Tourist information on Saint-Tropez, France

Saint-Tropez is one of the more glamorous and busier tourist hotspots on the French Riviera, famous for its long sandy beaches and celebrity associations. It lies on a peninsula on the south-east coast of France, 104 km to the east of Marseilles in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Saint-Tropez has acquired a reputation as a pleasure playground for the rich and famous, but whilst it can get very crowded and expensive in the summer, the town never seems to lose its out-of-the-way Mediterranean charm. Out of season, it makes a very pleasant holiday retreat, offering a wealth of lush natural scenery to explore and a wide range of leisure activities to indulge in, from boules to scuba diving.

St-Tropez originated as a seaport founded by the Greeks of Marseilles. This was destroyed by the Saracens in the 8th century but was subsequently rebuilt and by the 15th century had become a military stronghold. Throughout most of the 18th and 19th centuries, St-Tropez was a thriving commercial port, although, by the end of the 19th century it had fallen into decline and had become a sleepy fishing village. When he happened upon the town in 1892, the neo-impressionist painter Paul Signac fell in love with it and established his art studio here. At his invitation, other artists came to the town - such distinguished names as Matisse, Bonnard, Marquet, Dufy, Seurat and Van Dongen. In the early decades of the 20th century, St-Tropez had something of the reputation of Paris's Left Bank, a favourite haunt for Bohemians and avant-garde artists, including Coco Chanel and Jean Cocteau. In August 1944, St-Tropez was the landing point for the Allied invasion of southern France and was the first town in the region to be liberated from the Germans. In the late 1950s, St-Tropez's image was completely transformed, thanks to the film And God Created Woman (Et Dieu... créa la femme) and the actress who starred in it, Brigitte Bardot. St-Tropez became the hub of the sexual revolution that transformed western society in the 1960s, achieving notoriety with its nude beaches and hedonistic culture. High-profile writers, artists, politicians and movie stars thronged to the town and it soon acquired its elite glamour status. For most tourists, celebrity spotting was as much a part of the appeal of St-Tropez as its golden beaches and deep blue Mediterranean waters. Not much has changed since.

The main attraction of St-Tropez is of course its beaches. The best-known of these is Pampelonne Beach, which lies to the south of the town and stretches for five glorious miles. With a promenade lined with bars and restaurants which remain open late into the evening, this is one of the most popular areas of St-Tropez, although it can be extremely crowded in the summer. Tahiti Beach is exclusively for the money burners and accommodates some of the most expensive restaurants on the Riviera. St-Tropez's other main attraction is its ancient fortifications, most of which are situated in the vicinity of the old harbour. These include the 16th century Citadel, a well-preserved fortress which now houses the Naval Museum, and three tall defensive towers which offer fantastic views of the town and the coast. Place aux Herbes is the busiest of St-Tropez's many squares and is usually occupied by a lively market, a good place to buy local produce and flowers. Another popular square is Place des Lices, which offer some affordable eateries and a chance to relax and watch the world go by.

St-Tropez has only a few museums but what it has are definitely worth a visit. The best of these is the Musée de l'Annonciade, which boasts one of the most interesting collections of paintings on the Côte-d'Azur, mostly with a Riviera or Provence theme. Situated near the old port, in the 16th century Chapelle Notre-Dame de l'Annonciade, the collection includes work by such distinguished artists as Bonnard, Matisse, Seurat, Signac and Utrillo. The 10th century Château Suffren, one of town's oldest buildings, also has an appealing art gallery. The Musée Naval de la Citadelle (located in the Citadelle near the old harbour) is a fascinating naval museum which traces the town's maritime history through a well-mounted display of models and paintings. La Maison des Papillons (Butterfly Museum) not only has an extraordinary collection of butterflies, including exotic specimens from Africa and South America, but also features jewellery and objets d'art with a butterfly theme. This is housed in a country house that once belonged to the famous photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue.

Lacking its own airport and train station, St-Tropez is not as easy to get to as other destinations on the French Riviera. The nearest international airport is Aéroport Nice Côte d'Azur at Nice, 90 km away. The nearest train station is Gare de Saint-Raphaël-Valescure, at St-Raphael, 38 km away, and provides connections to several French cities, including a high speed (TGV) line that serves Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Nice. A frequent bus service operates between St-Raphael and St-Tropez.