Saint Tropez
One of the most famous places at the Côte d'Azur
Categories: Saint Tropez Cote dAzur France Mediterranean region
Saint Tropez is, with barely four and a half thousand inhabitants, by far not the biggest, but surely one of the most famous places at the Côte d'Azur. It owes its worldwide reputation as a bathing resort and meeting point of the rich and beautiful people mainly to the numerous celebrities that spent their holidays here since the 1950s. At the end of the 19th century, artists such as Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse and Paul Signac had already discovered the beauty of this place, which until then had only been a small fishing village.
© Rolf G. Wackenberg / Fotolia
Today Saint Tropez is not only a popular destination for summer guests and beach holidaymakers, but also for all those who want to enjoy the mild Mediterranean climate and Mediterranean way of life outside the summer season.
The most famous sights are the relatively large marina and the old harbour with the pier, the hexagonal citadel from the 16th century situated above the town, the Musée de l'Annonciade with its collection of 19th and 20th century works of art and the church Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Saint-Tropez, whose tower is the town's landmark.
The citadel is not only worth a visit because of the museum of local and maritime history located there, but also offers a fascinating panoramic view over Saint Tropez and its surroundings.
Thanks to its many prominent guests, beach clubs such as the Aqua Club, Bagatelle Beach, Club 55, Nikki Beach and Tahiti Plage have achieved worldwide fame and for many people are inseparably linked to Saint Tropez, although strictly speaking they are already on the territory of the neighbouring municipality of Ramatuelle.
By the way, this is also the case of the Plage de Pampelonne that extends from the Cap Amarat up to the Cap Pinet and that is considered to be the biggest sand beach of the Côte d'Azur with a length of 4,5 kilometres. In Saint Tropez, numerous elegant boutiques, galleries and first-class restaurants invite to do some shopping and/or to enjoy aesthetic and culinary delights.
Among the numerous excursion destinations that can be easily reached from Saint Tropez are Cannes, Nice and Monaco along the coast to the east and Toulon, Cassis, Marseille and the Parc National des Calanques to the west. 
© Christian Delbert / Fotolia
The latter is the youngest French national park so far and impresses with its fjord-like bays whose water shines in a bright turquoise blue between the surrounding light limestone rocks.
Those who are willing to go a little further can also make day trips to Aix-en-Provence and Avignon or explore the coastal towns on the Italian side - like Sanremo and Imperia. Moreover, from Saint Tropez, it is not far up to the Alps that in this region are relatively close to the Mediterranean coast.
