St Tropez - The French Riviera

St Tropez – The French Riviera

Take a walk round St Tropez, and you will be muttering two things: pretty, pretty, pretty and money, money money. St Tropez is a beautiful town but blame Brigitte Bardot for the crowds. The French movie star made this a de riguer destination of the jet set, and the crowds came flocking. The marina boasts a staggering collection of insanely expensive boats and the quay side has a no less impressive collections of Ferraris crawling down the street in the hope that someone will notice them.

The quay is lined with a great selection of cafés and bars, fueling the main reason for going to St Tropez: the people watching. Thousands come here every year for just that reason, a drink on the quayside in the hope of spotting someone or being spotted. It really is s beautiful town, but this far outweighs the town itself.

Just about every movie star on the planet has been here, is going to come here, or wants to come. The nightlife is electric and this is a good celebrity-spotting town.

The best beaches are outside the town in Le Baie de Pampelonne. Many of the beaches are private, many are expensive/exclusive and need to be booked during the season and some of them are nudist, so make sure you know which is which before booking a spot.

Some beaches to check out are here and there are links to their websites.

The best of the “clothing optional” beaches is the Tahiti, but they do not have a website.

One of the interesting things about St Tropez is that it was here that infamous (or famous depending on your perspective) American photographer Jock Sturges photographed many of his nude images. Sturges’ work often features naked young girls and boys, and he has oft been accused of child pornography. There is a link to some of his work below. Take a look and you can make your own decision.

For myself, I find St Tropez far too busy for comfort, but if you want to take a look at some very expensive boats and be seen in the most prestigious café society in France, this is the place to do it. As with most of the French Riviera, petty crime is a constant pain. Do not leave any valuables in your car, keep a close eye on your purse or camera bag and don’t leave any thing of value out of reach, it will disappear. I have made a few other related hubs and you can find them here: