Saint-Tropez Villa Rentals in France
The town looks north, across its own gulf, rather than out to open sea. Locals will tell you that's why the light is softer here than further east. It started as a fishing port. It still has one, the Vieux Port, with pastel houses stacked straight up behind the boats. Our twelve villas are on the hills and lanes around the town, five to eleven bedrooms, a few minutes' drive from the long sand of Pampelonne.
12 villas · 5 to 11 bedrooms · up to 22 guests
Villas in Saint-Tropez
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Life in Saint-Tropez
The harbour first thing
Get down to the Vieux Port before nine. The fishing boats are in, a couple of crew are hosing down the decks of the big yachts moored stern-to along the quay, and you can actually walk without dodging anyone. Coffee at a table facing the water, the pastel fronts going gold. By eleven it's a different place. Crowded, loud, cameras out. Early is when the old fishing port still feels like itself.
Place des Lices market
On Tuesday and Saturday mornings the Place des Lices fills with stalls under the plane trees: peaches, goat's cheese, olives by the scoop, linen, the odd antique. Get there by half past eight in July or you'll be shuffling. In the afternoon the square goes back to the pétanque players, older men mostly, who've been playing there longer than anyone can remember. Watching is allowed. Commentary isn't, really.
Over the hill to Pampelonne
Pampelonne is just over the hill, in Ramatuelle, about five kilometres of pale sand facing the open sea. Parts of it are lined with beach clubs. Other stretches are public and much calmer, and families tend to set up there early with a parasol and a cool box. The water is clearer than people expect. Go in the morning, honestly, because parking along the beach roads gets tricky by noon.
Evenings in the old town
Once the day boats are back, the old town is the place to wander. Walk up through La Ponche, the old fishermen's quarter, to the little coves under the walls, then on up to the Citadelle for a view over the roofs. It's a seventeenth-century fort and it houses a maritime museum now. Down below the port lights up. In August you'll be lucky to find a gap on the quay to stand in.
Nearby in the French Riviera
Distances are straight lines on the map; the drive through the mountains is longer.
When to go
July and August are hot, packed and noisy. Come in May, June or September and the water's still warm, with space on the sand. The season winds down in October.
Before you go
What guests ask us most before a stay in Saint-Tropez.
How far is Saint-Tropez from Nice airport?
On a clear road, around 1 hour 30 minutes by car. In July and August it can take two or three hours, mostly because of the single road onto the peninsula. Toulon-Hyères is closer, around 50 minutes, with fewer flights. There's also the helicopter from Nice, around 20 to 30 minutes in the air.
Which beaches are closest?
When people say the beach, they usually mean Pampelonne. It's just over the hill in Ramatuelle, around five kilometres of sand on the open sea. Closer in, there are little beaches and rocky coves around the town itself, below La Ponche and along the coast path. Which is nearest depends on the villa, so ask us when you're choosing.
Is it very busy in July and August?
Yes, very. The port fills with yachts, the beach clubs run flat out and the roads onto the peninsula jam, especially at weekends. Plenty of people love it like that. If you don't, come in June or September. The sea's still warm, the market's still on and you can get a table without much fuss.
Do we need a car?
Nearly everyone has one. The villas are spread across the hills, the beaches are a drive away and there are not many buses. In high summer, though, parking in town is hard, so many people drive to the edge and walk in, or take a taxi in the evening. A car also makes day trips to the hill villages easy.
When does the season start and end?
Roughly from Easter to the end of October. May and June warm up quickly, July and August are the peak, and September is many regulars' favourite month, with Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, the regatta for classic and modern yachts, running from the end of it into early October. By November a lot of the town has closed until spring.
Planning a stay in Saint-Tropez?
Send us your dates and who's coming. Town or vines, say which, and we'll pick out the villas we think suit.