Martin Hill offers a bird's eye view

Were it not for its harbour, Toulon, the capital of the Var, arguably would not exist today. Consider: the city’s site is squeezed between the mountains tumbling down from the north and the sea. Yet today, Toulon seriously contends for regional importance with the much bigger conurbations of Nice and Marseille, and its sliver of land is home to approaching 200,000 people and provides work for many more that commute from the surrounding area.

The harbour, possibly the finest in the Mediterranean and second only in France to Brest, has seen its fortunes rise and fall but is currently on an upswing, as an important Mediterranean ferry port and with potential to develop as a cruise port. However, geography still imposes its limitations: the crowded town, much of it rebuilt from scratch since the Second World War, is short of open spaces. By the standards of most European cities, its one urban park, the Jardin Alexandre I, could be described as dinky. So when the Toulonnais feel in need of a breath of fresh air they have only one way to go: up – and up means the many hectares of open country at the summit of the limestone massif of Mont Faron, the peak that overlooks the city from a height of nearly 600 metres.

There are two ways to reach the top – by road or by cable-car – and both, it should be made clear, can be challenging for those with a poor head for heights. Going by road entails a long winding route with plenty of hairpins. The cable-car in contrast takes about five minutes and offers the chance to see the stunning views over the city, the port and the offshore island, gradually expanding as the details diminish.

The road up, by this stage a one-way route, passes immediately outside the cable-car summit station, making this a good meeting point if a group splits up between the two means of transport. There is parking space here, as there is at intervals alongside the road’s continuation – which must be followed for the drive back down.

Adjoining the station is the Panoramique, a bar-restaurant which serves everything from sandwiches, freshly-made crepes and omelettes to full-scale meals. All these may be taken in an indoor dining room or on a small but pleasant balcony, with a view to justify its name.

The Mont Faron park offers a wide variety of walks along comprehensively signposted routes. Some of these will take you to the ancient forts that were part of Toulon’s elaborate 16th-century defense arrangements that protected the city from attack by land from the north, east or west and by sea from the south. In all there were 24 such forts, towers and batteries, nine of them on Mont Faron. Some of these are still occupied by the French navy, while others are undergoing restoration.

Spaced about the park and signposted from the footpaths are several attractive picnic areas, with seats and tables set out under the shade of the surrounding woods. However, for many visitors the focus of attention will be one or all of three unique attractions.

Nearest to the station is the Memorial Museum of the Allied Landings in August 1944. This is housed in the Beaumont Tower, one of the old fortifications. Unusually for a war memorial, there is a price for admission, justified by the well-planned exhibition inside. One section deals with the different roles played by the liberating forces of the American, British and Canadian armies and that of the French resistance. Another has an elaborate diorama showing in some detail how Toulon and Marseille were liberated.  There is also a small cinema where films taken during the actual landings can be seen.

Near the museum is a large terrace with three Plans d’orientation (site maps).

At the bottom of the steps leading up to the Beaumont Tower, the road and accompanying footpaths swing east in the direction of the Mont Faron Zoo. This is a gentle walkway along paths shaded with trees. Helpful signs indicate the distance and suggest that it will take 25 minutes – though in our case an unhurried stroll took nearer to a quarter of an hour. For the unenergetic, during July and August, there is a free shuttle bus service.

Not far along the route to the zoo is a small parade of shops, including a snack bar, a souvenir shop and another restaurant, the Drap d’Or, with a shaded dining terrace and another served by the restaurant’s bar. A little further on is another of Mont Faron’s attractions: the former powder magazine which today houses a small church.

Mont Faron Zoo is something of a misnomer, since it is really a wildlife breeding conservatory, specialising particularly (but by no means exclusively) in big cats, with a view to bolstering the numbers of declining species and ultimately returning them to the wild.

A current attraction is the presence of Bengal tiger triplets. Born at Christmas 2005, they have inevitably been named Melchior, Gaspard and Balthazar after the magi. If you plan to see them, you would be well-advised to go early or late in the day. We arrived around lunchtime, when the cubs and many of the other animals were firmly in siesta mode. Curled up together, they resembled nothing more than a heap of bicoloured knitting wool!

Because it takes time to prepare zoo-bred animals for a natural life, some of the Mont Faron specimens contribute to the establishment’s upkeep by being loaned outfor use in films and on television. For instance, the popular French film Two Brothers, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, starred two older siblings of these new triplets.

Zoos, quite apart from the scientific purpose of this particular one, are valuable as a means of acquainting people, particularly children, with the diversity of the animal world. However, we are doubtless not alone in finding them disturbing and dispiriting places, when the restrictive size of the compounds leads the animals to pace endlessly up and down behind their bars. Sadly, this applies to many of the enclosures at Mont Faron although, to be fair, some lion and tiger couples have been allocated quite large areas in which to roam. As well as these, the zoo houses leopards and cheetahs, several smaller cat species, bears, monkeys and, curiously, even some geese.

Normally, the cable-car operates from February to November at 10-minute intervals every day except Mondays from 9.30-12.15 and from 2.00-5.30 (continuously in July and August).  However, it is worth checking the weather, since it does not operate on days of high winds. The service will be closed for maintenance on June 22-23 and September 7-8 2006. The lower station is off boulevard Amiral Vence and has two car parks. It is approached from the rear of the central railway station and is well sign posted. It can also be reached by taking bus number 40 from the city centre.

The normal return fare on the cable-car is €6.10; entrance to the memorial is €3.80 (€1.55 for 8-18 year olds) and the zoo €8 (4-10 yrs €5). However, if you intend to visit either of these attractions it is worth considering one of the package deals: cable-car plus memorial costs €6.60 and cable-car plus zoo €11 (4-10s €7.50).

Photo Credits:
Toulon landscape and harbours: photos courtesy of Toulon Tourist Board
Bengal Tigers: photos courtesy of Martin & Julia Hills