Walled and medieval old Hyères perches on the slopes of Casteou hill, 5km from the sea; below it lies the modern town, with avenue Gambetta the main north–south axis. At the coast, the Presqu'Île de Giens is leashed to the mainland by an isthmus, known as La Capte, and a parallel sand bar enclosing the salt marshes and a lake. Le Ceinturon, Ayguade and Les Salins d'Hyères are the villages-cum-resorts along the coast northeast from Hyères-Plages; L'Almanarre is to the west where the sand bar starts.From place Clemenceau, a medieval gatehouse, the Porte Massillon, opens onto rue Massillon and the old town. At place Massillon, you encounter a perfect Provençal square, with terraced cafés overlooking the twelfth-century Tour St-Blaise, the remnant of a Knights Templar fort now elegantly converted into exhibition space for contemporary art (April–Oct Wed–Sat 10am–noon & 4–7pm; Nov–March Wed–Sun 10am–noon & 4–6pm; free). To the right of the tower, a street leads uphill to place St-Paul, from which you have a panoramic view over a section of medieval town wall to Costabelle hill and the Golfe de Giens. Wide steps fan out from the Renaissance door of the former collegiate church of St-Paul (April–Oct Mon 3–6.30pm, Wed–Sat 10am–noon & 3–6.30pm, Sun 10am–12.30pm; Nov–March Mon 3–6.30pm, Wed–Sat 10am–noon & 3–6pm, Sun 10am–12.30pm), whose distinctive belfry is pure Romanesque, as is the choir, though the simplicity of the design is masked by the collection of votive offerings hung inside. The decoration also includes some splendid wrought-iron candelabras, and a Christmas crib with over-life-size santons (traditional crib figures). Today, the church is only used for special services – the main place of worship is the mid-thirteenth-century former monastery church of St-Louis, on place de la République. To the right of St-Paul, a Renaissance house bridges rue St-Paul, its turret supported by a pillar rising beside the steps. Through this arch you can head up rue Ste-Claire to the entrance of parc Ste-Claire (daily 8am–dusk; free), the exotic gardens around Castel Ste-Claire, once home to the American writer and interior designer Edith Wharton and now the offices of the Parc National de Port-Cros. Cobbled paths lead up the hill towards the parc St-Bernard (daily 8am–dusk; free), full of almost every Mediterranean flower known. At the top of the park, above montée des Noailles (which by car you reach from cours Strasbourg and avenue Long), is the Villa Noailles, a Cubist mansion enclosed within part of the old Citadel walls, designed by Mallet-Stevens in the 1920s and a home to all the luminaries of Dada and Surrealism. You can look round its gardens and the interior of the house, which is used as an exhibition space for contemporary art showings (April–Oct Wed–Fri 12.30–6.30pm; free). To the west of the park and further up the hill are the remains of the castle, whose keep and ivy-clad towers outreach the oak and lotus trees and give stunning views out to the Îles d'Hyères and east to the Massif des Maures. The switch from medieval to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Hyères at avenue des Îles-d'Or and its continuation, avenue Général-de-Gaulle, is as abrupt as it is radical, with wide boulevards and open spaces, opulent villas and waving palm fronds. If you're keen on the ancient history of this coast, the Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie, on the top floor of the city's administrative building on place Lefèbvre (Mon & Wed–Fri 10am–noon & 2.30–5.30pm; free), should appeal. It displays Greek and Roman finds from L'Almanarre as well as local paintings and natural history exhibits. An alternative pastime is to wander around the spectacular array of cacti and palms in the Jardins Olbius-Riquier, just to the southeast of the bottom of avenue Gambetta (daily 8am–5.30/7pm; free).
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