Porquerolles, just off Hyères, is one of the few Mediterranean islands where you can still find a beach with nobody on it — if you arrive by boat and leave before the ferries do. Your catamaran gets there first and stays after everyone else has gone home.

Port-Cros was France’s first marine national park, protected since 1963. Anchoring is strictly limited, the water is glass-clear, and the only traffic is the odd dive boat. Arriving on your own catamaran feels less like tourism and more like being let in on a secret.

The Îles d’Hyères catch one of the steadiest breezes on the French coast — the mistral funnels and the afternoon thermal fills in almost on cue. Sailors who plan their hops around it get four hours of perfect sailing, then drop anchor right as it dies at sunset.

A catamaran this size does not heel and does not roll. Your morning coffee stays in the cup, your guests stay in a good mood, and the skipper gets to look like the calmest person on the Riviera. That is what a solar catamaran week buys you.

Hyères is France’s oldest resort town — people have been wintering here since the 18th century. They came for the light and the mild air. You get the same light, plus a whole catamaran and a crew to move you between the islands.