Riviera Jewel: the Timeless Beauty of St Tropez by Heidi Fuller-Love

St Tropez won its sultry reputation in 1956 when bombshell Brigitte Bardot frolicked naked on Pampelonne beach for Vadim’s movie And God Created Woman. When we disembark, this city just across the bay from St Maxime buzzes with life. Big yachts bob at anchor, and their bright hulls reflect the pastel facades of the port’s tall houses. A boulevard fringed with palm trees is the haven of cyclists and street artists and the Cote d’Azur’s beautiful people have rendezvous at the terraces of chic cafes, Le Gorille and Le Senequier.

Spread over less than a square mile, St Tropez’s back streets are an easy stroll. The Misericorde chapel with flying buttresses and a varnished dome mark the entrance to Gambetta Street, where merchants once built their opulent mansions. This lavish avenue leads to the Place des Lices, a 15th century market square shaded by plane trees which is the hub of St Tropez’s old town.

Squeezing into seats at the Bistro des Lices, we order crisp, crayfish salad. After lazy lunch we treasure-hunt through the maze of cobbled alleys jammed between the qua Jean Jaures and the 16th century citadel. Here we find antique merchants vending leather-bound books, copper lamps and vintage luggage alongside boutiques selling Dior, Prada and Gucci.

French impressionists flocked to paint St Tropez, so we carry our shopping bags to the Annonciade Chapel where we’re dazzled by the collection of oeuvres signed by Matisse, Signac, Derain and Dufy. A beret-clad curator tells us that the city’s beach scene focuses on the fashionable Tahiti plage. “The night scene happens round the old harbor,” he says.

As the sun sets over St Tropez we shake sand from our shoes and sink into plush red sofas at the Cafe de Paris. Ordering martinis at the long zinc bar, I hope to spot celebrated aficionados Kate Moss or Barbara Streisand. Through the gilt edged window St Tropez is a wash of color. The ‘Riviera’s Jewel’ looks like Paul Signac’s pointillist representation painted in 1900. “Life has changed since BB shocked the world, but the beauty of St Tropez is timeless,” I say to no-one in particular.