St Tropez
The port in the morning, the beach by noon.
A fishing village that survived the 1950s by accident and the 21st century by yacht. Saint-Tropez is the south of France in costume, a small port, a great big myth, and a coastline that has agreed to keep both alive provided you arrive by 11 and leave nobody waiting at the table.
- Where
- Var · Côte d’Azur, France
- When to go
- Late May to mid September
- Established
- 1956
St Tropez, in full.
Saint-Tropez gets photographed as theatre and remembered as a village. We file it in the Euro Summer chapter because it earns the title and then refuses it, the port is only theatre for a few hours, the back hills are an actual French summer, and the light off the dunes at Pampelonne, when the chairs have gone, is the only thing on the coast that quietly holds.
A small port pretending it isn’t
Saint-Tropez was a fishing village. Then Brigitte Bardot, then a film, then a postcard, then a paparazzo, then, suddenly, the most photographed harbour wall on the European coast. The trick of the place, and what makes it still worth it sixty years later, is that under all of it there is still the village. The morning market in the Place des Lices, the boules courts at six, the church bell that rings late on a Tuesday because the priest forgot. The port is the lie. The hills behind it are the truth.
The peninsula, the port, the back
Saint-Tropez is one village on a peninsula of three. Saint-Tropez itself has the port and the noise. Ramatuelle, fifteen minutes inland, has the cypresses, the cicadas and the long, slow dinner. Gassin, a hilltop perched above both, is where you go to watch the light fall on the Bay of Pampelonne and feel, for an honest hour, that it is still 1969. Then there is Pampelonne, the four-mile beach, the seven legendary clubs, the line of loungers and parasols, the music starting around lunch and tapering by sunset. Saint-Tropez is one village. The Saint-Tropez of the brochure is a triangle.
Pampelonne by day, the port by night
Lunch is the only event that matters. Beach by 11, lunch at Club 55 or Loulou by 1.30, lunch finishes at 4. The afternoon is for swimming, sleeping, or, because nothing is unreasonable here, both. By six the port fills up; by eight, the village is unrecognisable. Dinner is Salama in the village or La Vague d’Or out at La Bouillabaisse, and somewhere between 10 and midnight, somebody decides to walk to Sénéquier for one last drink. Sénéquier is open until 1.30. The proper Saint-Tropez night ends with you watching the same harbour empty that filled at noon.
Wear nothing that looks bought
The cardinal sin in Saint-Tropez, much like in the Hamptons it pretends to ignore, is the look of effort. Linen, faded. White, soft. A navy shirt for the evening that has seen at least one swim. Sailor sandals or rope soles. A panama hat with a stained band. Nothing on the wrist that needs explaining. The Saint-Tropez rule is older than the village's reputation: the right outfit is the one that suggests you've owned a house here for a generation, even if you arrived this morning by ferry from Sainte-Maxime.
The port at eight, Pampelonne at noon.
A place, accounted for.
- 4
- miles of Pampelonne sand
- Seven beach clubs, one continuous crescent. The Mediterranean’s longest line of loungers.
- 1956
- and Bardot. The film. The myth.
- Et Dieu… créa la femme. The fishing village stopped being one that summer.
- 7
- beach clubs that matter
- Club 55, Loulou, La Réserve, Tahiti, Bagatelle, Indie, Nikki, the Saint-Tropez lunch parliament.
- 14 Jul
- curtain up
- Bastille Day fireworks over the port. The week the season properly opens its books.
- €500
- for two loungers, August
- Front row at Club 55 on a Saturday in mid-August. The price of the show.
- 25
- minutes by helicopter from Nice
- The most theatrical entrance on the Côte. The brag is the silence.
Before the first weekend.
What separates the first weekend in a place from the second.
- 01
Get there
Fly Nice; drive 1h 30m on the A8 or chopper 25 minutes. Toulon-Hyères is closer but quieter on flights.
- 02
Reserve
Club 55 and Loulou the morning the calendar opens; La Vague d’Or the day before. Anything else is freelance.
- 03
Park
Parc des Lices or Annonciade outside the village. Walk in. Driving inside the village in August is a personality test.
- 04
Wear
White or off-white linen, navy something, sailor sandals, a worn panama. Nothing pressed. Watch optional.
