The Saint-Tropez Guide
Saint-Tropez is one of those places I always find reasons to come back to. I have been in both May and July, and they are completely different versions of the same town. This is not meant to be a list of every restaurant or beach club in Saint-Tropez. These are the places I actually go back to, what I order, and the things I wish I knew before my first trip.
A note on the prices. I have put a rough price tier next to each place, based on what one person would typically spend. € is under 20 euros, €€ is 20 to 50, €€€ is 50 to 100, and €€€€ is 100 and up. Beach club chairs are charged separately, and I have said what I paid where I know it.
The Best Time to Visit Saint-Tropez
Late May into early June is my favorite time to be here. The days are usually in the 70s, everything is open, and it is before the July and August crowds arrive. Restaurants and beach clubs are easier to get into, the town is more walkable, and it still feels like a real place rather than a scene.
The one thing I underestimated my first time was how cool it gets at night. May evenings can drop into the high 50s and low 60s, so bring a sweater. The sea is also still pretty cold. It is technically swimmable, but I am usually the one on the chair.
July and August are warmer, including the water, but that comes with more traffic, crowds, and much harder reservations.
September is the other month I would choose, the water is still warm from summer.
Where to Stay in Saint-Tropez
Where you stay makes a big difference here. Stay near the port if you want to be able to walk to coffee, shopping, restaurants, and drinks. Staying farther outside town gives you more space, quiet, and views, but you will rely more on Ubers or hotel transportation. Ramatuelle and the Pampelonne Beach area put you closer to the beach clubs but farther from the port.
Villa Belrose
Up in the hills of Gassin, about a five-minute drive above the port. It has only 39 rooms and feels quiet and completely removed from the noise of town, which matters more than you would think in July.
La Tartane is 27 rooms on Chemin des Salins, over on the beach side of Saint-Tropez rather than up in the hills. The hotel itself is very cute and peaceful, I loved it. I paid around 800 euros a night in June, and I would absolutely stay there again. The breakfast was fantastic and the room service was some of the best I have had. They also run a car into town whenever you need it, which is the thing that makes staying slightly outside the center work.
The restaurant at the hotel is Gaia, with tables set between the pool and the gardens with nothing over it but sky. The dress code is smart elegant, so no shorts and no beachwear even though the pool is right there. It runs for the summer season rather than year round, and you book through the hotel or on SevenRooms. For dessert I recommend the frozen yogurt with honey. This sits on a list of some of my top favorite deserts ever. If you've tried it at another Gaia location then you already know.
For breakfast I recommend the tarte tropézienne! A classic Saint-Tropez dessert, a brioche split and filled with pastry cream and buttercream with pearl sugar on top, invented in town in the fifties and named by Brigitte Bardot. Order one.
Coffee + Breakfast
My favorite little cafe for a takeaway coffee. I like having somewhere easy to stop in the morning before walking around town, and Café Gaby is my go-to. They open at 9am - I would know i'm always the first one at opening.
JU €
JU is a juice bar and I go basically every day when I am in Saint-Tropez. Their fresh juices are some of the best I have ever had, and it has become one of those little routines I look forward to when I am here.
MAMÉ €€
MAMÉ is right next door to JU and one of my favorite breakfast spots. All of the food feels clean and nutritious, the inside is a vibe, and they make great lattes. Come here when you want an actual breakfast rather than just grabbing coffee and leaving.
Lunch + Snacks
Aux Deux Freres Boulangerie €
The perfect spot to grab a pastry or sandwich before heading to the beach. My friend and I stumbled upon this family bakery on accident and I am so glad we did. When taking a walk in the old town we couldn't help each get a delicious looking sandwich displayed in the window.
order: a sandwich
Café de Paris €€€
I love Café de Paris for a morning coffee, but I also come here for lunch specifically for the crispy chicken Caesar. It is my favorite crispy chicken Caesar I have ever had. There is something about the battered chicken cutlets and the way the chef makes them that I have never found anywhere else. I know ordering a Caesar salad in Saint-Tropez is not exactly groundbreaking, but trust me on this one. I think about this salad often.
Order: the crispy chicken Caesar.
Dinner
Cherry €€€€
Cherry is one of my favorite dinner spots because of the location and view. It is walkable from the port, which matters more than you think once you experience Saint-Tropez traffic, and it is an easy one to work into an evening in town.
Order: the limone spaghetti cacio e pepe and the Cherry spicy vodka pasta.
TIGRR €€€
Go to TIGRR for the ambiance and the view. It is magical at night. A Saint Tropez local friend of mine actually recommended me this spot.
The shrimp gyoza were some of the best dumplings I have ever had, and the
sushi was amazing as well. We got lucky in May and walked in without a reservation, which I would not count on in July.
You can walk here from the port, but it is a farther walk and uphill, so keep that in mind when choosing your shoes.
Order: the shrimp gyoza and the sushi.
Les Moulins €€€€
Les Moulins has amazing seafood and such a good atmosphere. It has an outdoor Provençal feel, and there is usually a pétanque game going on that you can either join or just watch while you eat.
The crowd feels classy, and the ambiance makes dinner feel like an entire night out rather than somewhere you just go to eat.
We had the lobster pasta and the oysters. Both were a 10 out of 10.
