The sandy Plage de Notre Dame is the biggest. The water off the island on the sheltered beaches is clear, blue and calm. Cars are strictly limited on Porquerolles. The quickest way to travel is to rent a bike. Island restaurants and hotels offer food from humble but tasty cheese sandwiches on French bread to fresh seafood and gourmet meals.
Seclusion is easy enough to find on the paths crisscrossing the island.
Porquerolles is only one of the three golden islands, but it's the clear tourist favorite. Levant is occupied by the military and a nudist colony. At various times over the centuries the islands have been a penal colony or a base for piracy and coastal attacks. Today they are an indulgent escape for tourists. The express train from Paris to Hyeres takes about five hours.