12 14, and filled with ex-votos. The view is exquisite over
the town and sea.
' Notre Dame de la Garde est a la fois im fort et une eglise. Le
fort est en grand mepris parmi les ingenieurs. L'eglise est en grande
veneration parmi les marins.
' II resulte de cette veneration dans laquelle est demeuree l'eglise, et
de ce discredit oil est tombe le fort, que celui-ci n'a plus aujourd'hui
que des madones pour ouvrages avances, et des penitents pour garnison.
II est vrai que, si I'on s'en rapporte a la quantite ^ex-voto suspendus
dans sa chapelle, il y a peu de vierges aussi miraculeuses que Notre
Dame de la Garde : aussi est-ce a elle que tous les mariniers provenfaux
ont recours dans I'orage ; et, le beau temps arrive, selonque la tempete
a ete plus ou moins terrible, ou que le votant a eu plus ou moins peur,
le pelerin lui apporte, pieds nus, en marchant sur ses genoux, Vex-voto
qu'il lui a promis. Une fois le vceu fait, il est au reste religieusement
accompli ; il n'y a peut-etre pas d'exemple qu'un marin, si pauvre qu'il
soit, ait manque a sa promesse. La seule chose qu'il se permette peut-
etre, c'est, quand il n'a pas designe positivement la matiere, de donner de
I'etain pour de I'argent et du cuivre pour de Tor.' — Alexandre Dumas.
12 THE RI VI ERAS
The handsome promenade of Ze Prado may be visited
after the descent. Here, in the Chateau Borely, is the Musee
des Antiques, containing a vast number of Roman and other
antiquities, including the IV. c. high-altar of S. Victor,
which had a much greater interest whilst left in the church.
The Promenade de la Corniche, following the shore for
a distance of 7 k., abounds in beautiful views.
An excursion may be made by boat to the Chateau
dPf, the state-prison built by Frangois I. The chamber is
shown where Mirabeau was imprisoned by order of his
father. At 3 k. are the dreary isles of Poinegue and
Ratonneau. The lie du Planier, with its lighthouse, is
seen in the far distance.
Omnibuses (50 c.) leave the Cours Belsunce for the
suburb of Les Aygalades. The road passes the XVIII. c.
Chateau de S. Joseph, once inhabited by Charles IV. of
Spain, now a Pensionnat of the Sacre-Cceur. The Chateau
des Aygalades, built by the Marechal de Villars, was for
some years the residence of Barras. Near the village is
a hermitage once inhabited by Monks of Mount Carmel,
who came from Palestine in the XIII. c. At the entrance
of the village is a (restored) bastide which belonged to
King Rene'.
Artists will go to paint the beautiful view of Marseilles
and its islands near the station of S. Antoine, 10 k., on the
way to Aix,
On leaving Marseilles by the coast railway, it will be
seen how all the life of Provence is on the seashore : the
inland towns are asleep. The hillsides near Marseilles
seem powdered with bastides.
' Les Proven9aux sont fiers de leurs bastides ; il n'y a vraiment pas
de quoi : pretention et misere, c'est le caractere de toutes ces maisons.
La bastide a de plus un agrement remarquable, c'est que, sous un ciel
generalement pur et sur un sol desastreusement sec, elle est une eponge
salpetree qui trouve moyen de ne jamais secher.' — George Sand.
MONT GARLABAN, AUBAGNE 13
7 k. Za Poinnie. Close to this, at S. Dominique, is
the bastide of Casaulx, which belonged to the family of
Clary, of which one daughter married Bernadotte, the
other Joseph Bonaparte.
12 k. 6". Menet, the station for the sulphuric baths of
Camoins. To the N.E. is seen Afo/it Garlaban, which
serves as a thermometer to the district : when its top is
lost in mist, it will rain, according to the distich : —
' Garlaban a son capeou
Pren ton sa, saouve ti leou.'
The villages have the picturesque red roofs and curved
tiles of Provence, and the nearer hills, with their rich vege-
tation — firs above, olives below — become very beautiful
before reaching Aubagne. The country is much changed
since Arthur Young travelled along it, and wrote, " Nine-
tenths are waste mountain, and a wretched country of pines,
box, and miserable aromatics."
17 k. Aubagne. A fountain opposite the Hotel de Ville
commemorates the Abbe' Barthelemy, author of the Voyage
du Jeune Anacharsis en Grcce. The outline of the moun-
tain background is very striking.
8 k. E. is the Cistercian Abbey of S. Pons, founded 1205, and
ruined XV. c. 5 k. E. is the rich valley of Gemenos.
' O riant Gemenos, 6 vallon fortune,
J'ai revu ton coteau de pampres couronne,
Que la figue cherit, que I'olive idolatre,
Etendre en verts gradins son riche amphitheatre.'
Delille, ' V Homme des Champs!'
