Why the elephant beach?

Why the elephant beach?

 March 24, 2023
 about 1 minute


Do you know the origin of the name of the elephant beach in Sainte-Maxime?

Several stories circulate about the origin of the name of the Elephants beach in Sainte-Maxime. Here are the two best known :

- The first dates back to the late 19th century, when Parisian artists discovered the beach and were inspired by the elephant-like rock formation.

They are said to have started calling the beach "Elephant Beach" because of the resemblance.

- The other story is that the author Jean de Brunhoff once stayed in Sainte-Maxime.
The elephant-shaped rock formation is said to have inspired him to create his comic strip "Babar le roi des éléphants", published in 1932.

The magnificent landscape offered by the beach of Sainte Maxime, would have inspired him to illustrate the famous honeymoon trip in a hot air balloon of Babar and his wife Céleste.

In the "Le Voyage de Babar" series, the beach, the Pointe des Sardinaux and the village of Sainte-Maxime are featured on pages 4 and 5.
The beach would therefore have been named Plage des Eléphants, in honor of this children's comic strip.

However, there is no concrete evidence that Jean de Brunhoff actually visited the Elephant Beach in Sainte-Maxime, nor that the beach inspired his work on Babar.

In the end, the exact origin of the name of Elephant Beach remains a mystery, but that does not detract from the beauty and appeal of this unique beach on the French Riviera.

To discover other unusual anecdotes, watch the program Les curiosités du Sud on our Youtube channel.

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