Unmissable Attractions in St Tropez

Saint Tropez from the sea, quartier de la Ponche | Robert Aardenburg | Unsplash | Robert Aardenburg | Unsplash

This large church presides over the whole town and it’s well worth a visit. You’re not allowed to take photos but there is some lovely artwork inside. The views from the top of the hill are stunning.

This is the most photographed beach in town, just at the foot of the old fishing district of La Ponche.

The penitent monks of St Tropez built an old chapel in 1510 where they looked after returning prisoners of war. It’s a beautiful building. Now it houses the art museum specialising in art from the early half of the 20th century, particularly by Paul Signac. Small but beautifully formed.

St Tropez originally had four towers built along the coastline to protect it from a sea invasion. The Tour de Portalet is the one that is in best condition.

This beach is only one of three that is actually in St Tropez – most of the beaches are slightly out of town. It has a lovely restaurant and beach bar and is a good alternative if you don’t want to brave the summer traffic

St Tropez has a rich film history. Several classic movies were filmed here and the film industry – thanks to Brigitte Bardot – put St Tropez on the map. The old police headquarters, the “gendarmerie” used to be housed in this building but now it’s home to the Museum of Police and Cinema. There is a link – the highest grossing movie of 1964 in France was “The Troops of St Tropez” about a police officer transferred into town to deal with nudists and his errant daughter. Charming and cute.

The Citadel was the fortress built to protect St Tropez from attack, but it was decommissioned when modern ammunition became too powerful for it to withstand. It now offers great views over the entire town and bay beyond.

St Tropez has a rich maritime heritage to discover. The Citadel was built in the 17th century after the King sent his engineer to oversee work to build a fortress that could fend off an attack. The citadel was turned into a naval museum in the 1950s and now celebrates the lives of locals who worked and fought on the seas. The museum is housed in the dungeons, which have been protected since 1921, but the entire site received protected status in 1995.

The coastline is wonderful around St Tropez – full of rugged walkways and little paths that open out into expansive beaches. It’s possible to walk the entire coastline for miles and miles (the “littoral”), stopping on the way at the Cap Camarat lighthouse before taking in the nudist beach at Tahiti Beach and ending up at a lovely beachside restaurant.

This beach is just round the coastal road from the centre of St Tropez and a gloriously wild alternative to other, more commercial, beaches. It has sun loungers for hire.

It’s the most obvious choice but a visit to St Tropez is not complete without visiting the most famous of its beaches and the place that put St Tropez on the map. Brigitte Bardot arrived on the beach to film key scenes of her movie “And God… Created Woman” in the 1950s. They built a shack to house the crew, the Club 55, which is still the place to have dinner and celebrity-spot. The film made her – and the beach – a star.

When Brigitte Bardot and the film crew first went to Pampelonne beach to shoot their movie, they erected a makeshift hut on the beach to feed everyone. Over time it has become more of a permanent structure but is still the place to have an idyllic lunch with price tags to match. It’s a key celebrity haunt.

St Tropez has its own dessert that is hugely popular. The “Tarte Tropézienne” was created by a Polish baker in 1955 when he opened a bakery in the centre of town. It was based on the French brioche – but cut into two and filled with cream, using his grandmother’s recipe. He was asked to cater for Brigitte Bardot’s film crew working on Pampelonne beach. She loved his cake, named it and both became immensely popular.

St Tropez is well known for its affleunt visitors and every summer, large yachts moor on the quay and celebrities and the uber-rich drink their cocktails and party until dawn. It’s a great place to have a morning coffee or evening drink, watch the sun go down and people-watch.

If you head south from Pampelonne beach, you’ll find the more relaxed party vibe of Nikki beach. A great place to have dinner, swim and hang out, at one of the many restaurants and beach clubs.

The Butterfly House was set up by painter Dany Lartigue in his home in the garden district in the centre of St Tropez. It showcases more than 35,000 species of butterfly, both native to France and exotic. It’s now looked after and run by the town hall.

This has been ‘clothing optional’ since the 1960s. These days, real nudists tend to head to the actual nudist camps nearby, but you’ll still see the occasional nudist. It has a relaxed atmosphere.

The Cap Camarat lighthouse is the second highest in France and offers amazing views over the bay. Afterwards you can swim on the beach below, called Bonnes Terrasse, or continue further round the coast on an even longer walk. A perfect escape from the parties and living the “high life”.

The beach at the foot of the Cap Camarat lighthouse is worth the hike. Bonne Terrasse is a great place to see peregrine falcons and native French tortoises.

This beautiful cemetery is a perfect final resting spot, nestled on the coast just outside of town. Two seminal movies used it as a location, “La Piscine” and “And God… Created Woman”.

The social life of St Tropez centres around the Old Port. Many of the good restaurants are located here and it’s a great place to have breakfast, an “apéro” (a pre-dinner drink) or a full-blown three-course meal. It’s where the night starts and continues into the early hours with some of the best clubs and bars. It’s a cliché but vital.