Saint Tropez Tours
Saint Tropez Tours › Port Grimaud or Saint Tropez? Which to See, and How to See BothUpdated 2026-09-26

Port Grimaud or Saint Tropez? Which to See, and How to See Both

Hours, prices and access verified by the Saint Tropez Tours team — last checked 2026-09-26.

A hill village's roofs and bell tower above the gulf, the mountains behind

The short answer. See the old port first: it is the one with the citadel, the market and the history. Add Port Grimaud if you have half a day more; it is a canal town built from 1966, and the ferry between the two takes 20 to 25 minutes. The easiest way to do both is a boat or a Saint Tropez day trip that stops in each.

Side by side

The old portThe canal town
What it isA fishing port turned resortA 1960s town built on water
Cost to visitFree; museums €5 eachFree
Time to allowHalf a day to a dayOne to two hours
Best forHistory, the market, the museumsPhotos, a quiet walk, children
How you get thereBus, ferry, or a boat from Nice or CannesFerry from the old port, a boat or a van

The case for the old port

This is the town people mean when they say the name. You walk the quays, climb to the citadel, lose yourself in the lanes of La Ponche and shop at the market on Place des Lices on a Tuesday or Saturday morning. The Annonciade holds the painters who made the place famous. It costs almost nothing, and it rewards a full day.

The trade-off is crowds. In July and August the port is busy from late morning, and the roads in are slow. Things to do in town lists every sight with its price.

The case for the canal town

Port Grimaud sits at the head of the gulf. The architect François Spoerry designed it, and its building permit dates from 14 June 1966. In its first phase, 13 of 22 hectares are water, with 1,100 homes and 834 berths. The houses are painted in soft colours, and the lanes cross the canals on small bridges. It is sold as the Little Venice of France.

It is calmer than the old port and easy with children. Small canal boats take visitors round the water; check the price on the quay, since none is published. An hour or two is enough.

Important. Port Grimaud, the canal town, is not Grimaud, the old hilltop village inland with a ruined keep above it. Both are worth seeing, and the shared van stops in each; check which one your booking means, and see the meeting-point map.

Doing both in one day

You can, and you do not need a car. The Bateaux Verts ferry links the two in 20 to 25 minutes. A good plan:

  • Morning: the old port, the market if it is a Tuesday or Saturday, and the citadel.
  • Lunch: in the town, then the ferry across.
  • Afternoon: an hour or two on the canals, then the ferry back.

If you would rather someone else did the planning, several outings stop in both. The private bay boat runs along the port and then drops you in the canal town for an hour. The shared van spends an hour in the town and half an hour in the canal town, with Grimaud and Gassin besides. The private van spends an hour in each.

Seeing both from the water

The two places look best from a boat, and several private boats pass both. The bay boat spends half an hour along the old port and an hour ashore on the canals. The half-day Pershing 40 runs past the canal town, the port and the citadel from the sea in four hours for up to eight adults, for $1,742 a group plus a fuel surcharge whose amount is not published. Ask for that figure in writing before you book. Our page for a private boat tour Saint Tropez sets every private boat side by side.

What doing both costs

On your own, very little. Both places are free to walk, the museums in the old port are €5 each, and the ferry fare is the only other cost: check it at the ferry office on the day. With a guide, the shared van costs $145 a person and the private van from $170 a person. The bay boat costs $435 for up to six, plus €90 fuel for three hours.

Grimaud, the village on the hill

The third name in this story is Grimaud itself, the old village a short drive inland from the canal town, with a ruined keep above its roofs. The van outings spend an hour there, and the private van adds Port Grimaud on the way back. If you have a car, it makes a good late afternoon after the canals, when the heat has gone out of the day. Without one, a van with a driver-guide is the easy way to see all three in a morning.

Timing your day

The old port is busiest from late morning to late afternoon in summer, and its market fills Place des Lices on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. The canal town is quieter all day. So start in the old port early, while the lanes are cool, and cross to the canals after lunch. The best time to visit shows which months are calmest.

Coming from Nice for the day

From Nice the choice is harder, because the day is long either way. The scheduled boat gives you five hours in the old port and no time for the canal town. The road day from Nice picks you up at your hotel, drives you to the gulf, takes you across by ferry for about four hours in the town, and stops in the canal town on the way home, for $145 a person. Our page of Saint Tropez day trips from Nice and Cannes compares them.

The verdict, by visitor

  • First visit, one day: the old port. Add the canal town only if you have a free afternoon.
  • Families with small children: both, with the canal town in the afternoon.
  • Staying in Sainte-Maxime: both, by ferry, on different days.
  • Coming from Nice: the road day, if the canal town matters to you; the boat, if the old port is enough.
  • On the water anyway: the bay boat, which stops in both.

For the boats that cross the gulf, see our page of Saint Tropez boat tours, and read where to stay if you are choosing a base between the two. Our family guide covers the calmest outings for children.

Outings that stop in both

Next: See the old port first, then book the boat or the van that adds the canal town without a car. Every fare sits side by side on Saint Tropez Tours.