LOCAL AREA
La
Garde Freinet Village
La Garde Freinet village itself is beautiful
and ideal for a relaxing holiday. Needless to say we
love it, as it is where we decided to buy our holiday home.
It is a lively working French village but also has plenty
of attractions for the visitor. Set just back from the
coast in the cork and pine woodland of the Massif des Maures,
a Cross and Roman Fort on the hillside overlook the old village
where panoramic views of the St Tropez bay, as well as the
Alpes Maritimes peaks to the north, can be seen. The
village centre consists of a boules square, and two places-fontaines,
surrounded by cafe bars, restaurants, boulangeries and the
'all too tempting' shops. A traditional market visits twice
a week. The old village itself boasts olive oil mills, cork
factories and even old silkworm breeding houses!
Activities
| Beaches |
Plenty on the coastline
between St Maxime, St Tropez to Cavalaire. Take
your pick. Many have wonderful beachside cafes/restaurants
to while away the hours. Some have jet skis, windsurfers,
dinghies, pedaloes etc for hire. |
| Shopping |
From clothes, to food
to wine, larger shops to village markets, the area is
a shopper's paradise. |
| Sightseeing |
Isles de Porquerolles,
Gorges de Verdun (1hr30), Monte Carlo (1hr45). |
| Walking,
Mountain biking, Cycling, Canoeing, Rafting |
Endless choice of spectacular
scenery! The hills to the north are an amazing outdoor
playground with activites galore |
| Vineyards |
15min from the official
Côtes de Provence wine route. |
| Golf |
Courses nearby at Bauvallon,
Ste Maxime, Brignoles, Vidauban, Le Muy and
Frejus. |
| Sailing, Waterskiing |
Boat rental from various
marinas. |
| Amusement Parks/Zoos |
Waterparks, fairgrounds
and parc zoologique. |
Access
| Air |
Nice or Marseilles airports
1hr20. Toulon airport 55 min. |
| Road |
20mins off the A8 autoroute
(Aix en Provence to Nice) - Le Luc junction. |
| Rail |
Several services a day
from Paris by TGV line. Les Arcs-Draguignan is a 25 min
taxi ride, Frejus - St Raphael a short bus journey. |
Grimaud
village is 10 min down the road towards the coast to the
south. Overlooked by a striking castle ruin, this picture
post card village is great to wander around or stop for a
drink or bite to eat. Walk up to the castle, the windmill
and pretty cemetery or tour the Chapel, all with views of
the coastline. The village has elegant craft shops and a few
bars and cafe's to take coffee or lunch.
St
Tropez is but a short drive further on, past several
'caves', tempting you to stop for some local wine tasting.
From traditional fishing village, the Port now boasts the
most incredible boats, people, fashions and shops. Watch the
extraordinary fashions and people go by as you sip a beer
or eat a slice of tarte tropeziennne on the harbour front.
Alternatively take a walk through the back streets towards
the fort on the hill to find still pretty, but cheaper bars
and restaurants than on the main street.
St
Maxime across the bay from St Tropez, not quite
as chic, but has the benefit of a great clean sandy town beach.
Our preference often as we have small children; it is easy
to settle on the beach and walking to the shops for coffee
when the mood takes is just a minute stroll. There are also
a couple of merry-go-rounds and electric car rides for small
people to use which is a tantalising bribe for a quiet coffee
first.
Port
Grimaud, Port Cogolin These marina villages between
Grimaud and St Tropez are full of yachts and are good for
mooching about, looking at boats or having a coffee. There
is a good beach on the St Tropez side of Port Cogolin with
a lovely beach restaurant.
Beaches
We also tend to use Heraclee plage or Gigaro plage.
Both are signposted (a left turn) at the main cross roads
in the village of La Croix-Valmer. La Croix-Valmer and Cavalaire
are sign posted (right) at La Foux island. Both beaches take
about 25 mins to drive to from our village.
Pampelone
beach is another favourite. This is one of the many St Tropez
beaches which can be reached by heading to St Tropez and taking
the lane signed Plages.
For
more activities, there are fabulous places also close by:
- Gorges de Verdun 90mins drive to the north. Incroyable!
Only a slightly smaller version of the 'Grand Canyon', it
has truly spectacular scenery with kayaking, walking, swimming,
horse riding etc.
- Isles de Porqueroles Take a boat out to the beautiful
islands off Hyeres from many points along the coast.
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