[Hence there is a branch line to Aix. From the station of Auriol,
or that of S. Maximin, the very important excursion to La Sainte
Baume may be made. See ' South- Eastern France.']
27 k. Cassis, the ancient Carsicis Portus. The town
is 3 k. S.S.W. of the station, which is on a bare rocky
height. Everything has a dusty, stony aspect. As the
train descends there is a view of the bay of —
14 THE RI VI ERAS
37 k. La Ciotat. The town, 4 k. S.W. of the hne (at
the foot of the picturesque triple rock called the Bee de
VAigle), which possesses the workshops of the Compagnie
des Messageries Maritimes, was founded 1851. A little N.
of the station is Ceyreste^ the ancient Cezerista. The ram-
parts of the Roman settlement remain. Outside the village
is a covered fountain, supposed to be of Greek origin.
44 k. ^. Cyr.
4 k. N.E. of the town is the rock-built Cadiere, with a double line
of fortifications surrounding its ruined castle of XI. c. The church is
XVI. c.
The line makes a great curve to the S. and passes a
tunnel before descending into the bay of Ba?idol.
58 k. Ollioules-S.-Nazaire. Ollioules, 3^ k. N.E., is situ-
ated amid orange-groves at the foot of precipitous rocks.
The views to the 1. of the line are very striking.
62 k. La Seyne (Hotel : de la Mediterranee). A ship-
building town.
From La Seyne a pleasant excursion may be made to the pro-
montory of Cap Side.
' Ce coin de terre est la pointe la plus meridionale que la France
pousse dans la Mediterranee, car la presqu'ile de Giens, aupres des iles
d'Hyeres, est un doigt presque detache, tandis que ceci est une main
dont le large et solide poignet est bien soude au corps de la Provence.
Cette main s'est en partie fermee, abandonnant au flot qui la ronge
deux de ses doigts mutiles, la presqu'ile du cap Cepet, qui formait son
index, et les ilots des Ambiers, qui sont les phalanges rompues de son
petit doigt. Son pouce ecourte ou rentre est la pointe de Balaguier,
qui protege la petite rade de Toulon d'un cote, et de I'autre le golfe du
Lazaret.' — George Sand, ' Ta maris.'
The ancient town of Six-Fours is connected with the sea by a
Roman paved way called le cheniin romain de S. Madelei)ie. The
church is XVII. c, over a crypt of X. c, which contains a font for
baptism by immersion and an early christian altar. On the plateau
called Courtine, above the town, is a fortress near a ruined XV. c.
chapel. Hence we may visit the port of Brusq, where Gregory XL,
going from Avignon to Rome, was kept three days by a tempest in
TOULON 15
1376. From the port a path leads to CaJ> Moiiret, and the farthest
point of the promontory, which has a chapel of Notre Dame de la
Garde. Then the Piage des Sablettcs, the Cap Cepet, the pleasant and
attractive bathing-place of Tainan's, and Fori Napoleon may be visited.
67k. Toulon (Hotels: Gra7id ; Victoria; dii Louvre;
du Nord). This fortress town, of little interest to travellers,
and terribly unhealthy as a residence, is supposed to have
been founded by Phenicians in IX. c. or X. c. a.c. It
only began to have any maritime and military importance
after the building of its great towers by Louis XII. and
Francois I., and its real fortune only dates from the erec-
tion of its fortifications by Vauban under Louis XIV. The
dockyard of Toulon was destroyed in Nov. 1793 by Sir
Sidney Smith, before the evacuation of the town by the
British troops, vainly urged to protect the Royalist inhabi-
tants and refugees in the town from the Republicans, who,
when they entered the town, massacred more than 6000 of
those who were left to their mercy,^ and decreed that the
very name of Toulon should be blotted out, and the com-
mune called in future Port-la-Montagne.
There are no buildings of interest in Toulon. The
Cathedral dates from 1096^ but has been completely
modernised. There is a pleasant walk along the quay of
the port, where, till 1873, numbers of galley-slaves used to
be seen at work, as described by Victor Hugo. The three
Arsenals — Maritime, Castigneaii, and Moiirillon — with their
wilderness of foundries, forges, warehouses, and armouries,
will be visited by those interested in naval defence.
On the S. of the great harbour, on the N. side of the
' presqu'ile ' of Cap Cepet, is the Hospital of S. Mandrier
(steamer 35 c), situated in pleasant gardens, on the site
of a hermitage, where the bones of S. Mandrier, a Roman
proconsul, and of S. Flavien, Bishop of Tauroentum, with
those of other martyrs, have been discovered.
An omnibus starts every hour from the Place d'ltalie
1 For terrible details of these horrors see Taine, La Revolution.
i6 THE RI VI ERAS
for the M>rf Lamalgue (built from plans of Vauban in 1674)
and the Cap Brim, at the E. side of the little harbour.
