Le Rayol-Canadel

The village of Le Rayol-Canadel between St Tropez and Le Lavandou is most famous for the extraordinary gardens of  Domaine  du Rayol, in one of the most gorgeous setting along this part of the coast. The Gardens are on the headland overlooking the sea and the bay of Figuier, encircled by a verdant amphitheatre of trees, cork- oaks, mimosa and pines.  The commune of two conjoined villages,  Le Rayol and Canadel, has developed around the beach, delightfully sheltered by pine woods, with  Provencal style village houses and a large marina. Popular in summer , it is also a good base for winter, either for the gentle micro-climate of the bay, or for access to the ski slopes of  Greolières les Neiges  only 2 hours away.

The gardens of Le Rayol date from 1910,  a period when many rich families settled this hitherto undeveloped stretch of coast. Banker Alfred Theodore Courmes built an art nouveau mansion here,  along with  a summer house and a grand classical pergola, surrounding it all with exotic gardens. When he went bust  - it was either the stock market crash of 1929 or over enthusiastic gambling in Monte Carlo that did for him, or perhaps a combination of both,  the property was bought by aeronautics engineer Potez in 1940,  and he began the rescue of estate and gardens. He constructed  a splendid flight of steps, lined with cypress trees, which lead down to the beach and a bamboo plantation – now one of the glories of the gardens.

Subsequently the entire property fell into disrepair, and the gardens were very neglected. In 1989 they were bought by the Conservatoire du Littoral (the Coastal Protection Society) in an effort to conserve part of this precious coastline from development.   Now the Domaine has been landscaped into an amazing variety of different gardens, growing plants from  Mediterranean climates around the world, - California, Chile, South Africa, and Australia.