- 05
Eat first
Lunch at Club 55. Aperitivo at Sénéquier. Dinner at Salama or, on a serious night, La Vague d’Or.
- 06
Beach
Pampelonne for the show; Plage des Salins for the locals; Plage de Gigaro for the honest day with no music.
- 07
Drive
Rent a vintage Mehari for one open-top day on the back hills. Anything new tells on you.
- 08
Tip
Cash, always. €50 to the right person at the gate is the difference between a lounger and a longer queue.
What you will actually be doing.
- 01
Bouillabaisse at Club 55, paniers of crudités, a carafe of something cold, no plates cleared until you ask.
- 02
A long lunch at Loulou that starts at 1.30 and ends with the boats heading back to Cannes.
- 03
Aperitivo at Sénéquier on the port, a Spritz, a chair facing the harbour, ninety minutes of theatre.
- 04
A morning at the market in the Place des Lices for tomatoes, a chèvre, and the only honest people in town.
- 05
Dinner in Ramatuelle, a stone courtyard, bougainvillea, the light going pink at nine.
- 06
A swim at Plage des Salins on a Sunday in September, with the dunes to yourself.
The year here, month by month.
May
Cannes ends, Saint-Tropez stretches. Pampelonne clubs reopen weekend by weekend. The sea is honest about its temperature.
Jun
The village is itself. Markets fully open, beach clubs warming up, dinner reservations still possible at five days out.
Jul
From Bastille Day onward, full theatre. Helicopters from Thursday to Tuesday, lunch a sport, dinner at 10. The Saint-Tropez of the photographs.
Aug
The first three weeks are the loudest. The 15th is a ferry-boat carnival. The last week of August is the secret door, the show calms, the prices don’t, the sea is at its best.
Sep
The two weeks after 1 September are the secret. Every reservation is suddenly possible; the light goes amber by 6pm; the village reappears.
Oct
Cool sea, soft sun, sweater lunches at La Ponche. Most beach clubs have folded their parasols; the village is back to itself.
Nov-Apr
A small Provençal town in a coat. A handful of restaurants open, the citadel empty, Cap Camarat to yourself. Worth a long weekend, never a holiday.
The villages, and which is which.
- 01
Saint-Tropez
The port, the postcard, the noise, and a real village under it.
Place des Lices for the market, Sénéquier for aperitivo, the gendarmerie square for the Cary Grant of it all.
- 02
Ramatuelle
Inland, hilltop, wisteria, the dinner that lasts.
Stone alleys, cypresses, La Vague d’Or down the road. Where Saint-Tropez quietly sleeps.
- 03
Gassin
A perched village with the best view on the peninsula.
Ten minutes from the port and a thousand miles from it by ten at night.
- 04
Pampelonne (Ramatuelle)
Four miles of sand, seven beach clubs, one schedule.
Club 55, Loulou, La Réserve, Tahiti, Bagatelle, Indie Beach, Nikki, pick one and stay until 5.
- 05
La Croix-Valmer
The quiet end of the bay. Pine forests, calanques, no kerb crawl.
Cap Camarat, Plage de Gigaro, the honest beach, locals only, no Loulou.
- 06
Grimaud
The medieval village above the marina; a Tuesday market.
Take the back road from Saint-Tropez at sunset, the bougainvillea is doing the work.
- 07
Sainte-Maxime
Across the bay, a half-hour by boat, a whole world calmer.
The ferry crossing is the photograph. The town itself is dinner.
- 08
Port Grimaud
A 1960s “Provençal Venice” that has, somehow, aged into charm.
A very particular kind of summer. Worth it once, by boat, in the morning.
Where to eat, drink and sleep.
Eat
- Club 55Pampelonne
The original Pampelonne lunch. Crudités, paniers, beans on tomato bread. Reservation required, May onwards.
- Loulou RamatuellePampelonne
The new establishment. Long lunch, soundtrack, sea-salt-encrusted olive oil. Book the morning the calendar opens.
- La Réserve à la PlagePampelonne
Quieter, more elegant. The best fish on the beach. Sunset strong.
- Tahiti BeachPampelonne
The original-original. 1947. Less polished, more honest. Lunch only.
- Bagatelle Saint-TropezPampelonne
The “lunch becomes a dance floor” option. Loud, fun, expensive. One time.