' Les deux rades et le port qui ont fait la prosperite de Toulon sent
parfaitement garantis des vents du large par le massif presque insulaire
du Cap Sicie et par le puissant mole qui forme au devant du golfe la
peninsule du Cap Cepet : jamais tempete n'y causa de naufrage ; la
mer y est un lac. Aussi I'etat s'est-il empare de cette magnifique nappe
d'eau pour en faire sa grande station navale mediterranee. L'arsenal
maritime, bati a la fin du dix-septieme siecle sur les plans de Vauban,
et agrandi depuis cette epoque par la plupart des gouvernements qui se
sont succedes, est un prodigieux ensemble d'usines, de fabriques, de
magasins de toute espece, d'etablissements divers, occupant une surface
totale de 270 hectares et se developpant le long des rivages de la baie
sur une etendue de 8 kilometres : la construction de tous ces edifices,
jointe au creusement des bassins, des cales et des darses qui s'y rami-
fient, n'a pas coute moins de 160 millions.' — ]i,lisie Rechis.
The limestone mountain which overlooks Toulon on
the N. is Le Faron or Pharon.
' Vu de face, c'est-a-dire, de la mer, le Pharon n'est qu'une masse
grise absolument nue et aride, qui, par ses formes molles, ressemble a
un gigantesque amas de cendres moutonnees par le vent ; mais les
lignes du profil expose a I'E. sont splendides. Le Coudon est beau
de toutes les faces.' — George Sand, ' Taiiiaris.'
28 k. N. of Toulon, in a forest, is the ruined Chartreuse de Mon-
irieiix.
75 k. La Garde, a basaltic rock, is crowned by a ruined
castle and church. The railway passes through fields of
narcissus, grown for Parisian and English markets, before
reaching —
78 k. La Pauline.
[A branch line of 21 k. turns offr. to Hyeres.
{Onmibtts, 50 c. each person ; 25 c. each box.
Hotels: Continental ; des Palniiers ; des Ainhassadenrs ; du Pare;
des Etrangers ; des Hesperides ; des lies d' Hyeres. Pleasanter and
more popular with English residents, about i k. from Hyeres, are the
Hotel Ennitage and Grand Hotel Costabelle, uniler the same pro-
prietor, M. Peyron. These are delightful for great invalids — a bath of
sunshine and fresh air. They are most comfortable, but have risen
enormously in price since the Queen of England lived for a short time
HYERES
17
at the Grand Hotel. The ordinary pension price is 16 fr., with extras
in proportion ; a small bedroom 8 or 9 fr. a night. The HS/ei
d' Albion, also in the woods of Costabelle, has too frequently been
a prey to typhoid fever to be heartily recommended.
Can-iages. In the town, the course, i fr. 50 c. ; the hour, 2 fr. ;
a tariif (very dear) for the immediate drives.
Trannvay to the sea, 40 c. Five departures daily. )
Hyeres, situated on the S. slope of a hill, crowned by remains of a
castle and 5 k. from the sea, from which it is separated by a marshy
plain, is a comparatively sheltered winter residence, though it is not
entirely protected from the mistral.
' The curse of Hyeres is the north-west wind or mistral, which not
unfrequently rages with great violence, sweeping in tremendous gusts
down the valley of Hyeres on to the town or plain. This wind, the
magistral (niagister) or master-wind, almost invariably blows when the
sky is clear and the sun warm. It rises about 10 a.m., and blows
until sunset, or for an hour afterwards, and occasionally continues to
blow also during the night. The mistral blows at Hyeres upwards of
sixty-four days in winter, spring, and autumn.' — E.J. Sparks, ^Health
Resorts of the Riviera.^
The great preacher Jean Baptiste Massillon was born at Hyeres in
B
i8
THE RI VI ERAS
1663. A terrace called P/ace des Pahniers has a pleasant view and
some indifferent palm-trees. A statue in the Place commemorates
Rene, the poet-king, whose gifts to Provence were the rose, the clove-
pink, and the muscat-grape. The old town on the hill-top retains
ramparts and towers of X. c. and XI. c. The XII. c. church of .5".
Paitl'\\7\.i been much altered. Some boulevards are lined with palm-
trees, but till they attain old age palms are excessively ugly.
' Hyeres est une assez jolie ville, grace a des beaux hotels et aux
innombrables villas qui la peujDlent et I'entourent, Sa .situation n'a
*^'W2/->f t
From S. Maxime.
rien remarquable. La colline, trop petite, est trop pres, la cote est
trop plate et la mer trop loin.' — George Sand, ' Tai/ian's.'
The most frequented walk is that to the Hermitage, a modern
chapel on the hill to the .S., covered with woods, chiefly of Aleppo
pine {Piniis halepensis). Below the chapel, towards the S.W., are the
principal hotels of Costabelle — the Ermitage and the Grand Hotel.
They have a view which is made beautiful by the space of light and
sunshine, overlooking hills clad with fir and olives to the glistening
bay and islands and tame outline of distance. There are pretty little
wall