Saint Tropez

Hotspot - not only for the beautiful and the rich...

Legendary and much discussed – St. Tropez as the hot-spot in the Var! With just 4,500 inhabitants, the place is manageably large and the unimaginable number of up to 5,000,000 visitors per year illustrates the exceptional position of this place.

In many small and quite narrow streets, shops are lined up with shops and besides the high-priced prestige labels such as Louis-Vuitton, Hermès, Tod’s, Chanel, Rolex etc. there are also numerous boutiques of not-so-expensive labels, delicatessens and grocery stores, furniture stores, etc. – a lot of offers, which usually also have their price.

Of course, the restaurant selection is also varied, especially in the first harbour line. From there you can watch the hustle and bustle in the harbour, but even without a place in one of the usually very expensive restaurants, a walk through the harbour with its spectacular yachts is worthwhile.

Parking in St. Tropez

Finding a parking space on the side of the road is more of a matter of luck and almost impossible during the season. The fees are 3 euros per hour (12 minutes are charged with 0.60 euros each), the maximum parking time is 3 hours = 9 euros. ATTENTION: exceed this maximum parking time it will be very expensive e.g. 3.12 h = 17 euros and 3.24 h = 30 euros!!!! Please note this in any case.

A top car park is located under the “Place de Lice” – just follow the road to the centre of Sainte Maxime and you will find the entrance to the car park on the left. It offers about 300 parking spaces and is extremely well maintained.

The largest car park with approx. 1,500 seats is located directly at the port “Parking du Nouveau Port” – a parking guidance system points here directly at the entrance of St. Tropez to free spaces and the access.

Wineries near St. Tropez

For wine lovers, the whole region certainly offers a myriad of wineries that invite you to wine tasting. Very popular and can be found on numerous menus in the Gulf of St. Tropez are the wines of the “Chateau Minuty” near Gassin, the “Chateau des Marres” in Ramatuelle and the “Chateau Barbeiranne” near Pignans, about 45 km from St. Tropez.

Pampelonne beaches

World famous and almost a must for any holiday in the region are the long beaches of Pampelonne on the peninsula of St. Tropez. On a length of about 5 km you will find free beach sections and very exclusive beach clubs with sun loungers and umbrellas which are to be rented for (as expected) quite expensive fee. These clubs also offer mostly good Mediterranean cuisine at high to astronomical prices.

The long-standing calls of the conservationists were followed in 2019 and the motto “back to nature” was implemented. Numerous beach restaurants had to give way to bulldozers. Landscape architects and experts created a new concept which, in addition to a natural colour concept, also provides for the use of natural materials for the buildings, which are then dismantled in winter and have to give way to nature. In total, only 20 beach clubs will now be located, some of which will be run by the local five-star hotels. Although there should be clubs in all price categories, it is likely to remain in this position at a high to very high price level.

The legendary “Club 55” has not changed as it is privately owned. The “Who’s Who” likes to meet here and the parking lot resembles an elitist car show. A link to the homepage is not worth it 🙂 A table reservation is required from June to September in any case.

If you want to visit the beaches, you will certainly have the problem of colossal traffic on the coastal road during the season. Therefore, you should reach the beaches before 10:00 in the morning and leave in any case before 16:00, as the way back to St. Maxime can take up to 2.5 hours, for example. You can also use the lunchtime between 12:00 and 13:30 to get from A to B.

Our recommendation: alternatively visit the beaches of “La Nartelle” in Sainte Maxime. These are not so long, but also offer some really good beach restaurants with sun loungers and umbrellas as well as numerous water sports offers. The price structure here is much cheaper, the sea the same, but only the view of the super yachts as on the Pampelonne beaches has to be largely dispensed with here.

Tourism Office

The tourist office of St. Tropez can be found at the “Place de Lice” in the center of St. Tropez.

Detailed information on galleries, events, sports activities, shopping and gastronomy etc. can also be found on the homepage of the tourism office. There is already an English version here, a German is still being worked on.

The weekly market

The highlight of the week is the very popular weekly market – always on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Here you will find delicious Provencal specialities, an enormous offer of fresh herbs, vegetables, wine etc. but also clothes as well as curiosities and antiques. One should be prepared for it: it is very crowded!!!

Restauranttipps

Of course, the traditional café/restaurant “Sénéquier” in the port of St. Tropez with its red seating is very well known. Here you will certainly sit very comfortably with the best view and often also in prominent clientele, but before the stop over you should perhaps first take a look at the quite impressive price list. We wish you a lot of fun! A capuccino for 11 euros, two scoops of ice cream for 15 euros or an aperol spray for 20 euros – here certainly many guests have experienced his blue miracle at the bill. The prices for the meal are of course accordingly and plate dishes for over 60 euros are no exception.

In the immediate vicinity of the “Sénéquier” is the “Bar du Port”. A restaurant with friendly service, very good cuisine and slightly more reasonable prices.

One of the best restaurants in France with 3 Michelin stars and 19/20 Gault & Millau points is the “La Vague d’Or” in the hotel “Cheval Blanc” at the entrance of St. Tropez. A dreamlike ambience and of course spectacular dishes are certainly the first choice for a (very) special occasion.

But of course there are also numerous typical French cafés and bistros, e.g. at Place de Lices, the large boules and market square in St. Tropez, which have a more normal price-performance ratio. There are also numerous takeaway offers for the snack on the go.

These are just a few hints about the huge gastronomic offer in St. Tropez. Often unfortunately not recommended, because the price-performance ratio is simply not comprehensible. Also, the owner and the menu often change from season to season, so we recommend to view the latest customer reviews on the Internet and to take a look at the menus online to avoid unpleasant surprises…