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Paul Ricard, a visionary entrepreneur, was also a builder, a patron of the arts, and an artist. He crafted this island for which he designed the plans and created a veritable hamlet with its boutiques, workshops, harbour and bar, where, in his time, jazz filled the air.
In this truly theatrical setting, celebrities such as Dali, Fernandel, Raimu, Josephine Baker, Luis Mariano, Paul Belmondo, Melina Mercouri, Gagarine, Jacques Dutronc came to rub shoulders with the jet set in some of the biggest parties in the Var in the sixties…
Today, in this celebrated “Jardin des Arts”, visitors can bathe, explore the underwater universe... before going on to the opening of an exhibition in a gallery. Or they might admire the work of the artists or take advantage of the tennis courts. They can also attend one of the regular lectures held on the island.
And once night falls, when the last orangey rays of the dusk are fading, Bendor becomes ever more romantic... the stone of the eternal “Isola del Bandoris” turns from the yellow ochre of the evening to alabaster white in the light of the moon.
- Ile de Bendor
- 3 hotels (Le Delos***, Le Palais, Les Petites Villas)
- 6 restaurants (Le Delos, La Terrasse, Le Bar des Voûtes, Chez José et Maya, Daddi et Milou and Restaurant Le Grand Large)
- La Marina, the smallest port on the Côte d’Azur:
- Museum of Wines and Spirits (EUVS)
- Museum of Ricard Advertising Objects
- Souvenir shop
- Artists’ workshops
- Exhibitions and Art Gallery
- Sports activities: tennis, swimming pool, water sports, hiking…
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