Just 1/2 miles off the coast of Cannes, in the middle of Cannes Bay, are the two Lérins Islands: Île Sainte-Marguerite and Île Saint-Honorat.
Île Saint-Honorat is the second largest of the Lérins Islands. The island is approximately 1.5 kilometers in length and 400 meters wide. Since the fifth century, the island has been home to a community of monks. Unique to this island is a fresh water source that runs from the Alps, under the bay, and rises up to the island to provide the water to its vineyards. The sister island, Saint-Marguerite, does not have this water source and doesn’t have the potential to grow vineyards or other crops.
According to the island’s tourist bureau: “A few minutes by Ferry from the bustle of the French coast, Saint-Honorat Island awaits you with an experience out of the ordinary. Calm and beauty, nature and spirituality, this jewel of the bay of Cannes lives at the relaxed rhythm of the monastery of the monks of Lérins. Known since the middle Ages, the Cistercian community always honors the rule of welcoming.
“The 21 monks that currently make up the community of the monastery of the Cistercian Congregation of the Immaculate Conception, have been cultivating their vines with skill and passion since the middle ages. Every stage (pruning, disbudding and harvest) is carried out by hand. The wine estate now comprises eight hectares with which monks have produced high quality wines recognized by professionals, but also liqueurs for 150 years”.
“The island community is made up of monks from diverse cultural backgrounds. Indeed, Lérins Abbey belongs to a monastic congregation of which it is the mother house. It is the Cistercian Congregation of the Immaculate Conception (CCIC) to which many monasteries worldwide belong: Sénanque (Vaucluse), Castagniers Abbey, the nunnery Notre Dame de la Paix (Castagniers-Nice), a monastery in Canada (Rougemont-Québec), a monastery in Vietnam (Mi Ca – Nha Trang), a monastery in Italy (Dominus Tecum – Bagnolo Piemonte). The monks lead a communal life, with the day structured by prayer, work, study and hospitality”.
A favorite destination during Epicurean Exchange Culinary Travel’s Provence Côte d’Azur tour, our visit includes a private island tour, wine tasting and lunch at the popular La Tonnelle restaurant, overlooking the tranquil waters of Cannes Bay and the Mediterranean Sea.
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