Twenty minutes by ferry from Hyères, Porquerolles is the kind of Mediterranean island most people assume only exists in ads: cobalt water, pine-scented trails, vineyards and barely a traffic jam in sight. It's the largest of the 'Golden Islands' off the Riviera, yet somehow gets a fraction of the attention lavished on Saint-Tropez up the coast. That won't last forever — and there's already a cap of 6,000 visitors a day in peak summer, so planning ahead matters.
Beaches are the main draw. Plage d'Argent, a 20-minute walk from the port, has soft sand and shallow water but draws the crowds. Better bet: the pebbly Plage de Notre Dame, an hour's walk in the other direction, or a DIY beach crawl across an island that's only 7km long and 3km wide, dipping into the calanques as you go.
Culture-wise, the surprise package is the Villa Carmignac, opened in 2018 in a grand Provençal farmhouse. The 2,000-square-metre space holds over 300 modern works — Warhol, Niki de Saint Phalle, Yves Klein, Olafur Eliasson, Tracey Emin — and the grounds featured in Godard's Pierrot Le Fou. Book a timed slot and note it shuts November to April.
The island's wines deserve an afternoon. Sea breezes and schist-and-clay soils give the Côtes de Provence bottles a distinct edge; Domaine La Courtade (38 hectares, tours and tastings) and the smaller organic Domaine de l'Île are the two names to know. History fans can walk 51km of marked trails to Napoleonic fortifications, the Fort Saint Agathe (c.1531) and the lighthouse, while divers get beginner-friendly shallows — the Cement Carrier wreck sits just 12m down — and the tougher 40m-deep Grec wreck offshore.
When hunger hits, seafood is the move: Le Porquerollais near the port does Provençal classics like shrimp carpaccio and rock fish soup, with a minty chilled melon broth for dessert in season. Getting there is easy — bus 67 from Hyères to the Tour Fondue terminal, then a regular 20-minute crossing. Book online in summer, arrive early for queues, and consider renting a bike on the island since cars are scarce. Camping near the terminal suits tight budgets; island hotels, including the remote Hôtel Le Mas du Langoustier, are lovely but pricey.
For anyone who wants the Riviera's postcard scenery without the Riviera's chaos, Porquerolles is the workaround — just go before everyone else catches on.
