Bormes-les-Mimosas

Towns and Villages - by Provence Beyond

Villages > Bormes-les-Mimosas      

Nearby:  | Collobrières 21 km | Fréjus 58 km | La Garde-Freinet 40 km | Grimaud 28 km | Hyères 22 km | Le Lavandou 5 km | Plan-de-la-Tour 50 km | Saint Tropez 34 km | Sainte Maxime 38 km | Toulon 42 km |

Below: | Chateau Ruins | Chapelle Notre Dame de Constance | Route du Mimosa | Sundials | History | O.T. | Dates | Wine | Transportation | Sports | Hiking | Lodging Hotels |

The old village is actually rather nice, in spite of being somewhat touristy. The upper part (above the restaurants and the Office de Tourisme) is so thoroughly restored that it's "pretty". The lower part is fairly large, with narrow streets between old houses, and more reminiscent of the medieval villages further back in Beyond.

Chateau Ruins

A walk up to the top of the village will take you to the "ruins" of the 13th-century chateau. The ruins are so neat, they look like they were built exactly like that, and they're private property. They're shaded by huge pins parasols, though, and there's a tiny park with lawn, benches, and a nice view to reward your walk.

Chapelle Notre Dame de Constance

The 13th-century Romanesque chapel sits on the top of the hill (315 m), above the village. From the chateau ruins, continue up the hill on Chemin de Constance, following the red-white marks of the Grande Randonnée. It's about a half-hour climb up through the forest of cork oak, to the chapel and observation table at the top. The view is fabulous from the top. The forested hills of the Maures stretch out to the west and climb away to the east. Across the plains below, beyond Bormes-les-Mimosas and Le Lavandou, the Hyères Islands (Iles d'Hyères) stretch across the sea from left to right. (Photo panorama series)

Route du Mimosa

The Route du Mimosa is an annual inter-village celebration of 8 villages along a 130-km route. The towns and villages are: Bormes-les-Mimosas Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer Sainte Maxime Saint Raphäel Tanneron Pégomas, and Grasse.

Motorcycles

Desjardins Jean-Jacques

Location: Voile Bleue 140 bd Front de Mer

Tel: 0494 718 166

Sundials (Cadrans Solaires)

Bormes-les-Mimosas-church

History

Name
First record, Borma: 1056. Bormes became Bormes-les-Mimosas in 1968.

Celto-Ligurian: The original Celtic-Ligurian people here, from around 400 BC, were the Bormani. The port of Brégançon on the west side of Cap Bénat, handled Mediterranian traffic during Antiquity, exporting lead and granit from local mines during Greek occupation; the plain of Bormes was probably a commercial center.

Gallo-Roman: Numerous artifacts discovered here show a clear Roman presence.

Medieval: Bormes has had a difficult history. The village was first sacked by the Saracens in 730, and they returned occasionally until 1539. The Spanish attacked in 1362 and the Corsaires sacked the village in 1393. The plague decimated the population in 1482, until it was stopped by the monk Francesco Martotillo, who became Saint François de Paul and the patron saint of the village. Bormes was put to flame in 1529 by the Maures ("Africans"). The village was ravaged in 1539 by the Génois of Andrea Doria, and in 1579 by the Wars of Religion, directed by the Count of Carcès. Various Lords ruled in succession, until Lenfant made Bormes a barony in 1750; this was one of the rare examples of a self-ruled commune prior to the Revoluton.

More Recently: Bormes was set up as a resort town in 1890. In 1913, part of the territory was detached to form the commune of Le Lavandou.

Office de Tourisme

Tel : 04 94 01 38 38; Fax: 04 94 64 79 57

Email: bormeslesmimosas.com

Dates

Fête: 10 Feb - Grand Corso du Mimosa: parades, floats
Marché aux Puces (flea markets): 1st, 3rd Saturdays

Wine

Bormes-les-Mimosas is in the region of the Côte de Provence wines.

Transportation

Air

Toulon-Hyères Airport (25 km)

Tel: (33) 494 22 81 60

L'Ayguade; 83400 Hyères

AOM (Toulon-Hyères Airport)

Tel: (33) 491 14 22 22

Kyrnair (Toulon-Hyères Airport)

Flights to Corsica only

Tel: (33) 494 38 62 89

Bus

Autocars Sodetrav

Tel: (33) 494 12 55 12

47, rue Alphonse Denis; 83400 Hyères

To: Toulon, St Tropez, St Raphaêl, La Garde-Freinet, Bormes-les-Mimosas, Le Lavandou, beaches, airport.

Les Cars Phocéen

Tel: (33) 493 85 66 61

2, Place Massena; 06000 Nice

To: Toulon, Cannes, Nice airport.

Rail

Gare SNCF, Toulon (42 km)

Tel: (33) 836 35 35 35

Sea

SNCM Ferryterranée

Tel: (33) 494 16 66 60

49 Ave Infanterie de Marine; 83000 Toulon

To: Corsica, Sardinia

Bateau Taxi "Tonton Winger"

1568, route de Margegasse; 83230 Bormes-les-Mimosas

Tel: (33) 494 71 28 57

To: Iles d'Or

Vedettes les Iles d'Or

15, Quai Gabriel Péri; 83980 Le Lavandou

Tel: (33) 494 71 01 02

To: Iles d'Or

Sports

Cycling

Desjardins Jean-Jacques

Location: Voile Bleue 140 bd Front de Mer

Tel: 0494 718 166

Hiking

Maps:

IGN (1/25,000) #3446 ET "Le Lavandou, Parc Nat. Port-Cros, Corniche Maures"

Didier Richard (1/50,000) #25 "Maures Haut-Pays Varois"

The Massif des Maures is full of great hiking trails, including the long-distance Grandes Randonnées GR 51 and GR 90, local trails and many possible loop hikes.
The GR 90 starts on the road between Le Lavandou and Bormes-les-Mimosas. It passes through the village, up the hill to the Chapelle Notre Dame de Constance and then up into the Maures to the north. It passes Collobrières (about 15 km) before joining the east-west GR 9. A good hiking guidebook is the "FFRP - Massifs Provencaux (ref. 906)".
The GR 51 (The Balcony of the Cote d'Azur) crosses through the Maures just beyond the chapel above the village. To join the GR 51, you can hike north from the chapel, or follow a trail northeast from the village, past the Pierre d'Avenon (443 m).
A coastal hiking path goes south, past Port de Bormes and around the Cap Bénat. To the east, this path follows the coast past Cavalière and around the Cap Nègre.
There are loop hiking trails around two of the Hyères islands. Porquerolles is the largest; Port-Cros is more hilly and forested.

Lodging - Hotels