Why Choose St Tropez?

Whilst there's no denying the 'hype' that has surrounded St Tropez since it's 1950's heyday, there can be no denying that this famous old town remains a compelling location and renting a villa in Saint Tropez makes for a great holiday.. From glamorous nightclubs to intimate cafés, designer boutiques to weekly flea markets, St Tropez has something to appeal to all tastes, though admittedly, not all budgets!

Behind the glamorous façades of St Tropez' boutiques and cafés lies a quaint old town of narrow cobbled streets and pastel coloured buildings. The greater part of St Tropez' buildings date from the 18th and 19th centuries, during which the city became established as the largest commercial port in France.

By the 1920's the role of the port had begun to diminish and, as is the case with many formerly industrial areas, the town began to attract a large number of creative professionals, including a number of celebrated fashion designers.

By the 1950's the town had become a major 'hang-out' for all manner of bohemians and it was this version of St Tropez that provided the back-drop to Roger Vadim's film 'Et Dieu…créa la femme'. The film made an overnight star of its heroine, Brigitte Bardot, and soon elevated the city itself to a similar level of fame.

The sheer opulence of St Tropez is probably best represented by the hundreds of gleaming white yachts that crowd the city's old port. Many of the town's most popular bar's and restaurants occupy the waterfront, including the chic 'Bar du Port', with its gleaming white walls and tables, as well as the more classical Café de Paris.

For those who enjoy a late night party, St Tropez has a number of great, though undoubtedly expensive nightclubs. Papagayo is perhaps the city's most notorious venue and visitors are as likely to be soaked during the spraying of a 300 euro bottle of champagne as they are likely to rub shoulders with a celebrity.

Aside from its reputation as a playground for the rich and famous, St Tropez retains its cultural roots. The city is replete with artwork, from its hundreds of galleries, to the large sculptures that define so many of its public spaces. St Tropez is also home to a number of interesting galleries and museums including the Musée de l'Annonciade, which displays works by Henri Matisse and Paul Signac.

Saint Tropez is surrounded by a number of small beaches and bays including the family friendly Plage de la Bouillabaisse and the Plage des Graniers. The nearby Plage de Pampelonne is the largest and most popular beach in the area, and its 5km of white sand host a range of activities to cater to all tastes.

Pampelonne offers a range of family friendly restaurants, nudist beaches, water-sports, including wind-surfing and scuba-diving, as well as number of exclusive beaches the best known of which are Nikki Beach, Club 55 and La Voile Rouge.

Behind St Tropez rise the Maures Mountains, whose forested hills and valleys provide a great location for hiking, horseback riding and cycling. There are also a number of nearby attractions including the beautiful National Parc du Port Cros and the stunning Gorges du Verdun.

Saint Tropez is within driving distance of a number of airports including Toulon, Marseilles, Cannes, Nice, Avignon, Nimes and Aix-en-Provence, and also has a small airstrip catering for private planes and helicopters.

Unfortunately public transport is limited with the nearest train stations located at Draguignan-les-Arcs and St Raphael. St Tropez is connected to St Raphael by a bus service that runs approximately every two hours.

Perhaps the most spectacular way to travel to St Tropez is by sea. Between May and November a number of ferry operate between St Tropez and Nice, Cannes, St Raphael and Sainte Maxime.