- La Vague d’OrLa Bouillabaisse
Three Michelin stars at the Cheval Blanc. The serious dinner, in white, in a garden.
- SalamaSaint-Tropez
A Moroccan-Provençal hideaway in the village. The tagine, the candles, the quiet wedding energy.
- La PoncheSaint-Tropez
The hotel restaurant on the old quartier. Bardot ate here. So should you.
- Le GirelierSaint-Tropez
On the port. The bouillabaisse with the actual fish on it. Order it for two.
- Auberge des MauresSaint-Tropez
The Rue du Docteur Boutin garden. Provençal classics, no fuss, no booking on a Saturday in August.
- La Table du MasRamatuelle
Mas de Chastelas, in the cypresses. A proper Provençal evening.
Drink
- SénéquierSaint-Tropez
The red awning on the port. Aperitivo here is non-negotiable. Order a Spritz; watch the show.
- Bar du PortSaint-Tropez
The actual sailors’ bar. Slip in for one drink before dinner.
- Le QuaiSaint-Tropez
A late-night port bar that has earned its reputation. Loud, fine, not the photograph.
Stay
- Cheval Blanc Saint-TropezLa Bouillabaisse
LVMH at the gates of the village. White rooms, a private beach club, La Vague d’Or downstairs.
- Hotel ByblosSaint-Tropez
The 1967 original. Painted Provençal village under one roof. The bar (Les Caves du Roy) is its own institution.
- La PoncheSaint-Tropez
A 17th-century inn on a quiet quarter. Tiny, perfect, Bardot-era charm.
- Lily of the ValleyLa Croix-Valmer
Philippe Starck on a hill. A spa hotel for the slower week, the alternative to Pampelonne.
- Villa MarieRamatuelle
Pine trees, terracotta, a pool with a view to Pampelonne. The honeymoon of it all.
Swim
- Plage de PampelonneRamatuelle
The four-mile crescent. Pick a club for a lounger or walk the public stretch from Tahiti south.
- Plage des SalinsSaint-Tropez
The locals’ beach. Pine trees, no music, a clean sea. Park early.
- Plage de GigaroLa Croix-Valmer
Honest sand at the end of the peninsula. No clubs. Bring a sandwich.
- Cap CamaratRamatuelle
A hike, a lighthouse, a cove the photographs forgot.
See
- Place des Lices marketSaint-Tropez
Tuesday and Saturday mornings. Tomatoes, lavender, ancient men playing pétanque under the planes.
- Musée de l’AnnonciadeSaint-Tropez
Signac, Bonnard, Matisse, Derain, Saint-Tropez before the lens. A 45-minute museum that earns its keep.
- Citadelle de Saint-TropezSaint-Tropez
Maritime museum at the top of the village. The sunset photograph nobody Instagrams.
Dance
- Les Caves du RoySaint-Tropez
The bar inside Byblos. The Saint-Tropez night, served loud, after midnight.
- GaioSaint-Tropez
The new establishment for the late-late hour. Take a friend who can leave by 3am.
Every way in, compared.
| Route | Time | From | Line | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drive from Nice | 1h 30m-2h | €60-€90 fuel + tolls | Nice (NCE) → A8 → Le Muy → Sainte-Maxime → St Tropez | The classic. The last 20km on the 98 along the bay is character-building from 14 July to 20 August. |
| Helicopter (Heli Securité / Monacair) | 25-30m | From €1,200 (group) | Nice / Cannes / Monaco → La Mole | Lands at La Mole, 20 minutes by car from the port. The right entrance. The wrong brag. |
| Fly to Toulon-Hyères | 1h drive after | From €120 + drive | Toulon (TLN) → A57 / D559 → St Tropez | Closer, smaller, fewer flights. Worth checking from Paris and London City. |
| TGV + taxi | 4h 20m + 45m | From €120 | Paris (Gare de Lyon) → Saint-Raphaël Valescure → St Tropez | The elegant rail route. The taxi from Saint-Raphaël is the prettiest 45 minutes on the Côte. |
| Bateaux Verts ferry | 20m | €10-€16 one-way | Sainte-Maxime → Saint-Tropez old port | The seasonal commuter ferry, May-October. The ten-minute photograph nobody charges for. |
| Yacht | Hours | It depends | Cannes / Monaco / Antibes → Saint-Tropez (anchor in the bay) | Don’t talk about it. Don’t photograph other people’s. Don’t arrive after 11. |
The rules the regulars keep.
