Toulon France

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Toulon: Through the night we steamed a West, South Westerly course across the Ligurian Sea towards Toulon. In the early morning we sailed on a Northerly course passing the Cap Cepet on our port side. Toulon is a city in southern France and a large military harbour on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base, Toulon harbour is one of the best natural anchorages on the Mediterranean, and one of the largest harbours in Europe. A naval arsenal and shipyard was built in 1599, and small sheltered, the Veille Darse, was built in 1604-1610 to protect ships from the wind and sea.

Our tour today includes the “Bormes-Les-Mimosa” famous for its flower filled narrow lanes, this 12^th century village is set in a magnificent mountain amphitheater with sweeping views of Lavandou Bay.



The old town of Toulon these days is a delight, there are a cluster of winding streets between the port and the Boulevard de Strasbourg, a pedestrian zone blessed with beautiful fountains and quaint shops. The old cathedral is here, as is the Cours Lafayette, where a delightful market is held every morning. Hopefully I will get an opportunity to visit the museum of the French navy. Our guide told us today that over 60% of the French navy are based here in Toulon which includes two nuclear powered aircraft carriers and six submarines. In 1939 when the French surrendered to the Germans rather than let all their Naval vessels fall into German hands they were scuttled in Toulon harbour. This created an environmental nightmare which at the time was seen to be the worse of two evils. It was the only choice the French had. In the Naval museum in Toulon among the many great exhibits there is a painting depicting the French fleet sailing into Toulon Harbour after liberation in 1944. The ships were entering harbour in formation flying all their flags and pennants. We did manage to visit the museum, and some of the exhibits were amazing to see. Some of the old sailing ships made to scale were works of art, there was one old galley ship that required 324 rowers to get it underway, this was made up of six rowers per oar. I managed to take some great photos as well. Of course we did some more shopping, shoes T-shirts and a cap.

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Photos

Bomes Le Mimosa
Typical village in the french mountains

Bomes Le Mimosa
A different type of dining

Bomes Le Mimosa
Worlds smallest traffic lights?