Saint-Tropez walking tour & city guide

The old port and La Ponche

The Vieux Port is the stage of Saint-Tropez: pink, yellow and orange houses face a harbor packed with yachts, while painters set up their easels along the quay. The Musée de l'Annonciade, in a former chapel by the port, displays paintings of the town by Signac, Matisse and other artists who worked here.

Behind the port, La Ponche is the old fishermen's quarter, with lanes leading down to a tiny beach. The bell tower of the Church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption, painted yellow and orange, rises above the rooftops.

The citadel and Place des Lices

On the hill above town, the 17th-century citadel offers wide views over the Gulf of Saint-Tropez and houses a maritime history museum. Back in town, the Place des Lices is a large square shaded by plane trees, where locals play pétanque and a famous market is held on Tuesday and Saturday mornings.

A classic walk through Saint-Tropez

Start at the Vieux Port and the Annonciade museum, walk to the end of the harbor wall for the view back to town, then enter La Ponche and its little beach. Climb up to the citadel for the views, then wander back down through the lanes to the Place des Lices.

The walk is about 3 kilometers. For more, the coastal path heads east along the sea toward the beaches.

Visiting tips

In July and August the road into town is often jammed, so many visitors arrive by boat from Sainte-Maxime or Saint-Raphaël. The famous beaches of Pampelonne are a few kilometers south, in Ramatuelle. Spring and early autumn are calmer and still warm.