Saint-Tropez: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Before the painters and the film stars, Saint-Tropez was a fishing and shipbuilding port with its own saint, its own militia and a fortress over the bay. That town is still here behind the yachts: the bell tower, the lanes of La Ponche, the citadel and the sailors' graves above the sea. The walk is about three kilometres with one stiff climb to the citadel. Go in the morning, when the quays belong to the locals.
A short history of Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez is named after Torpes, a Roman officer who according to tradition was executed for his Christian faith, and whose body drifted in a boat to this shore. For centuries it was a fortified fishing village, with a 17th-century citadel above it. In 1892 the painter Paul Signac arrived here on his boat, and Matisse and other painters followed him. In August 1944 Allied forces landed on the nearby beaches in the operation to liberate southern France. In 1956 the film And God Created Woman, starring Brigitte Bardot, was shot here, and since then the village has been a destination for the rich and famous. The number of permanent residents is under 5,000.
The ten best sights in Saint-Tropez
1Musée de l'AnnonciadeSignac, Matisse, Bonnard and the painters who discovered this port, in a former chapel on the quay
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2The Citadel
A 17th-century fortress above the town with a maritime museum and the best view of the gulf
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3Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum
The police station from the Louis de Funès films, now a museum of the town on screen
4Church of Notre-Dame-de-l'AssomptionLook for the yellow-and-red bell tower; inside is the bust of the town's saint
5Chapel of Sainte-AnneA sailors' chapel on a hill south of town; quiet, with a wide view over the bay
6Maison des PapillonsA tiny house full of butterflies from all over Europe, a minute from Place des Lices
7Chartreuse de la VerneA medieval monastery deep in the Maures forest; the last stretch of road is narrow
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8Old Port
Yachts, café terraces and the Portalet tower at the harbour mouth; evening is the time
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9La Ponche
The old fishermen's quarter, with a pocket-sized beach under the walls
10Marine CemeteryWhite tombs on a slope above the sea, below the citadel; a calm ten minutes
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Saint-Tropez →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Saint-Tropez:
Free walking tours in Saint-Tropez
The fishermen's port
Before the painters and the film stars, Saint-Tropez was a fishing and shipbuilding port with its own saint, its own militia and a fortress over the bay. That town is still here behind the yachts: the bell tower, the lanes of La Ponche, the citadel and the sailors' graves above the sea. The walk is about three kilometres with one stiff climb to the citadel. Go in the morning, when the quays belong to the locals.
- Old Port · The round Portalet tower at the harbour mouth is one of the last pieces of the medieval walls. Until the 19th century the port built wooden sailing ships, and Saint-Tropez was known for its sailors more than for anything else.
- Church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption · Inside is the gilded bust of Saint Torpes, a Roman officer said to have been beheaded under Nero; his body was set adrift in a boat with a dog and a rooster and came ashore here. Every May the town carries the bust through the streets in the Bravade, with costumed men firing blunderbusses.
- La Ponche · This was the fishermen's quarter, where the boats were pulled up on the little beach under the walls. In the 1950s Roger Vadim filmed scenes of 'And God Created Woman' with Brigitte Bardot in these lanes, and the town's fame took off from there.
- The Citadel · Its hexagonal keep was built from 1602 to guard the gulf, and it is it has survived largely intact. Inside, the maritime museum tells the story of the town's sailors, from the corsairs to the emigrants.
- Marine Cemetery · The film director Roger Vadim, who made the town world-famous, is buried here, among the old seafaring families. The graves face the open sea, and from the top row you look straight down at the Graniers beach.
- Plage des Graniers · This is where the coastal path, the sentier du littoral, leaves town and runs south around the peninsula towards Pampelonne. Even a short stretch of it shows the rocky shore and umbrella pines that the painters came for.
Painters, gendarmes and the tarte
Saint-Tropez was discovered twice: by painters at the end of the 19th century, and by cinema in the 1950s and 60s. This walk follows both, from the museum on the quay to the gendarmerie of the films, the square where the town still plays pétanque and the café where everyone watches the yachts. It is short and flat, about two kilometres, and ends with a drive to the beach where the Allies landed. Avoid July and August afternoons, when the port is solid with people.
- Musée de l'Annonciade · In 1892 the painter Paul Signac sailed into this port on his boat and stayed, and his friends followed; Matisse spent the summer of 1904 here and went home to paint 'Luxe, calme et volupté'. The museum, in a 16th-century chapel, opened in 1955 with the collection of Georges Grammont.
- Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum · From 1964 Louis de Funès played the bumbling Sergeant Cruchot in six 'Gendarme de Saint-Tropez' comedies, and this building was his station. The real gendarmes moved out, and in 2016 it reopened as a museum of the town in film.
- Place des Lices · The name means 'the lists', the open ground once used for exercises and tournaments. Today it is the town's pétanque ground under the plane trees, and on Tuesday and Saturday mornings it fills with the market.
- La Tarte Tropézienne · In 1955 Alexandre Micka, a baker born in Poland, made a brioche filled with cream from his grandmother's recipe. He supplied the crew of 'And God Created Woman', and Brigitte Bardot is said to have suggested the name.