Order: the lobster pasta and the oysters.
Jaïs Ramatuelle €€€€
Jaïs is 100% worth leaving Saint Tropez for one night. I had some of the best food I have ever had here, and the entire setting is gorgeous. It is also an amazing place for photos. We ordered the shrimp with caviar on top and the pasta with wagyu cecina and caviar.
The vibe is definitely more sceney. For example, LeBron James was sitting at the table next to me the night I went in July, which gives you a pretty good idea of the scene. If you are here in July, do not be surprised if you see someone you recognize.
Reservations can be difficult, so book well in advance.
Also, bring a sweater. I did not, got freezing, and asked our waiter for a cup of hot water about four times before one finally appeared. Learn from me.
Order: the shrimp with caviar and the linguine with wagyu cecina and caviar.
Beach Clubs
Gigi Rigolatto €€€€
Gigi is probably my favorite beach club aesthetically. It is so beautiful.
The staff was incredibly attentive when I went, and I paid around €250 for two pool chairs for the day, which I actually thought was very reasonable for the experience and for Saint-Tropez. If you want the beautiful Saint-Tropez beach-club day you have pictured in your head, this is the spot.
Bring your camera and order a coconut.
Order: a pina colada.
Loulou Ramatuelle €€€€
Lou lou is worth the hype in my opinion. What I like about it is that it still feels very classy. It is lively without feeling like you have accidentally signed up for an all day party. We got the spaghetti and it was amazing. I would absolutely go back.
Order: the spaghetti.
La Bouillabaisse Plage is my underrated pick.
It is much easier and more affordable than some of the bigger-name beach clubs, and you can actually walk here from the port if traffic is terrible.
The beach chairs are reasonably priced, and they have the best shrimp and avocado tacos I have ever had. The pasta was also delicious. This is one of those more laid back places my friends and I always go back to.
Order: the shrimp and avocado tacos.
Drinks + Ice Cream at the Port
Sénéquier €€€
Do Sénéquier for drinks at least one night.
It is right on the port with a beautiful view of the yachts, and it is one of those places where sitting outside and watching everything happening around you is the fun part. They also have great desserts.
Barbarac €
The best gelato I have had at the port. An easy stop while you are walking around. Amarena (Cherry flavor) is my same choice every year.
Place des Lices Market
The market at Place des Lices is the daytime activity I would build a morning in Saint Tropez around.
It runs Tuesday and Saturday mornings, and it is a proper Provençal market rather than a tourist version of one. There are over a hundred vendors selling produce, cheese, olives, tapenade, cured meat, flowers, soap, linens, hats, jewelry, and vintage. It takes over the whole square under the plane trees.
Go early. It winds down by early afternoon.
If your hotel has a kitchen or a terrace, this is where you get lunch. If not, it is still worth walking through for the flowers and the produce alone, and the square is where the pétanque games happen the rest of the week.
Shopping + My French Pharmacy Stop
There is a Sephora right in the center of the port, which I inevitably end up in at some point.
Pharmacie Bourdeleix et Serrailler
2 avenue du Général Leclerc.
I always stop here while I am in town to stock up on European skincare and beauty products that are harder or impossible to find in the US. They have everything you could need. If you are into beauty, leave a little room in your suitcase.
What I Packed
Linen pants. I lived in these during the day, and they still felt put together enough to wear to lunch.
Elegant dresses. Saint-Tropez dinners are dressier than the daytime, and I would rather bring one too many than get there and feel underdressed at a table I waited weeks for.
A sun hat. Obviously.
A white sweater. It goes with everything I bring, and I reached for it almost every evening. This is the piece I would not leave behind in May.
Comfortable flat sandals. Between the traffic and the cobblestones, you walk more here than you expect to.
A book. For beach days and the slow hour before dinner.
Getting Around Saint-Tropez
Personally, I would rather Uber around Saint-Tropez
than rent a car. I rented from SIXT on one trip and was later charged for damage I did not cause. Luckily, I had taken photos of the car when I picked it up and was able to prove the damage was already there, so the charges were dropped. If you do rent a car, photograph and video every side of it before you leave the rental lot. Do not assume a tiny scratch is too insignificant to document. Traffic is also a major factor here, especially during peak season. Sometimes walking really is faster.
For my departure, I scheduled my Uber the night before to take me to Nice Airport. My driver arrived early, and I gave myself plenty of time for the drive, which can easily take around two hours depending on traffic. I would much rather have airport transportation arranged the night before than wake up and hope I can find a car for that distance.
Notes from Hailey
Bring something warm for dinner if you are visiting in May. I have made the mistake more than once of dressing for how Saint-Tropez feels during the day and then freezing at dinner.
July is a completely different experience. Expect crowds, traffic, harder reservations, and a much more sceney atmosphere. It is also when you are more likely to spot celebrities.
Book the restaurants and beach clubs you really care about before you arrive. I would not leave somewhere like Jaïs until the last minute. Walk when you can. A restaurant being walkable from the port is a genuine advantage here.
If you rent a car, take photos before you drive it anywhere.
And make time for the little things between reservations. Getting a juice at JU, walking around the port with a coffee, going into the pharmacy, and sitting somewhere watching the yachts are some of my favorite parts of being in Saint-Tropez.
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