For more information and to book please visit www.mrandmrssmith.com or let us arrange your whole trip, by calling +44 (0)20 8987 4312 or from the USA dial 1 866 610 3867.
Under a hot Tropezian sun, the Dior-sunglassed brigade poses on the promenade before the refulgent gleam of super-yachts and super-tans. Honeymooners, movie-stars and millionaire movers ’n’ shakers alike mingle in slinky cocktail lounges – while the cream of the die-hard St Tropez party crop soaks each other with champagne at Nikki Beach club. But as helicopters drop A-listers at the hottest parties in town, step back a little, away from the port, and a different Riviera light shines through. Cue ultra-relaxed St Tropez; with its clicking of pétanque balls in sandy, tree-lined squares, and dusty French cafés packed with locals supping pastis. From the stylishly simple to the downright ostentatious, this town’s contradicting personalities jostle for space as skillfully as they harmonise each other.
Hire a boat, from €450 a day, from L'Echo Nautique, 6 rue du Clocher (+33 (0)4 94 97 73 66; www.echonautique.com), and remember: in St Tropez, size matters...
Our round-up of the hippest hideaways and romantic boutique hotels in St Tropez
Above St Tropez, Kube Hotel shimmers a sugar-cubed minimalism that’s Miami cool – its urban styling and wow-factor pool creating the perfect party vibe.
Just a stroll from the jet-set nucleus of St Tropez, Hotel Pastis' chalky-chic colour schemes harmonise original Hockneys and Lichtenstein prints, creating a pastel-perfect port-side hideaway.
When the brightly lit bustle of St Tropez gets too much, La Réserve Ramatuelle is your release, offering heart-stoppingly magnificent views over the Med from a crow’s-nest setting just outside the city.
Planes, trains and wheels - we'll tell you the best way to get there.
May Mid-month in St Tropez, processions of sailor-suited locals mark the three-day Bravade festival, a tribute to local patron saints. June St Tropez's Giraglia Cup is a 50-year yacht-racing tradition that's one of the port's busiest regattas. June–July International Polo Cup (www.polo-st-tropez.com); August Ramatuelle jazz festival – featuring international jazz bands (www.jazzfestivalramatuelle.com); September–October Les Voiles de St Tropez – the international yachting competition that sends St Tropez sailing-giddy (www.ot-saint-tropez.com).
On the market square, Place des Lices, this place is a treasure trove of local Tropezians, with an old-fashioned but lively atmosphere that really livens up at night. Wander through to the secret bar and DJ at the back – this is where the party’s really happening.
Place des Lices
Look for the green director chairs outside. With marble tables, well-worn old floorboards and men standing at the bar getting drunk on pastis, this is the French real deal at the back. Lunch is until 3pm, dinner until 12.30am.
Place des Lices
There’s a display chocka with pastries and breads that’s too tempting to pass by. Sip a coffee and nibble on a pastry while you decide which of the vast range of confitures you’re going to take home.
Place des Lices
The most famous café in St Tropez, this portside place is perfect for coffee, lunch or supper. The people-watching tables are at the front, the affair tables are at the back. In the evening, they pull their huge billowing white curtains tightly across the restaurant and give them a UV glow.
15, Quai Suffren
The oldest café in St Tropez, this café has been overlooking the port since 1887. Watch harbour-life go by on red seats that all face outwards, like in a cinema.
Quai Jean Jaurès, Place aux Herbes
For a simple lunchtime pizza, sit on the square, under cover, or inside. With dark red velvet chairs, wooden floorboards and music pumping from the next restaurant along, this place is a feast of tagliatelle and pizza specialities. Smith loved: the mushroom risotto – around €17.
Place des Lices
This down-to-earth Provençal restaurant and cigar bar is welcome respite from the designer Dior and DVF stores down below. Downstairs is a bar with green chequered floor tiles, draught beer and a big fat box of cigars. Creep up the stairs at the back for supper. Warning: you’ll have to book. Grab a table at 9.30pm to soak up the best atmosphere. Dinner is served (no lunch) at 8.30pm–10.30pm.
7 Rue des Commercants
For alfresco French cuisine, under swathes of multi-coloured fabric, with big square candles and moody uplighting, there's little better than this place, which serves lunch until 2pm and dinner until 11pm.
26 Rue des Charrons
Outside, there’s a cool, sexy, green-lit terrace serving barbecued food; inside, there’s a sushi master tucked away in a secret room. This restaurant isn’t open for lunch, but supper is served until midnight.
3, Rue du Temple
For great wine – and busy, traditional French fare that locals approve of, Caprice de Deux is definitely a check-box to tick off.
40, Rue Portail Neuf
This dark, cosy hideaway is perfect for a lunchtime affair. Opposite is another similarly tiny restaurant called Le Petit Charron – also worth a look.
1–3 Rue de Charrons
For a pizza while you’re yacht-spotting, or simply a crème caramel and coffee, La Rhumerie restaurant has the perfect portside position – and serves cocktails throughout the day.
Quai Jean Jaures
Cavort with A-listers and Tropezian movers ‘n’ shakers at this legendary beach club on Pampelonne beach. Open daily for lunch on the terrace; booking is essential. As is the tiniest bikini/speedo combination and keen eye for P Diddy-spotting.
Plage de Pampelonne, Boulevard Patch, Ramatuelle
Off the beaten glamorous St Tropez track, La Méditerranée is a tiny bar with a tiled floor and shaky old tables – and a little garden with a strangely-parked old mini and Gaudi-esque trees. Whether you’re there for the carpaccio de boeuf and tartare frites maison, or just a beer at the bar, this hidden gem is a restaurant with French soul.
21 Boulevard Louis Blanc, Place de la Croix de Fer
With hugely successful sister restaurants Joseph L’Escale and Le Grand Joseph, this black and white cocktail bar is a dramatic waterfront medley of huge white lilies, a huge marble bar – and it’s famous black sand floor. (Le Grand Joseph’s floor is white sand.)
Quai Jean Jaurès, Saint Tropez, France
With the best balcony seats in St Tropez, this bar above Café de Paris is perfect for yacht-watching and boob job-spotting on the promenade down below. Inside, with its dusty sailing boat models everywhere, you feel as if you’re in a big wooden boat yourself. Especially after trying the vast collection of single malts tucked behind the bar. The balcony seats can’t be booked, so turn up early.
15, Quai de Suffren
Drink and dance until dawn at Le Pigeonnier. With a mostly gay and lesbian crowd, it may only be small, but it’s open until 5am.
13, Rue de la Ponche
It’s not unusual to see stars on the dancefloor. Paris Hilton, Beyonce and Elton John have all partied at this legendary St Trop hotspot that's open from midnight until dawn.
Résidences du Nouveau Port
©2009 Mr & Mrs Smith
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