Hyères

Hyères is a town and commune in the southeast of France, in the Var département, located 1.5 km (1 mi) east of Toulon. Population (1999): 53,258.

History

Greek and Roman antiquities have been found in the area. The first reference to the town dates from 963. Originally a possession of the viscount of Marseilles, it later went to Charles of Anjou. St Louis landed at Hyères in 1254 when returning from the Crusades.

Geography

Its position facing the Mediterranean to the south makes it a popular location for tourism in the winter, and facilitates the raising of palm trees; about 100,000 trees are exported from the area each year.

The three islands of the Îles d'Hyères (namely Porquerolles, Port-Cros and the Île du Levant) are located just offshore.

Miscellaneous

Hyères was the birthplace Jean Baptiste Massillon (1663-1742), churchman and preacher.

American novelist Edith Wharton wintered in Hyères annually from 1919 until her death in 1937.

Hyères is twinned with Rottweil, Germany.

This article is licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hyères".