St-Honorate is part of the Iles de Lerins only a 15 minute boat ride from the glitter of Cannes. It couldn't be more different!! David and I enjoyed our trip there.
Cistercian monks are the only inhabitants of St Honorat Island. Monks have inhabited the island more or less continuously since AD410 and, at the height of their power, owned the towns of Cannes, Mougins and Vallauris. Medieval vestiges remain in the stark church, which is open to the public, and in the ruins of the 11th century monastery on the sea's edge. The monks divide their time between prayer and producing red and white wines, honey, lavender oil.
Cistercian monks are the only inhabitants of St Honorat Island. Monks have inhabited the island more or less continuously since AD410 and, at the height of their power, owned the towns of Cannes, Mougins and Vallauris. Medieval vestiges remain in the stark church, which is open to the public, and in the ruins of the 11th century monastery on the sea's edge. The monks divide their time between prayer and producing red and white wines, honey, lavender oil.
Now its a quiet, calm place to visit. There are no motor vehicles (with the excpetion of of occasional monostary tractor tending the vines) a rule of silence around the monastery, a rule of quiet on the island, no smoking, no fires, and a limited number of visitors (10 a day in the summer).
There are some intereting features on the Island. A cannon battery was installed at each end of St Honorat at the end of the 18th century and the cannon range was about 2000 metres. You can see the remains of the hot cannonball ovens (fours a boulets). The kilns were designed to heat the cannonballs to red-hot for a bit of added destruction for any ships they managed to hit.
I took plenty of photos of the fort, monastery and chapels, the vinyards (and royal pheasants), and olive groves etc.
Back to Cannes.
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