The Golden Island (L’île d’Or) is one of the most beautiful symbols of the Estérel Côte d’Azur destination. Visible from the Dramont beach, it intrigues with its high tower. It has inspired the world of comics and cinema. Here, the mysteries of this small island off the coast of Saint-Raphaël are revealed.

Its History

At the foot of the majestic Dramont massif, the Île d’Or is one of the sixty most beautiful sites in France ! In the 19th century, the Île d’Or was still just a rocky islet similar to so many others on the coast. It was only in 1897 that the destiny of this small island was revealed. Indeed, that year, an architect from the Dramont named “Sergent” became the owner for only 280 francs (a derisory sum for the time !).

It changed ownership a few years later, at the beginning of the 20th century, and became the property of Doctor Auguste Lutaud, who would have acquired it during a card game ! He then proclaimed himself “Auguste 1er”, sovereign of the Island. He had a square, crenellated tower built at great expense in red Esterel stone, according to a Saracen architecture uncommon in the region. The Île d’Or has been the scene of sumptuous receptions attracting worldly circles from the Côte d’Azur. Today, it is still a private property: one cannot approach it.

Art and the Golden Island

The Golden Island strangely reminds us of a famous story about a detective with a blonde puffy coat. Wait and see, an island where it’s forbidden to dock with a big tower in the middle… You guessed it, it is of course “l’île noire”, the 7th album of the adventures of Tintin d’Hergé.

Tintin will have to face Doctor Müller who organizes a traffic of counterfeit money through Europe. After a chase and many adventures, Tintin finds the trace of doctor Müller on the black island where he will have to face a gorilla named Ranko.

Do you think the Ranko gorilla is just a legend ?
Yet when you approach from the sea, from the east, you’d swear to see a gorilla on this island, wouldn’t you ?