Saint-Tropez

Feel Saint-Tropez with our top 5 sensory experiences…

See gleaming yachts moored in the celebrated harbour, which attracts wealthy visitors from around the world

Hear the rev of engines at the Harley Davidson festival in May

Smell perfume and beauty products in the town’s classy boutiques – this is the Côte d’Azur’s shopping capital

Taste sun-ripened tomatoes doused in local olive oil

Touch pétanque balls and try your hand at a game in the town’s main square, Place de Lices.

Glittering on France’s Provence and renowned across the globe, Saint-Tropez has legendary status thanks to its popularity with the rich and famous. But you’d be wrong to think of this fashionable resort as nothing more than a VIP destination: it’s also a lively fishing village inhabited by colourful local characters who lend it a unique ambience at any time of year. Head to the Provençal market (every Tuesday and Saturday) to enjoy a chat with the locals, or try your hand at a game of pétanque in Place des Lices. Find out how Saint-Tropez inspired great painters such as Paul Signac and Henri Matisse by visiting the Musée de l’Annonciade in its 16th-century chapel, which traces the development of painting from neo-Impressionism to Fauvism. Saint-Tropez’s modern maritime museum in the former dungeon of the citadel honours the daily lives of the men and women who shaped the town we see today – and the Maison des Papillons is a more unusual attraction, housing over 20,000 species of butterflies from all over the world.

The resort has become the capital of shopping in Provence, with its boutiques open all day long during high season and offering all the biggest brands in fashion. There’s a mouth-watering array of dining options here, blending traditional Provençal flavours with international influences to cater for the resort’s eclectic crowd. Hear the rev of engines at the Harley Davidson Euro Festival in May and the Porsche Paradise in October, while July sees a celebration of music and theatre at Les Nuits du Château de la Moutte and a gleaming line-up of sailing boats at the Voiles de Saint-Tropez. In the surrounding area, don’t miss the lake town of Port Grimaud, sometimes referred to as the ‘little Venice of France’ thanks to its construction on former marshland in 1967. And with its naturally protected environment, Saint-Tropez’s peninsula will delight those who long for walks along its beautiful coastal path, taking in hilltop villages and wine domaines along the way.

Saint-Tropez