Things To Do in St-Tropez

During summertime, St-Tropez’s pleasure port is trimmed with super-yachts, each one berthing stern-to after a day of hedonistic excess at nearby Plage de Pampelonne. Yacht owners, their lucky guests, spectators, and celebrity-seekers all intermingle along the chic quays.

In the Old Town, one of the most interesting streets is rue de la Miséricorde. The stone houses lining this street are now boutiques and evoke medieval St-Tropez better than any other in town. At the corner of rue Gambetta is Chapelle de la Miséricorde, with a blue, green, and gold tile roof. Locals come to swim on Plage de la Ponche, an old fishing boat launching beach beyond the old town, or at Plage des Graniers, a longer beach 5 min. farther east underneath the Citadelle.

Port Grimaud makes for a rather wacky outing. From St-Tropez, drive 4km (2 3/4 miles) west on A98 to route 98, and then 1.5km (1 mile) north to the Port Grimaud exit. If you approach the village at sunset it looks like a 16th-century version of Venice. However, that vision is a mirage: Port Grimaud is the Venetian dream of far-out architect François Spoerry. Flanking Spoerry’s man-made canals, fingers of land extend from the village center to the sea. Boat owners can anchor at their doorsteps. One newspaper called the port “the most magnificent fake since Disneyland.” Visitors can join in the fun by hiring an electric boat from Barques Electriques de Port Grimaud, place de l'Eglise (tel. 06-73-87-76-84; no license needed) for a cruise through the canals.

Day Trips from St-Tropez

The wider Provence area produces 8% of the world’s rosé. Les Grappes ( www.lesgrappes.com/en/route-des-vins/saint-tropez; tel. 06-52-97-84-04) half-day tour concentrates on 3 or 4 assuredly local vineyards, with tasting sessions in each. Alternatively, rent a car and strike out on your own. The peninsula is littered with friendly vineyards of all descriptions, and you can book individual tastings with the website Rue de Vignerons. 

Unfurling along the shores between St-Tropez and Cannes is a scarlet stretch of coastline known as the Esterel. It’s both regional nature reserve and a cluster of mountains (the Massif de l’Esterel), the latter renowned for their ethereal crimson hue. Hiking trails criss-cross the area and the tiny turquoise beaches are perfect for private picnics. Best of all, the Esterel receives just a fraction of the tourists that congregate along the Riviera’s more popular seaside resorts. Regular trains run from Cannes to Théoule-sur-Mer, a village in the center of the park. One-way tickets cost 2.40€, and journey time is around 10 min. The Théoule-sur-Mer Tourist Office, 2 bd. de la Corniche d’Or (www.theoule-sur-mer.org; tel. 04-93-49-28-28), distributes walking and cycling maps of the region.

Other options include Ramatuelle  which is 11km (7 miles) south of St-Tropez. The village feel of St Tropez in the 1950s. Retired actors, bona fide locals, and discreet A-listers wander this village perché’s medieval streets. In truth, cosmopolitanism runs through the village's veins. Saracen marauders, Ligurian tribesmen, and visiting film crews have long been entranced by its roving sea views. Plage Pampelonne—where American troops disembarked in 1944 and where American celebrities still pop champagne seven decades later—shimmers in the distance.

Entrance to the village is via an imposing Saracen-era gate. Step into the pedestrian-only lanes to place de l'Ormeau. A colorful street market takes place here every Thursday and Sunday, when local cafés and restaurant terraces become more animated than usual. Visitors may also shop alongside Ramatuelle’s 2,500 residents everyday for local handicrafts, boho-chic fashions, and contemporary art. A wander through the pastel-shuttered, jasmine-strewn streets is an attraction in itself. Follow the signposted village walking route. Or snap your smartphone on the tourist office's new QR code tour around town, which describes the Napoleonic prisons and Chapelle Ste-Anne church in greater detail.

If you have a car, it’s worth driving deeper into the St-Tropez peninsula. Five minutes from Ramatuelle, in a forest of wild olives, is the wonderfully restored Moulin de Paillas windmill. When in operation, it grinds wheat on an ancient millstone. Further inland is Gassin. Another perfectly kept medieval village, it’s a far cry from the temptations of St-Tropez, although legendary hell-raiser Mick Jagger did his best to disturb the peace here in 1971, when he married Bianca Bianca Pérez-Mora Macias in the local village church. An orgy of drinking and partying carried on back on place des Lices after the ceremony.

No site better sums up this area’s sub-tropical sunbaked shores than the Domaine Rayol botanical gardens. Imagine a Jurassic park laden with black bamboo, sultry ferns, and giant palms, and choked with bougainvillea. This family-friendly must-see also boasts a snorkeling trail on the private beach below.

On a lower level of the Hôtel Byblos’ grounds, Les Caves du Roy, 20 av. Paul-Signac (www.lescavesduroy.com; tel. 04-94-56-68-00), is the most self-consciously chic nightclub in St-Tropez. Entrance is free, but drink prices are eye-wateringly high. It’s open from 11:30pm until dawn Fridays and Saturdays from Easter to June, nightly from June through August, and Fridays and Saturdays from September to early October. The legendary venue Le Papagayo—a hotspot for international A-listers since the 1960s—not long ago transformed into Gaïo, 4 av. du 11 Novembre 1918 (www.gaio.club; tel. 04-94-97-89-98). A combination restaurant and club with an Asian-inspired menu and similar decor, it remains as celebrity-studded as ever, though somehow has a less pretentious atmosphere.

Tsar Folie's, 9 allée du Quai de l’Epi, and Le Pigeonnier, 19 rue de la Ponche (tel. 06-33-58-92-45), rock, roll, and welcome a mostly LGBTQ crowd between 20 and 50. L’Esquinade, 2 rue de Four (tel. 04-94-56-26-31), equally gay-friendly, is the habitual sweaty follow-up club.

Below the Hôtel Sube in the port, Café de Paris (www.cafedeparis.fr; tel. 04-94-97-00-56), is one of the most popular—and friendly—hangouts in town. It has 1900s-style globe lights, masses of artificial flowers, and a long zinc bar. Café Sénéquier, quai Jean Jaurès (www.senequier.com; tel. 04-94-97-20-20), is historic, venerable, snobbish by day, and off-puttingly stylish by night.

There are also popular darties (day parties, see above) at many of the resorts and beach clubs, so keep an eye and ear out for those.