---
node: spot_cannes_lerins_islands
type: spot
slug: lerins_islands
destination: dest_cannes
title: "Lérins Islands"
lead: "The Lérins islands lie fifteen minutes offshore from Cannes: Sainte-Marguerite, wooded and with the fort where the Man in the Iron Mask was held, and Saint-Honorat, still farmed by Cistercian monks. Neither has cars."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_cannes_lerins_islands.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_royal_de_ile_ste_marguerite.JPG"
image_author: "Abxbay"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 3.0"
---

## Overview

Sainte-Marguerite's Fort Royal held the masked prisoner from 1687 to 1698 and his cell is open; the island is otherwise eucalyptus and pine with a coastal path all the way round. Saint-Honorat has a monastery founded around 410 and the monks make wine on eight hectares, sold at the abbey shop. Both islands are national heritage sites and building is prohibited.

## Highlights

Take the first boat and walk Sainte-Marguerite's circuit before the day-trippers spread out. The Musée de la Mer in the fort holds Roman wrecks found offshore. On Saint-Honorat, the fortified monastery on the shore, built against Saracen raids, can be climbed for the view back to the coast.