Saint-Tropez, France

Port of Saint-Tropez, Saint-Tropez. Photo: Cătălin Kislinger / Titi Tudorancea Bulletin.

In 1920s the town attracted some famous French characters, including haute couture superstar Coco Chanel. Later in 1950 it gained an international popularity: director Roger Vadim shot And God Created Woman featuring one of the sex symbols of that time — Brigitte Bardot. Since then it has been a hot destination for the rich and famous. But, these days, the town has plenty for everyone.

Saint-Tropez is a town, 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of Nice, in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. It is also the principal town in the canton of Saint-Tropez.

After the World War II , Saint-Tropez became an internationally known seaside resort, renowned principally because of the influx of artists of the French New Wave in cinema and the Yé-yé movement in music. It later became a resort for the European and American jet set and a goal for tourists in search of a little Provençal authenticity and an occasional celebrity sighting.

The inhabitants of Saint-Tropez are called Tropéziens, and the town is familiarly called St-Trop.

Climate

Saint-Tropez has a hot-summer mediterranean climate with mild winters and hot summers, although daytime temperatures are somewhat moderated by its coastal position.

What to see in Saint-Tropez

• Vieux Port, 1, Quai de l’Épi, ☎ +33 494 566 870, e-mail: capitainerie@portsainttropez.com. A picturesque harbor with many beautiful yachts is one of the major attractions in the town, where all people meet together: rich and poor, locals and tourists. Typical pastel colored houses with light yellow colored blinds on windows. A round tower of the church of Saint-Tropez can be seen from the harbor and is part of the typical view of the port of Saint-Tropez. On the quay there are also several boutiques, tourist shops, cafes and restaurants.

• Place de Lices. People gather there to play jeux de boules. It is a quite large square with a white sandy ground and more than a hundred year old plane trees. It 's cheerful atmosphere there with lots of bars, cafes and restaurants.

• Rue Gambetta. An old cobblestoned street.

• Place de l'Ormeau. A cozy old square in the middle of an artistic boom.

• Gendarmerie. A pretty building of a police station where the Les Gendarmes de Saint-Tropez featuring Louis de Funes was filmed. No visitors are allowed, but still people love to take photos from outside.

• Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Saint-Tropez. A lovely little pastel colored church built in 1820 in a perfect harmony with the surrounding buildings.

• La Chapelle Sainte-Anne. it was built in the 17th century in acknowledgement of a protection of the town against the plague raging then across the Provence. There are some magnificent views of Saint-Tropez from the top of chapel.

• Citadelle. A fortress dating from the sixteenth century is seen above the town. It hosts currently a naval museum.

• Musée de l'Annonciade, 2, rue de l'Annonciade, ☎ 04 94 17 84 10, e-mail: annonciade@ville-sainttropez.fr. Everyday except the tuesday, 10 am to 1 pm, 2 pm to 6 pm. Near the western end of the main harbor area, L'Annonciade is a riveting collection of post-Impressionist, Fauve and other early 20th Century art. Housed in a converted church, the collection includes striking works by Matisse, Dufy, Bonnard and Derain, as well as other early modern masters. The most of the works date between 1890s and 1950s. In addition, the views of the town and harbor from the windows of the museum are quite distinctive. 6 €. Reduced and group : 4 euro.

What to do in Saint-Tropez

• The "village" itself is easily walked and enjoyed. The waterfront is crowded with cafes and shops with "elite" offerings. A block or two inland, through narrow streets and alleys, you'll find fewer stores and cafes, quaint and interesting studios, homes and a few historical structures.

• Tropezian beaches are located along the coast in the Baie de Pampelonne, which lies south of Saint-Tropez and east of Ramatuelle. Pampelonne offers a collection of beaches along its five-kilometre shore. Each beach is around thirty metres wide with its own beach hut and private or public tanning area.

Many of the beaches offer windsurfing, sailing and canoeing equipment for rent, while others offer motorized water sports, such as power boats, jet bikes, water skiing and scuba diving. Some of the private beaches are naturist beaches.

In Saint Tropez, Tahiti beach, which had been popularised in the film And God Created Woman featuring Brigitte Bardot, emerged as a clothing-optional destination.

Get in

Entering Saint-Tropez by car is not the smartest thing to do, since the town has very narrow streets and lots of tourists walking in it. There is a large parking at the border of the town, from which it is a ten minutes walk to the center of the town. You can walk on the borders of the sea, where you have a great view at the luxury cruise ships.

• By sea. The 800 berths port with two marinas hosts boats, including ferries. In the summer season there is a ferry service between St-Tropez and Nice, Sainte-Maxime, Cannes, Saint Raphael, or by chartering a private yacht.

For example, you can take one from Cannes, which would leave the port in the morning and bring you back in the evening. (Note: this is not a year-round service, starting in June.) Such a trip gives you a chance to explore for 4-5 hours the trendy St Tropez and visit all the sights. There is a ferry ship from Sainte-Maxime to Saint-Tropez, which floats in the summer on regular basis.

Cruise ships that visit must anchor or loiter offshore and bring passengers to town by tender.

• By air. There is no airport located in Saint-Tropez, but there is a charter service to and from clubs, town, and Tropezian beaches by helicopter. The nearest airport is La Môle – Saint-Tropez Airport located in La Môle, 15 km (9 mi) (8 NM) southwest of Saint-Tropez. Other main airports are: Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (~95 km), Toulon-Hyères Airport (~52 km), Marseille Provence Airport (~158 km)

• By rail. There is no rail station in Saint-Tropez. The nearest station is 'Saint-Raphaël-Valescure' located in Saint-Raphaël (39 km (24 mi) from Saint-Tropez), which also offers a boat service to Saint-Tropez. There is also direct bus service to Saint-Tropez, and the rail station is connected with bus station.

• By bus. There is a bus station in Saint-Tropez called the Gare routière de Saint-Tropez located in Place Blanqui. It is operated by Var department transport division Varlib (fr), which employs other transport companies to operate routes.

• By taxi. There are taxi services – including from Nice airport to Saint-Tropez – but this is not cheap due to long distances, and image of "wealthy Saint-Tropez".

• By private car. In the tourist season traffic problems can be expected on roads to Saint-Tropez, so the fastest way to travel is by scooter or bike. There is no direct highway to the village. There are three main roads to Saint-Tropez:

— Via the A8 (E80) with the sign "Draguignan, Le Muy-Golfe de Saint-Tropez" – RD 25 Sainte-Maxime, 19 km (12 mi) - on the former RN 98 – 12 km (7 mi).

— A57 with the sign "The Cannet des Maures" - DR 558, 24 km (15 mi) Grimaud until then by the RD 61 – 9 km (6 mi) through the famous intersection of La Foux

— Near the sea, the former RN 98 connects to Toulon-La Valette-du-Var, Saint-Raphaël, Cannes, Nice, Monaco, DR 93, called "Beach Road", with destinations to Pampelonne, Ramatuelle and La Croix – Valmer.

Some services show the actual traffic on the main roads near the Saint-Tropez, for example in English: Via

Town transport

Public transport in Saint-Tropez includes mini buses, which maintain a shuttle service between town and Pampelonne beaches. Other means of transport include scooters, cars, bicycles and taxis. There are also helicopter services, and boat trips.

Because of traffic and short distances, walking is an obvious choice for trips around town and to the Tropezian beaches. (Wikivoyage/Wikitravel/Wikipedia)

The Gulf of Saint-Tropez (Golfe de Saint-Tropez). Photo: Cătălin Kislinger / Titi Tudorancea Bulletin.

Saint-Tropez. Photo: Cătălin Kislinger / Titi Tudorancea Bulletin.