- Sénéquier · The café with the red chairs began in 1887 as a pastry shop, and it still makes its own nougat. Sitting on its terrace facing the yachts is the town's oldest ritual of seeing and being seen.
- Pampelonne Beach · On 15 August 1944 Allied troops came ashore on this beach in Operation Dragoon, the landing in Provence. The same sand became, a decade later, the most famous beach-club strip in Europe.
Hill villages and the Maures
Behind the coast the land rises into the Massif des Maures, a range of cork oak and chestnut forest that most visitors never see. This drive climbs through the perched villages above the gulf, drops to a lagoon town of canals and then goes deep into the forest to a monastery and a chestnut village. It is a full day of about 120 km on winding roads; fill the tank first. In high summer, check fire warnings — forest roads can close.
- Ramatuelle · The actor Gérard Philipe, the great French stage star of the post-war years, had a house here and is buried in the village cemetery since 1959. The summer theatre festival held in the village every August was founded in his memory.
- Gassin · The village sits about 200 metres up on a ridge, and its terrace is one of the few places that look over both the Gulf of Saint-Tropez and the Pampelonne bay at once. The houses were built wall to wall to form a defensive ring.
- Port Grimaud · The architect François Spoerry began building it in 1966 on marshland, a 'lake village' of canals where every house has its own mooring. He is buried in its church, and the whole village is now a protected 20th-century heritage site.
- Grimaud Castle · From this hill the lords of Grimaud controlled the whole gulf, which on old maps is called the Gulf of Grimaud, not of Saint-Tropez. The castle was dismantled in the 17th century, leaving the towers that frame the sea view.
- Chartreuse de la Verne · Carthusian monks founded the monastery in 1170 on a ridge of the Maures, as far from the world as they could get. Abandoned after the Revolution, it was restored in the late 20th century and nuns of the Monastic Family of Bethlehem live there today.
- Collobrières · The village lives from its chestnut forests, and it is known in France for marrons glacés and chestnut cream. Every October it holds a chestnut festival, when the whole valley comes to roast and eat them in the street.
Getting to Saint-Tropez and getting around
- Saint-Tropez Bus Station · Buses to Ramatuelle, Grimaud and the Les Arcs station; in July the road in is often jammed — leave early
- Les Arcs-Draguignan Station · The nearest railway station, about an hour inland by road; TGVs from Paris stop here
- Toulon-Hyères Airport · The closest airport with scheduled flights, about an hour and a quarter west
Cheap eats in Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez is expensive, but it is still Provence: socca, pissaladière, tapenade, grilled fish and the rosé of the Var hills, drunk ice-cold at lunch. The cheap way to eat is the bakeries and the market on Place des Lices; a sit-down lunch on the port can cost what a dinner costs elsewhere. In July and August book any real restaurant, and remember many places close from November to March.
- La Tarte Tropézienne · A slice of the cream brioche about €5-7
- Sénéquier · A coffee on the red chairs about €6-8; you pay for the view
- Laurent Cavazza · Bakery on Rue Georges Clemenceau; a sandwich or quiche about €5-8
- Falafel & Co · Falafel or shawarma wrap off Place des Lices, about €9-12
- Crêperie Gourmandise · Crêpes in La Ponche, about €5-10
- Barbarac · Ice cream by the port, many flavours; a cone about €4-6
Museums in Saint-Tropez
- Musée de l'Annonciade · Pointillists and Fauves who painted this port; an hour
- Maison des Papillons · Thousands of pinned butterflies in a village house
- Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum · Film posters, costumes and clips; fun even without French
- Citadel maritime museum · Ships, sailors and corsairs inside the keep
Nature and day trips near Saint-Tropez
- Pampelonne Beach · Public stretches near the ends of the beach; parking fills by 11
- Cap Camarat lighthouse · Short walk to the cape; wild coast and wide sea views
- Plage des Graniers · Small sandy beach and the start of the coastal path
- Collobrières and the Maures forest · Chestnut and cork oak forest; cool on a hot day
- La Ponche beach · A tiny beach in the old town, good for a quick swim
Holy places in Saint-Tropez
- Church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption · The bust of Saint Torpes; the Bravade is in mid-May
- Chapel of Sainte-Anne · Sailors' ex-votos inside; the walk up is worth it for the view alone
- Chartreuse de la Verne · A living convent; modest dress and check opening days before driving out
Things to do in Saint-Tropez with kids
- Port Grimaud boat tour · Little electric boats through the canals; about half an hour
- Pampelonne Beach · Shallow, sandy water at the public ends; good for small children
- Maison des Papillons · Short visit, big eyes; good on a hot afternoon
- The Citadel · Ramparts, cannons and a park around the walls
- Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum · Film clips of the gendarmes chasing about — kids laugh even without French
Frequently asked questions about Saint-Tropez
What is there to see in Saint-Tropez?
The top sights in Saint-Tropez are Musée de l'Annonciade, The Citadel and Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Saint-Tropez?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Saint-Tropez without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Saint-Tropez?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Saint-Tropez, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The fishermen's port.
How do you get to Saint-Tropez and get around?
The main ways are Saint-Tropez Bus Station, Les Arcs-Draguignan Station and Toulon-Hyères Airport. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Saint-Tropez, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Saint-Tropez that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Saint-Tropez for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.