Route of Hyères in the 19th century

The starting point is at the Tourist Office, where you can pick up various brochures on the town’s points of interest.

(S/E) Head east along Avenue de Belgique and admire the Park Hotel on your right: in the heart of the King’s Gardens, this site—chosen by Charles IX as the site for a royal villa—was planted with an orange grove that was later gifted to Louis XIV by Bishop Raphaël de Bologne. The Grimm’s Park Hotel was a neoclassical palace.

At the end of Avenue de Belgique, turn left and cross Avenue Alphonse Denis, then Place Clemenceau. Head towards Rue du Docteur Roux Seignoret (with its beautiful façades) and follow it to the left. At the end, turn right onto Avenue du Général de Gaulle.

(1) Continue straight along Avenue du Général de Gaulle and cross Avenue Gambetta. At the junction with Rue Pierre Moulis, note the Palais Lutétia, a holiday resort for winter visitors in the 19th century, a former luxury hotel featuring numerous neoclassical decorations, beautiful caryatids, antique columns and garlands of fruit.

Continue along Avenue des Îles d’Or to the next roundabout and take a moment to look back: Villa Chapoulard and Tour Jeanne. These residences were designed by the architect Pierre Chapoulard at the request of Alexis Godillot, an industrial patron who reshaped the city and endowed it with opulent buildings.

(2) Go round the roundabout and continue along Avenue des Îles d'Or. On your right, you’ll see the magnificent Grand Hôtel des Îles d'Or: this jewel among 19th-century luxury hotels offered 100 south-facing rooms, a winter garden and magnificent salons set in lush grounds.

(3) Cross Avenue Jean Natte on the left, continue along Avenue Riondet and, on the right, you will see the Villa Saint Hubert or Godillot: the main residence of Alexis Godillot, designed by Pierre Chapoulard in an exuberant style found in several of his works.

Take the next left onto Rue Victor Hugo and pass the Chapelle Sainte-Marie des Anges (a convalescent home for Franciscan nuns, rebuilt using limestone and cut stone). Ignore the cul-de-sac, then take the street on the right and, as you round a left-hand bend, look out for the Godillot Stables and Riding School on the right (built by Pierre Chapoulard in 1882 for Alexis Godillot, now converted into private residences).

You will come out onto Avenue Jean Natte; follow it to the left. After about a hundred metres, you will catch a glimpse (with some difficulty) of the Villa Mauresque on the left (designed by Pierre Chapoulard for Alexis Godillot in the Orientalist style that was very much in vogue at the time; Queen Victoria visited the villa’s gardens in 1892). Return to the junction you passed earlier.

(3) Turn right onto Avenue Alexis Godillot and continue straight on to the Godillot Fountain: as a generous benefactor, Alexis Godillot donated this monumental fountain to the city. Nearby, the neo-Gothic Anglican church, consecrated in 1884 by the Bishop of Gibraltar, was attended by the English community until 1953.

Turn left onto Avenue Andrée de Beauregard. At number 7, take a look at Villa Criquette and, near number 1, Villa Tunisienne (the main residence and office of Pierre Chapoulard, typical of Moorish architecture with faience tiles, pointed arches and geometric patterns). You will soon reach the roundabout with the Woman with the Torch.

(4) Turn left onto Avenue Maréchal Gallieni and stop in front of the gate of the Lycée Jean Aicard. Grand Hôtel des Palmiers: a prestigious late 19th-century hotel facing due south, once featuring remarkable exotic gardens and fountains. It is now the Lycée Jean Aicard. Turn back towards the roundabout.

(4) Take Rue Michelet opposite. Cross Rue Pierre Brossolette and walk alongside the École Anatole France (a typical example of the so-called Jules Ferry schools, built in 1888–1889. This school has a courtyard of monumental proportions, with décor inspired by antiquity).

Take the first left onto Rue Édouard Cordier. At the end, turn left onto Rue Léon Gauthier. Cross Rue Pierre Brossolette again, then Avenue Ernest Millet.

(5) At the end, turn right onto Rue du Soldat Bellon. Cross Avenue Gambetta and follow it to the left. Pass Rue Pierre Moulis on the left-hand side. Then turn right onto Avenue Jean Clotis. Note the uniform row of 19th-century façades along the avenue: this was “the Promenade des Anglais of Hyères”. Queen Victoria enjoyed strolling here surrounded by her royal court. Banque de France: a new museum showcasing collections of archaeology, painting and photography. Continue straight on to the Tourist Office (S/E).