Port-Cros

thumb|250px|right|West coast of Port-Cros Port-Cros () is a French island in the Mediterranean island group known as the Îles d'Hyères. It is part of the commune of Hyères, in the department of Var in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The island was donated to the French government with the promise that a national park, the Port-Cros National Park, would be created on the island. This was established on 14 December 1963. The island is wide and its most elevated point is . It is .

==History== thumb|left|SPOT satellite image showing, from left to right: Île du Bagaud, Port-Cros, and Île du Levant. The very small isle at the south of Port-Cros is La Gabinière thumb|left|Beach of La Palud and the rocks of Rascas The island was known as Messea (Middle Island) to the ancient Greeks. Its present name derives from the small port on the island, which is cross-shaped. Roman tombs on the island indicate that there may have been a Roman colony on the island, and coins and canals of Roman origin have also been found on the island. In the 5th century, the monastery of Lérins established a branch on Île du Levant. This foundation on Île du Levant established a branch on Port-Cros in the small valley of Notre-Dame. The monastery on Port-Cros was destroyed by Barbary pirates, who repeatedly attacked the Hyères Islands from the 10th to the 16th centuries.