When in 1995, the aeronautical military site by the beach in Fréjus closes its doors permanently after a slow retreat, a huge site opens up for public use.
In 2007, this beach-side site by Fréjus becomes the Base Nature François Léotard. It's 135 hectares of public land used both for public recreation and some sections for nature protection.
Among visitors, not too may folks know about it. It was set-up with local residents in mind, but of course, it's open to all and especially appreciated by visitors with children.
What can you do at Base Nature, Fréjus?
On any sunny day,
you'll find kids biking around its huge tracks, skating with
roller-skates, flying kites, playing soccer, volleyball, rugby or just
hanging around with family and friends.
You can jump around hills set-up in the BMX park, try out skate boarding in the mini skate park, play volleyball in the Beach Volley field, kick a ball on one of the 8 soccer fields, fly a kite or have a ball on one of the 3 playgrounds.
Raining or too winding for the beach? Go swim in the Base Nature Fréjus 25 meter Maurice Giuge covered pool pictured above (in the summer, pool opens 11AM to 7PM and in 2009 full-price entrance runs 3€ or 22€ for 10 entries).
The Fréjus Base Nature also hosts a number of festivals and competitions:
- Wind and Air Festival where kites of all shapes fly above the park
- The Roc d'Azur MTB (in French, VTT) races in the Maures Mountains
- The Equit'Azur horse show took place here in 2007
Where can you eat in Base Nature?
A cute and very friendly wooden snack bar, the Snack de la Base, opens up for ice creams, simple sandwiches, sodas and coffee smack in the middle of the park. Parasols open up and lots of parents gather around its few tables to cool off and catch their breath before they try to keep up with kids again.
From April to October, the Restaurant de la Piscine at Base Nature offers a more classy setting with Plats du Jour running between 12 and 20 euros and the cool drinks being welcomed on a hot summer day.
Interested in half-day hikes close to Fréjus? Check out our highly-acclaimed hiking guide below on Amazon.com (and Amazon.co.uk too!)
