Residence Agathos

Agay, known as the ruby of the Côte d’Azur, is a closed natural harbour, an ancient volcano from the Esterel massif. This natural port, one of the best mooring places in the Mediterranean, had already been praised by the Greeks who called it Agathon which means good and favourable.

The Romans turned it into a trading post on a branch road of the Via Aurelia ; then the seigniory, called Agaï in provençal language and Agay in french was taken over by the Bishops of Fréjus in the middle ages.

The first village was created in 1636 around a château built on the orders of Richelieu to defend the coast of Provence by Jean-Vincent de Roux to whom the Bishops of Fréjus had given the land. It was destroyed by the occupying army in may 1944, with only the lower parts of the old ramparts remaining at the end of the beach.

Agay’s development and the creation of a seaside resort is linked to the arrival of the railway line in 1864 and to the first tourists between two very well known high society resorts, Cannes and Saint-Raphaël. Agay is alot quieter and welcomes writers and painters such as Alphonse Karr, Guy de Maupassant, Jean Aicard, Maurice Donnay, Guillaumin and Valtat.

This is the period of the winter season, of tourists coming here for the Côte d’Azur’s sunny climat and exceptional light, for the flowering mimosas and the carnivals.

After the first world war, summer tourism develops, due to sea bathing, and sees the opening of l’hôtel de La Baumette, one of the most elegant of the côte d’Azur. Many of the world’s famous writers and stars stay here.

The second world war sees part of the village disappear as well as the chateau, but a new tourist boom sets in linked to the quality of the environment and the quiet family life that Agay offers. At the heart of this exceptional place, Agathos brings to you at all times of the year the benefit of it’s climate, it’s vegetation and its closeness to the sea.