7 days ago
The tiny French peninsula where you can spot pink flamingos in the wild – and there are barely any tourists
Plus, it has four islands and incredible beaches
THINK PINK The tiny French peninsula where you can spot pink flamingos in the wild – and there are barely any tourists
THERE'S a peninsula in France that's barely touched by tourists and is home to hundreds of pink flamingos.
Hyères, also known as the Giens Peninsula, is on the French Riviera and in certain places, is very quiet - even during peak summer season.
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The French peninsula is home to hundreds of pink flamingos
Credit: Alamy
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Hyeres is on French Riviera but is much lesser-known than other spots
Credit: Alamy
Along the peninsula is the Les Salins de Hyères, which translates to The Saltworks of Hyères.
It's a protected wildlife reserve for birds, in particular flamingos.
The pink birds are found in the Hyères salt marshes year-round, but there are lots more in the spring and summer months after migrating from Camargue.
Other birds are found there too, like herons, avocets, cormorants and black-winged stilts.
You can visit the marshes quite easily by travelling on the "Route du Sel", the Salt Road, either on foot or by bike,
Another option is by car, parking up and walking, taking the "Levée de Saint-Nicolas" trail.
Other sites in Hyères are the Old Town, which in French is called Vieille Ville.
There you'll find castle ruins, art studios and a classic town squares filled with charming cafes.
It's estimated that 200,000 tourists visit Hyères per year, meanwhile Nice has over five million visitors.
As you can imagine, being part of the French Riviera, the peninsula is home to lots of beaches.
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Hyères has a charming Old Town with outdoor cafes
Credit: Alamy
A little-known one is called Plage du Port Helene - it's not a tourist spot and is actually more popular with the locals instead.
Other popular beaches include Almanarre, which is popular for anyone doing watersports.
La Badine is known for shallow waters and is perfect for families. Or Darboussières is a pebble beach, great for snorkelling and hiking.
The peninsula also has islands including Porquerolles which the largest of the four French islands that form the Hyères Islands.
That being said, it's only 7 km long and 3km wide and again, hasn't been visited much by British tourists.
Being so small, there's not much to do on the island that's covered in olive groves, vineyards and cycle paths.
Cars are banned on the island, so any holidaymakers will either have to explore by foot, or rent out a bike.
Back in 2015, one of the island's beaches called Plage de Notre Dame, was named the most beautiful in Europe.
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