

Les Adrets de l'Estérel
A stone's throw from Saint-Raphaël, Les Adrets de l'Esterel is a town located in the extreme south-east of the Var. Bordering the Maritime Alps, its territory is composed of large green forests. The town overlooks the bay of Cannes and has an exceptional view of les îles de Lérins (the Lerins islands) and la Corniche de l'Estérel (Esterel cliff road).
Between the Esterel massif and the Mediterranean...
Covering an area of 22km², the town is located at an altitude of 250 metres above sea level and has a magnificent view of the bay of Cannes and the Islands of Lerins.
At the beginning, "Les Adrets" was only a hamlet of Montauroux, called "Les Maures de Montauroux". The term "Moors" referred to uncultivated land intended for grazing. Due to the distance of the village from Montauroux, Napoleon III decided to make it a commune in April 1867, under the name "Les Adrets de Montauroux". All the villages and hamlets called "Adrets" have as their etymology a Latin verb meaning "to be burned". These are generally high places exposed to the sun (whereas "hubacs" are low places located on the northern slope of a mountain). In Provençal, "Adré" or "Adrech" means "good side".
In the heart of the massif, many excursions and hikes start from the city: Mont Vinaigre, Esterel massif, Avellan lake, the small valley of the Verrerie, la Beïlesse...



A little bit of history
At the time, cork lifting was very important in the town of Adrets because it has many oaks in its national forest. Throughout the summer, the old breeders lived in the woods and were supplied every week. Traditionally, no one brought personal cutlery and everyone carved their own bowls and plates directly from the natural bumps of the oaks. Today, lifting is still carried out, but to a lesser extent, in order to "rest" many oak trees threatened by insects and diseases. More information
Near the town, the Fontsante mines were once operated, in addition to those of Maurevieille near Théoule-sur-Mer. This deposit, discovered following a fire, had more than 24 ore veins, some of which exceeded 500 metres. Most of it was exported to the United States. The extracted fluorite was used as a flux in the processing of steel and aluminum. More information
Nowadays, the town often honours traditional trades such as coalmining, art binding, hat trade... The Festival de l'Esterel, which takes place in July, highlights these trades, tools and materials of yesteryear.
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