Saint Tropez

Towns and Villages - by Provence Beyond

Villages > Saint Tropez      

Nearby:  | Cannes 76 km | Cavalaire-sur-Mer 18 km | Cogolin 9 km | Draguignan 48 km | Fréjus 34 km | La Garde-Freinet 20 km | Grimaud 10 km | Le Lavandou 38 km | | Plan-de-la-Tour 23 km | Roquebrune-sur-Argens 40 km | Sainte Maxime 14 km | Toulon 71 km |

Below: | Fete de la Bravade | Beaches | Surrounding Area | Foxes? | O.T. | Dates | Wine | Transportation | Sports | Hiking | Dining | Lodging Hotels |

Behind the cafés, the small streets and old buildings are picturesque, but they're more popular for the multitude of shops and restaurants than historical significance. There are endless possibilities for buying gifts or items of proof that "you've been here".

Movie stars and other famous pretty people do pass through, 'though not so frequently as yesteryear. The most famous, of course, are insconced in the fabulous private estates set along the coast, protected from the curious eyes of all but those with the means to rent helicopters and light aircraft. Our late Princess Diana, for example, did spend the night in a local discotheque this August (1997), but it was closed to all but her private party.

The town's Office de Tourisme, located along the center of the main drag, is very active. The multilingual staff is friendly and helpful, and they have their own Internet web site. Excellent maps and informational brochures are available 7 days a week.

Place aux Herbes

This lively square has been a center of activity in St Tropez for centuries. Located one street behind the Quai Jean Jaures, past the Office de Tourisme, the Place aux Herbes is a busy little enclave of vegetable, fruit and flower stalls, and a favorite stop on our occassional Beyond visits.

Plagiarism

Some of our photos here date from 1997, and our original text here we wrote about the same time (Beyond has been online since October 1995). We've found our text of St Tropez, and a few of the other Beyond towns. plagiarized on several other websites. While "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" (C.C. Colton [1878-1832]), we do find this outright theft objectionable.

Fête de la Bravade

A bravade (or "act of defiance"), originally a procession in honor of a town's patron saint, is now a colorful Provençal festival. The St Tropez bravade, every May, is one of the most famous, dating back to the 15th century. A bust of the patron saint is carried in a procession through the town with a guard of honor, with gun salvos, Provençal singing and dancing.

Beaches

The beaches of St Tropez are mostly away from the center, and require transportation.
Nearby Beaches. A few beaches are located nearby to the west of the town, within reasonable walking distance. East of the town, the Plage des Graniers is in a little cove past the cemetery, a long walk or a short drive away. Further east, out the route des Salins, is the Plage des Cannebiers.
Cape Beaches. Out on the cape east of St Tropez are the beaches Plage de la Moutte and Plage des Salins.
Pampelonne-Ramatuelle Beaches. The most serious collection of beaches are along the Baie de Pampelonne, south of St Tropez and east of Ramatuelle. You'll need to drive out the D93 road from 3 to 6 km, then turn off to the left on one of the beach access roads.

Surrounding Area

The hills a bit away from St Tropez are fine, but the area immediately surrounding the town is pretty grim, and not pretty, especially in the summertime. The roads are lined with billboards, garish commerce and neon signs. During July and August, the route national N98 between St Tropez, Ste Maxime and almost to St Raphaël is a long narrow parking lot. As you sit in traffic, overheated, you have a view of other cars and trucks, pedestrians, people vainly trying to cross the road between campsites, cyclists, signs and hordes of other tourists.

Foxes?

In Saint Tropez? Yes, in Sept 2002 there were a couple of cases of people being bitten by foxes, in a housing estate area of the town and at the Malheribes quarter of Gassin. In both cases, it seems, the previous occupants of rental housing had been feeding local foxes. When the foxes came around for their usual hand-outs, coming right into the kitchens, the new occupants tried to chase them away, and met a bit of agression rather than the expected fear.

Saint Tropez is located in the heart of the Esterel and the Massif des Maures, still nicely wild in spite of the seaside resort towns. There are actually far fewer foxes now that a few years ago, and it is still legal to hunt them here. [ more about foxes ]

Office de Tourisme

Tel : 04 94 97 45 21; Fax: 04 94 97 82 66

Web: www.ot-saint-tropez.com
Email: tourism@saint-tropez.st

Quai Jean Jaures
Tel: (33) 494 97 45 21; Fax: (33) 494 97 82 66
Open 7 days, Sept-June: 9h00-12h30, 14h00-19h00
Open 7 days, July-Aug: 9h30-13h00, 15h00-23h00

Dates

Market day: Tue, Sat, Place des Lices
Fish Market: daily (except Mon during the winter), Place aux Herbes
Fête de la Bravade: May
Fête des Espagnols: 5 June (celebrates the town's defence against the Spanish in 16th century)
Fête de St-Pierre: 15 June (patron of the fishermen)
Fête des Vendanges: beginning Sept (grape harvest)
Foire: 16-18 Apr, 26 Aug

Wine

St Tropez is in the area of the Côte de Provence wines [map]. There are several vineyards around St Tropez and nearby Gassin that offer wine tasting along with their wares.

Transportation Saint Tropez

Air

The nearest airports to Saint Tropez are

Toulon-Hyeres - Tel: (33) 494 22 81 60

Marseille-Provence - Tel: (33) 442 14 14 14

Nice-Côte d'Azur - Tel: (33) 493 21 30 30

La Mole - Tel: (33) 494 49 57 29. The La Mole airfield, 20 km west of St Tropez, has regular flights to Geneva, Bale-Mulhouse, Munich and Nice.

