Saint-Tropez: Where It Started

We didn't plan any of this.

Not the travel, not the life we're living now, and definitely not each other. It all started in Saint-Tropez, in the middle of a summer season, in a restaurant kitchen where neither of us particularly wanted to be.

That's where we met. That's where everything changed.

This is our Saint-Tropez — not the one in the brochures, not the yachts and the bottle service and the €30 cocktails. The real one. The one that exists before the tourists wake up, after the season ends, in the villages above the town where nobody goes unless they live there.

The Saint-Tropez Nobody Talks About

Saint-Tropez has a reputation problem. It's become synonymous with a kind of wealth performance that has almost nothing to do with the actual place — the landscape, the light, the Provençal architecture, the fact that it's genuinely, stubbornly beautiful underneath all of it.

We spent a summer here working in hospitality. Long hours, late nights, the kind of exhaustion that makes everything sharper. And in between, we discovered the parts of Saint-Tropez that the people arriving by helicopter never see.

Here's what we found.

The Old Port at 6am

Everyone photographs Saint-Tropez harbour. Almost nobody photographs it early.

Before 8am, before the day-trippers arrive and the yachts wake up, the old port is a completely different place. Fishermen. Quiet. The light doing something extraordinary on the water. The café on the corner already open, the espresso strong, the world still belonging to the people who actually live here.

If you're staying in Saint-Tropez for even one night, set an alarm for this. It's the most honest version of the town.

Place des Lices Market

Tuesday and Saturday mornings. Don't miss it.

Place des Lices is the main square — shaded by plane trees, surrounded by café terraces, and twice a week completely taken over by one of the best markets on the Côte d'Azur. Provençal vegetables, olive oils, local cheeses, ceramics, fresh flowers, and the kind of bread that makes you reconsider everything you thought you knew about bread.

This is where Saint-Tropez locals actually shop. It's also where you'll spend more than you planned, and not regret a single euro.

The Citadelle

Most people walk past the signs. Almost nobody goes up.

The Citadelle de Saint-Tropez sits on the hill above the town — a 17th century fortress with views that take in the entire gulf, the Maures mountains, and on clear days, the Alps in the distance. There's almost never a queue. The walk up takes ten minutes from the port.

Go in the morning. Bring a coffee. Sit on the ramparts and watch the town wake up below you.

Cap Taillat: The Beach the Yachts Can't Reach

This is the one.

Cap Taillat is a narrow peninsula about 15 kilometres from Saint-Tropez, accessible only on foot. No road. No beach bar. No parasols for rent. Just a 45-minute walk through pine forest and maquis, and then a beach that looks like it belongs in Greece — white sand, turquoise water, complete silence except for the sea.

How to get there: Drive to the Gigaro car park near La Croix-Valmer. From there it's a clearly marked coastal path, about 45 minutes each way. Take water. Take lunch. Plan to stay.

Go on a weekday if you can. In July and August even Cap Taillat gets crowds — but nothing like anywhere else on the Riviera. In May, October, early June: you will have stretches of it entirely to yourself.

This was our beach. The one we'd go to on days off, when the season felt too loud and we needed to remember why we were here.

When to Go

May and early June: the best version of Saint-Tropez. Warm enough to swim from mid-May, the crowds haven't arrived, the light is extraordinary, and the town still feels like it belongs to people who live there.

September and October: equally good, maybe better. The season is ending, the tourists are thinning out, the sea is still warm from the summer, and there's a particular melancholy to the Riviera in autumn that is genuinely beautiful.

July and August: we lived it. It's not the real place. Go if you must — the light is still extraordinary — but manage your expectations about crowds, prices, and parking.

How It Fits Into a Bigger Trip

Saint-Tropez is not easy to get to — the nearest train station is Saint-Raphaël, about an hour away by bus or taxi. That's actually part of why it's stayed itself: the lack of a direct train connection filters out the casual day-tripper.

Pairs well with:

• The Calanques near Marseille (2.5 hours west)

• The Esterel coast between Fréjus and Cannes (45 minutes east)

• The Luberon and Provence interior (2 hours north)

• Corsica by ferry from Toulon (the crossing is an experience in itself)

What It Meant to Us

We're not going to over-explain this part.

We met here. We worked the same long hours, complained about the same things, found the same quiet corners of the same beautiful place. Something accumulated, and then it didn't stop.

Now we're nomadic — Courchevel this past winter, the Algarve in autumn, the Indian Ocean coming at the end of May. Tom is going home to La Réunion; I'm meeting his world for the first time. The itinerary is long and getting longer.

But Saint-Tropez is where it started. We'll keep coming back.

The Practical Stuff

Getting there: Train to Saint-Raphaël, then bus 7601 to Saint-Tropez (1h15, runs regularly). Or drive — parking at Port Grimaud and taking the boat shuttle across the gulf is a local trick that saves you the nightmare of parking in town.

Where to stay: Ramatuelle and Gassin have guesthouses and chambres d'hôtes that are dramatically better value than anything in Saint-Tropez itself. You're 15 minutes from everything and you wake up to a different view.

Budget: Saint-Tropez can be expensive or not, depending entirely on your choices. The market, the bakeries, the free beach walks, the free citadelle hike — the best things here cost nothing or almost nothing. The price of the port is optional.

Follow us on Instagram and Pinterest @elitom83 — we document the whole thing, including what doesn't work.

Next stop: La Réunion and Rodrigues Island, end of May.

Ramatuelle and Gassin: Above the Noise

Two villages in the hills above Saint-Tropez. Both worth the detour.

Ramatuelle is the closer one — medieval, perched, with narrow streets that open suddenly onto views of the vineyards and the sea. The restaurants here are real: actual Provençal food at prices that won't make you wince. The Tuesday and Friday markets are smaller than Place des Lices but less touristy.

Gassin is higher and quieter — listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France, which is a title it earns without trying. From the viewing point at the edge of the village, on a clear day, you can see Corsica.

Both are fifteen minutes from Saint-Tropez by car. Both feel like a different world.