The Beauty Of St Tropez Captured On Film

St Tropez’s sublime landscapes, wonderful architecture and sunny climate have been used as a backdrop to many movies that helped put St Tropez on the map. Here’s our guide on where to find the places that featured in many seminal films.

1. Pampelonne Beach

In the 1950s, Brigitte Bardot arrived in St Tropez, with her then-husband, 28-year-old Roger Vadim. The town was relatively unknown and so was Bardot. It was the film they made, And God Created Woman, that threw her and St Tropez into the spotlight.

Brigitte Bardot was the epitome of French glamour and St Tropez became the place to share it | © Juliana Dacoregio/Flickr

2. Cimetière Marin de St Tropez

Cemetery, Swimming Pool

The cemetery at St Tropez is on the headland just outside the town centre. It’s a beautiful location, permanently captured in celluloid in two movies. And God Created Woman in 1956 (“Et Dieu… Crea La Femme“) and La Piscine (The Swimming Pool) in 1969.La Piscine was a movie with Romy Schneider, Alain Delon and Jane Birkin. This classic tells the story of a couple in St Tropez, Jean-Paul and Marianne, who are visited by another man, Harry and his teenage daughter, Penelope. During the course of their stay it becomes clear that Harry is a former lover of Marianne and they begin to rekindle a relationship. Meanwhile Jean-Paul and the teenage daughter spend a day at the beach and become romantically close. The drama reaches a conclusion when both men find out.The film was released in English and French and became a cult classic. It was remade to critical acclaim in the 2015 film, A Bigger Splash, with Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes. Scenes of both films were shot at the cemetery and what’s more, the Director of And God Created Woman, Roger Vadim now lives there permanently – he was buried there upon his death in 2000.

3. La Gendarmerie de St Tropez

Building, Cinema, Museum

The Troops of St Tropez (“Les Gendarmes de St Tropez“) was the highest grossing film in France in 1964. It’s a comedy featuring Louis de Funès, who plays a “gendarme” (policeman) called Ludovic Cruchot, who is reassigned to St Tropez from a small village.He has two problems – his runaway teenage daughter and a group of persistent nudists who are threatening to disturb the seaside town. The film features many locations in town, but most pertinently, the old police station. This beautiful building now houses the quirky Musée de la Gendarmerie et du Cinéma, which celebrates the town’s relationship with films and the Police. The film was huge and spawned a number of different movies, including The Policeman & Creatures From Outer Space.

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