Bus

For Saint Tropez area bus lines, see Beyond's Bus Schedules Page 16: Var Department for downloading Var bus-lines map and schedules (link for PDF files). Bus lines serving Saint Tropez:

 • Line 7202 - Saint Tropez, La Foux, Cogolin, Grimaud, la Garde-Freinet, Les Arcs-sur-Argens (Les Arcs is on the main rail line Nice-Aix-Paris)

 • Line 7601 - Saint Raphaël, Fréjus, Saint Aygulf, Les Issambres, Sainte Maxime, Saint Pons, La Foux, Saint Tropez

 • Line 7701 - Saint Tropez, La Foux, Cogolin, Grimaud, la Garde-Freinet

 • Line 7704 - Saint Tropez, Gassin, La Môle

 • Line 7801 - Toulon, La Valette-du-Var, La Garde, La Crau, Hyères, La Londe-les-Mures, Bormes-les-Mimosas, La Lavandou, Le Rayol-Canadel, Cavalaire-sur-Mer, La Crois-Valmer, Gassin, La Foux, Saint Tropez

 • Line 7802 - Toulon, Hyères, La Londe-les-Maures, Bormes-les-Mimosas, La Môle, Cogolin, La Foux, Saint Tropez

 • Line 7803 - Toulon-Hyères Airport, La Londe-les-Mures, Bormes-les-Mimosas, La Môle, Cogolin, La Foux, Saint Tropez

Rail

The nearest stations on the mail rail line [rail map] are St Raphaël and Toulon. Daily bus service is available between St Tropez and both these towns.

Gare SNCF St Raphaël and Toulon - Tel: (33) 836 35 35 35

Sports

Cyclilng. There's a cycling path along a good part of the coast along here, along side the busy road; St Tropez, Port Grimaud, towards Ste Maxime.

Camping

Cycling

Espace 83

Yamaha dealer

Location: 2 av Gén Leclerc

Tel: 0494 558 000

Holiday Bikes

VTT cycle and motorcycle rental

Location: 14 av Gén Leclerc

Tel: 0494 970 939

Lucky Loc

Location: qua Pilon

Tel: 0494 972 903

Mas Multiple

Location: Activité Services 3 rue Joseph Quaranta

Tel: 0494 970 060

Scooter Station

Location: 12 av Gén Leclerc

Tel: 0494 976 240

Hiking

Maps:

IGN (1/25,000) #3545 OT "St. Tropez, Ste. Maxime, Massif des Maures"

For a seaside tourist town, there's surprisingly good hiking not too far away.
The GR51 (Balcony of the Cote d'Azur) passes by between Cogolin and Port Grimaud; it crosses the busy N98 road east of Cogolin, about 7 km west of St Tropez. The roads and traffic are pretty grim around here, so you'll want some transportation out to the trail.
North of Cogolin, the GR51 goes up into the beautiful forested hills of the Maures, with many branching trails and hiking possibilities. The connecting GR9, for example, goes through La Garde-Freinet.
South of Cogolin, the GR51 crosses the peninsula west of Gassin and follows the hills along the coast past La Lavandou and Bormes-les-Mimosas before turning north again.
Coastal Hiking Le Sentier du littoral is a seaside trail that goes from the town of St Tropez, around the entire peninsula, passing all the beaches and capes, to the village of Cavalaire-sur-Mer. Variations allow shorter loops.
St Tropez to Plage de Tahiti - 12.5 km, 3h30. This takes you around the coast past the Cap de St-Tropez to the northern end of the Plage de Pampelonne. Here you could walk straight back to town (3 km), or continue on.
Plage de Tahiti to Bonne Terrasse - 5 km, 1h30. This takes you along the Plage de Pampelonne almost to Cap Camarat.
Cap Camarat to Cavalaire - 19 km, 5h45. The trail around the southern part of the peninsula ends at Cavalaire-sur-Mer. It's 18 km by road from St Tropez; check with the Office de Tourisme for bus information.

Dining

La Bouillabaisse

Location: N98, entry to Saint Tropez, befor the junction to the route de plages.

Closed: mid nov-mid dec

Tel: 0494 975 400; Fax: 04 94 97 16 01

on the water

Le Caprice des Deux

Location: 21 rue du Portail Neuf

Open: only evenings

Closed: tue off-season; 5 jan-mid feb

Tel: 0494 977 678; Fax: 04 94 97 76 76

On a small street behind the church

Le Carpaccio

Location: RN 98, chemin de Gassine

Closed: 15 oct-15 may

Tel: 0494 974 898; Fax: 04 94 97 16 01

Hotel l'Astragale

Chateau de la Messardière

Location: rte de la Belle Isnarde

Closed: 1 nov-15 mar

Tel: 0494 567 600; Fax: 04 94 56 76 01

On a hill between the Golfe de St Tropez and the Bay of Pampelonne. Also hotel.

Chez Fuchs

Location: 7 rue des Commercants

Closed: june-oct lunch; tue off-season; 15 nov-15 dec

Tel: 0494 970 125; Fax: 04 94 97 81 82

L'Echalote

Location: 35 rue Allard

Closed: thur off-season; thur lunch; 15 nov-15 dec

Tel: 0494 548 326; Fax: 04 94 54 34 94

La Maison de Marie

Location: 26 rue des Cahrrons

Closed: monday off-season; jan

Tel: 0494 970 999; Fax: 04 94 97 09 99

Just off the Place des Lices; garden

Le Petit Charron

Location: 6 rue des Charrons

Closed: wed lunch; wed, sun evening off-season

Tel: 0494 977 378; Fax: 04 94 97 65 12

Lodging - Hotels