Sainte-Marguerite island loop

See full video with interactive map: https://sportourix.com/rides/2026-09-13-sainte-marguerite/

Sainte-Marguerite — the full perimeter, anticlockwise

The larger of the two Lérins islands, a kilometre off Cannes and a short ferry from
the old port. Three kilometres long, under one wide, no cars. This is a complete lap
of it: 10.2 km, two hours moving, closer to two and a half in practice.

Flat, then not
The path holds between four and eleven metres above the sea for three quarters of the
way round. All 138 m of ascent are concentrated in a single kilometre.

0.0–2.1 km · Allée de Ceinture Sud
East along the south shore from the landing side. Sea on your right the whole way,
the mainland and the Esterel behind it. Twenty minutes to the eastern point.

2.1–4.9 km · Chemin de la Ceinture Nord
Round the point and back west along the north side, now facing Cannes across the
channel. Still level, nine to eleven metres, pine woods down to the path.

4.9–7.4 km · Chemin de la Guérite, Chemin des Douves
The climb, and the reason to come. The path leaves the shore and rises from seven
metres to thirty-four in about a kilometre. The names say where you are: the sentry
path, then the moat path. This is the ground the Fort Royal stands on — Richelieu,
then Vauban, and the cell that held the prisoner in the iron mask from 1687. High
point 34 m at 6.3 km. A quarter of the route sits above twenty metres and carries
essentially all of the climbing.

7.4–9.1 km · Allée Pierre Vouland, Chemin de la Chasse
Down to the western end, the lowest ground on the island at under five metres. The
path bends around the Étang du Batéguier rather than crossing it — a salt lagoon cut
off from the sea, left to the birds.

9.1–10.2 km · Allée du Dragon
The south-western corner and the return. Ten minutes and the loop closes.

Timing
Two hours of walking, but budget more. On this track the stops added half an hour,
and four of the six fell between 6.5 and 7.4 km — the fort takes longer than you
plan for. Ferries run from the old port in Cannes; check the last return before you
set out, the island empties early.

Nothing technical anywhere: made paths throughout, a walking loop rather than a hike.