Five-star hotels in Bandol: port, wine and Rènecros bay

A port town between Marseille and Toulon

Bandol is a compact commune of 8.58 square kilometres with 8,267 inhabitants in 2023. At the end of the Wars of Religion, on the orders of the Duc d'Épernon, a fort was built on the La Motte peninsula; the tourist office dates it to 1594 and credits the work to Antoine Boyer, the soldier to whom Henri IV granted it as a fief in 1596. A corner tower and two stretches of its wall still stand among villas and gardens, and the tourist office calls the fort the only truly historical vestige of the old village. Boyer's castle, built in 1610 on what is now the Place du Château, did not survive: its ruins were demolished in 1795.

The port sits in the middle of the town, and the tourist office describes it as the heart of Bandol. With 1,700 berths, it ranks ninth among French marinas by capacity. The harbour master's office moved into a new stone building in 2022, and the port has hosted the Bandol Boat Show since 1995.

Fishing still has a place here. At the start of the twentieth century the harbour was home to many fishermen, who landed sars, sea bream, sole, octopus and lobster, and a new generation keeps the trade going, selling its catch at the market every Tuesday morning. In front of the tourist office stands a bust of Alfred Vivien, mayor from 1881 to 1902: the original bronze was taken during the war, in 1941, and the Marseille sculptor Paul Gondard carved the marble replacement commissioned in 1949. The church of Saint-François-de-Sales, blessed in 1748, has been protected as a historic monument since 1990.

Hotels in Bandol: the seawater spa on Rènecros bay

Hôtel Thalazur Bandol stands at 25 Boulevard Louis Lumière, facing the Baie de Rènecros; its official site also uses the name Île Rousse. The hotel places itself between Toulon and Cassis. The Atout France register lists 67 rooms, and the five-star classification dates from 14 January 2022.

The defining feature is water. A lift gives direct access from the hotel to the thalassotherapy and spa institute, and there are two seawater pools, one indoors and one outdoors. A sauna, a hammam and a fitness area with Technogym equipment complete the wellness side. Bistrot Lumière sits under a pergola facing the sea, and La Goélette is the beach restaurant, with loungers to rent in season.

Room types include Exclusive rooms on the street side, measuring 26 to 29 m²; Prestige sea-view rooms of 22 to 26 m² with a private balcony; and Privilege sea-view rooms of 26 to 33 m² with a terrace and sun lounger. All have a large bathroom, films on demand, individual air conditioning and Wi-Fi, and all are non-smoking. Luggage can be stored for early arrivals, a shuttle service is available on request, and the hotel states access for people with reduced mobility.

Rènecros is the largest of Bandol's sandy beaches, and the tourist office describes it as more intimate and hidden from the road. It was developed in 1965 under Mayor François Fabre; the name may combine words for sand and cove, or come from the Provençal rena, to rumble.

Bandol wine: an appellation on the restanques

Wine is Bandol's other identity. The appellation was one of the first to receive AOC status, in 1941, and it spans eight communes "suspended between mountain and sea": Bandol, La Cadière-d'Azur, Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer, Le Castellet, Le Beausset, Évenos, Ollioules and Sanary-sur-Mer. The vineyard lies in a natural amphitheatre, planted on restanques, terraces held up by countless dry-stone walls, and it receives nearly 3,000 hours of sunshine a year.

Mourvèdre defines Bandol wine. It makes up 50 to 95 per cent of the red blend, alongside Grenache and Cinsault, and the reds age for at least 18 months in wood. Harvesting is by hand only, and chaptalisation is banned. The tourist office counts about fifty estates, making red, rosé and white wines.

In town, the Oenothèque, or Maison des Vins de Bandol, on Place Lucien Artaud gathers wines from members of the Les Vins de Bandol association, so you can taste several estates side by side before driving out to one. The main public events are the Escapades des Vins de Bandol in June and the Fête des Vins de Bandol in December, held on 5 and 6 December in 2026 according to the tourist office.

Île de Bendor, Paul Ricard's island

Bendor lies about 150 metres off the Promenade Paul-Ricard and covers some seven hectares. The pastis maker Paul Ricard bought the bare, rocky island in 1950 and laid it out himself as a hamlet, with shops, workshops, a small port and a bar where jazz was played. In 1958 he opened a wine and spirits collection there, the Exposition Universelle des Vins et Spiritueux.

The island closed in October 2021 for five years of works and reopened on 1 May 2026. The official shuttle leaves from the landing stage in Bandol's port, and the crossing takes about ten minutes. As of 2026, the tourist office lists three restaurants, four bars, a café and a crêperie on the island.

Ricard's name reappears inland. The Circuit Paul Ricard, the motor-racing track he financed at Le Castellet, one of the eight wine communes, opened on 19 April 1970 and hosted the French Grand Prix, most recently from 2018 to 2022.

Beaches, coves and the coastal path

Bandol has four sandy beaches. Besides Rènecros, the Grand Vallat, Casino and Centrale beaches sit at the entrance to the town, close to the port, and the tourist office pitches them at families. All four sandy beaches appear on the 2026 Pavillon Bleu (Blue Flag) list. On the other side of town, small pebble coves with clear water lie out of sight: Eden Roc, Barry, Capelan, L'Anglaise and Les Engraviers, known locally as Athéna.

The coastal path runs between Bandol and Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer; the tourist office classes it as intermediate and gives its length as 12 to 24 km. Peregrine falcons nest on the sea cliffs, and rare plants grow along the way, so walkers are asked to keep to the path. Inland, the Gros Cerveau massif offers a more demanding hike of 8 to 13 km.

Every summer, from late June into September, the prefecture regulates entry to the Var's woodland by decree, and wooded trails can be closed on high-risk days.

Getting to Bandol from Toulon and Marseille

Bandol can be reached without a car. Its station, on the edge of the town centre and about 15 minutes' walk from the port and beaches, is on the TER line between Marseille, Toulon and Hyères, which also stops at Aubagne, La Ciotat, Saint-Cyr, Sanary and La Seyne/Six-Fours. TGV trains do not stop in Bandol, so change to the TER at Toulon or Marseille-Saint-Charles. Zou! regional buses 880 (La Ciotat–Bandol–Le Beausset) and 885 (Toulon–Sanary–Bandol) also serve the town.

By car, the A50 from Marseille and Aix-en-Provence reaches Bandol at exit 12. La Celle, also in the Var, and Aix-en-Provence have their own listed five-star hotels, as does Le Lavandou, further east along the Var coast beyond Toulon and Hyères. For the rest of the coast as far as the Alpes-Maritimes, see the French Riviera collection, and our guide on how to compare five-star hotels before booking lists the points worth comparing.