- 01
Lunch is the day
Build the trip around a 1.30pm at Club 55 or Loulou. Everything else negotiates around it.
- 02
Reserve in March
The good lunches and the good villas open their books in early spring. By June the answer is no.
- 03
Boat by 9, port by 6
The harbour empties between 9am and noon and refills at six. Plan around the breath.
- 04
Don’t drive in August
Park outside the village at Parc des Lices or Annonciade and walk. Driving in St Trop in mid-August is a learned helplessness.
- 05
Wear the same shirt twice
A linen, washed, looks like you live here. A new one tells on you.
- 06
Cash for the matron
A folded €50 to the right person at the right beach club is the difference between a lounger by the water and a lounger by the showers.
A short, polite list.
- 01
Don’t day-trip from Nice. The drive is two hours each way. Stay one night, minimum.
- 02
Don’t take a photograph of someone else’s yacht. The crew will notice.
- 03
Don’t order rosé before 11.30. We are serious people.
- 04
Don’t book Club 55 less than two weeks ahead. The kitchen will quietly destroy you.
- 05
Don’t wear evening clothes to lunch. Or lunch clothes to dinner. There is a difference.
- 06
Don’t walk the port with a backpack. Hold the croissant.
- 07
Don’t talk about the price of the boat.
- 08
Don’t skip Ramatuelle. The actual Saint-Tropez lives there at 9.30pm.
Practical, briefly.
When is the actual Saint-Tropez season?
Late May through mid-September. The Cannes Film Festival in late May is the soft opening; Bastille Day (14 July) is the curtain-up; mid-August is the show; the first ten days of September is what people who actually live here will tell you about. The peninsula goes quiet by late October.
How do I get to Saint-Tropez from Paris or London?
Fly to Nice Côte d’Azur, then drive (1h 30m to 2h) along the A8 or take the helicopter (Heli Air Monaco / Heli Securité, 25 minutes). Toulon-Hyères airport is closer (1h drive) but has fewer flights. The TGV from Paris to Saint-Raphaël (4h 20m) plus a 45-minute taxi or the seasonal Bateaux Verts ferry is the elegant rail route.
Where should I stay in Saint-Tropez?
Cheval Blanc Saint-Tropez (LVMH, on the bay) for the splurge; Hotel Byblos for the original 1967 charm; La Ponche for the 17th-century-inn intimacy; Villa Marie in Ramatuelle for the slower week; Lily of the Valley in La Croix-Valmer for the Starck-and-spa option. The villas in the back hills (Ramatuelle, Gassin) are the locals’ choice, booked from January.
Which Pampelonne beach club is the right one?
Club 55 is the original, and still the only, long-lunch institution. Loulou Ramatuelle is the new establishment, more polished, better music. La Réserve à la Plage is the elegant choice. Tahiti Beach is the most authentic. Bagatelle is the dance-floor option. Indie Beach for the design crowd. Pick one, book it, stay until 5pm.
Where do you eat in Saint-Tropez besides the beach?
La Vague d’Or at the Cheval Blanc is the serious dinner. Salama, La Ponche, and Auberge des Maures in the village. La Table du Mas in Ramatuelle. Le Girelier on the port for the bouillabaisse. And, non-negotiable, aperitivo at Sénéquier on the harbour wall before any of the above.
How is Saint-Tropez different from Cannes or Antibes?
Cannes is the film, Antibes is the museum, Monaco is the casino, Saint-Tropez is the lunch. The whole Côte d’Azur is one road. Saint-Tropez is the place at the end of it that still has a Tuesday market and a 17th-century citadel, a village playing a port playing a stage, and convincingly all three.
What about Saint-Tropez in winter?
A different town entirely. Most of Pampelonne shuts. Sénéquier closes. The locals come back. Walk the port in a coat, lunch at the Bistrot St Tropez, hike Cap Camarat with no one on it. November-March is for the people who own a house here, and one weekend, you should be one of them.
Is Saint-Tropez worth it for one weekend?
Yes, for one weekend, on a friend’s sofa or a small inn, with one Pampelonne lunch, one village dinner, and one boat morning. The peninsula rewards the visitor who books one specific table and lets the rest of the trip negotiate around it.