Day Trip to Saint-Tropez

Saint Tropez seems to be on a lot of people’s bucket lists, and now even more so since the next White Lotus season 4 is going to be set there!   So here’s your chance!

Saint Tropez is surprisingly tiny compared to its outsized mythology.  It’s a small port filled with big yachts and pricey cafés, and you won’t even get to see the famous beaches unless you take a 15-minute cab ride (see interactive map at bottom).  But if you are really set on checking this off your list, here is how to get there and how to make the most of it…

Saint Tropez Beaches

Most first-time visitors to Saint Tropez are surprised to find that the famous topless beaches of ’70’s Riviera lore are nowhere to be found… they’re in Ramatuelle, a 15-minute cab/uber ride away (approx. 20€).  But you’ve come all this way, you might as well go the distance to see the holy grail, Pampelonne Beach, where you can post like an influencer at Le Club 55, drink Champagne like a tech-bro at Byblos Beach, and frolic in the  footsteps of countless celebs (and nepo-babies and C-listers), all while having the most expensive beach day of your life.

(You can also get there for 3€ on the local bus #875, which leaves the port bus station at 12:30 and 2:30pm, and takes 25 minutes …but just don’t let anyone see you.)

Alternately, if you just want that all-important Instagram post from ‘the beach in Saint Tropez’ and just need it to be technically true, walk around the port to the right, past the old town, and then follow the path for about 10 minutes and you’ll come to a tiny swatch of public beach where you can slip on that bikini, slide into the sea, pouty smile, and voila: hashtag #SaintTropezBeach.  Lol.

What to do in Saint Tropez

When in Saint Trop do as the Tropeziennes do: splurge for a fabulous lunch.  Here are some expert recommendations for a memorable meal from my good friend Lanie Goodman for Conde Nast Traveller

‘Window shopping’ in French is lèche-vitrine… literally, to lick the windows!  Well you’ve come to the right place for that with bakeries displaying Tarte Tropezienne, tiny boutiques with one-of-a-kind creations, plus all the luxury and designer shops that one would expect. Lanie recommends a stop at KJacques Sandlemakers and Mana Saint Tropez accessories.

If you’re on a budget, or even if you’re not, check out the morning market just of the Place des Lices in the middle of town, where you will find food, clothes, and an all-day antique market on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Then head back to the port and walk all the way out to the lighthouse at the tip of the breakwater for a million dollar photo, then head to Kelly’s Pub La Grotte where you can have a laugh with the yacht crews, before heading out to the ‘technically’ Saint-Tropez beach, Plage de Graniers.

Museums

The museum L’Annonciade is not to be missed. In this former fishermen’s chapel, right on the port of Saint Tropez, you’ll find a veritable who’s who of the post-impressionist period that is so intertwined with the image of the South of France: Matisse, Bonnard, Braque, Seurat, Luce, Modigliani, Dufy, Rodin…  The museum is tucked into the corner of the port and is on your way to/from the boat.  It’s open from 10am-6pm (7pm Jul-Sept) every day but Monday, costs 4-6€, and won’t take long to do, but you will be glad you did.

Another museum worth checking out is the Gendarmerie Cinema Museum, where the 1964 film The Gendarme of Saint-Tropez with Brigitte Bardot was filmed.  After the filming she decided to make Saint-Tropez her home, and the rest is history.  I recommend renting or streaming this fun French farce (with subtitles) before you visit. 5€

With Ms Bardot’s recent death at 91, her home, La Madrague, which was also the headquarters for her animal rights foundation, is being turned into a Brigitte Bardot museum.  No word yet when it will be completed, but when it does it will be a obligatory stop.

Very odd, but a Saint-Tropez institution none the less, is the quirky Butterfly Museum/La Maison de Papillons, with 35,000 beautiful specimens displayed in a private home.  2€ admission, 17 rue Etienne Berny.

Sporty types can do the short (15 minute, but uphill)  hike up to the ancient fortress The Citadelle and maritime museum.  From there (or from the port) take a 30 minute walk up to the Sainte-Anne chapel, where Mick and Bianca Jagger married, for one of the best views of the Saint-Tropez bay and Pampelonne beaches.   And from here, if you look south-east, you’ll see the Airelles Chateau de La Messardiere where the next White Lotus will be set.  If you are a White Lotus fan, have a car, and a high credit limit, book a lunch there and see the place for yourself!  Here’s a blog post of that very subject!

Check out the Saint Tropez Tourist Office site for more ideas…

Winter in Saint Tropez

The town is pretty much zipped up in the winter, but there is one notable winter event, the Grande Braderie de Saint Tropez the last weekend of October, when all the shops pull their wares onto the sidewalk and mark it all down to clear-out prices.   Even the boat from Nice to Saint Tropez, normally closed in winter, runs a special boat on this weekend, ferrying boatloads of bargain hunters to the shores of normally trop cher St Trop.

How to get to Saint Tropez from Nice

Don’t even think of taking a car in the summer… unless you leave before the crack-o-dawn, the bumper-to-bumper traffic for the last 10 miles will add a stifling hour-and-a-half to your already 2-hour drive, and you’ll arrive annoyed and exhausted.

There is really only one logical way to get there from Nice, and that’s by boat.

The boat from Nice to Saint Tropez runs every day during the summer, and Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday all the rest of the year.   At 80€ round-trip (66€ for kids), it seems like quite a lot, but when you consider the breathtaking coastal cruise that goes along with it, it is actually quite a bargain.

The boat leaves at 9am from quai Lunel in the Nice Port, and the 2 1/2 hour trip is a relaxing cruise with amazing views of the red cliffs of the Esterel punctuated by luxurious villas visible only by sea, and if you are lucky you might even be treated to a dolphin sighting, as they enjoy jumping and frolicking in the boat’s wake!

At 11:30am you arrive at the Port of Saint Tropez and have 5 hours to explore/gawk/eat/shop and people-watch before you have to catch the boat back at 4:30pm.

Alternately, you can also get to Saint Tropez by taking the train to Saint Raphael (very scenic) for around 31€ round-trip (can be much less if you get a discount train pass, or much faster if you take the TGV for as little as 34€ round trip), and then catch the express boat to Saint Tropez (late April through October) which only takes an hour and will cost 42€ round-trip (20€ for kids). This itinerary will cost a little less, cut your time spent at-sea, and give you more flexibility on return times. Click here for more on the Coastal Trains and links to the train schedule for Saint Raphael.

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Photo credit: Saint Tropez Harbor by Myosotismail licensed under creative commons.