Le Lavandou

Le Lavandou ( pronounced [lə lavɑ̃du]; Occitan: Lo Lavandor) is a seaside resort town and commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. Le Lavandou derives its name either from the flower lavender (lavanda in Provençal) that is prevalent in the area, or more prosaically from the local form of the Occitan name for lavoir, lavandor (for lavador, a public place for washing clothes).

The (then) village is where the famous popular song A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square was written in the summer of 1939. The words were by Eric Maschwitz and the music by Manning Sherwin, with its title "stolen" from a story by Michael Arlen. The song had its first performance in a local bar, where the melody was played on piano by Sherwin with the help of the resident saxophonist. Maschwitz sang the words while holding a glass of wine, but nobody seemed impressed.