One Day in Saint Tropez: Five Hours Ashore, Planned

One day is enough to see the town properly if you plan it: the port, the old quarter, the citadel hill and, on the right morning, the market. Most day visitors get five hours, from 11:30 to 16:30, off the boat from Nice or Cannes. Nothing here needs Saint Tropez tickets bought in advance: the streets are free, and the museums charge at the door. This plan fills your five hours, then shows what changes if you have longer or would rather spend the day on the water.

Is one day enough?

For the town, yes. The port, the fishermen's quarter, the citadel and the market square sit close together in the old town, and you can walk between them in a morning. What one day does not give you is the peninsula around it.

Pampelonne, the long beach, belongs to Ramatuelle rather than to the town, and the hill villages and the capes are a drive or a boat away. For those, add a day or book a tour that goes there.

What if you arrive by boat at 11:30?

The boats from Nice and Cannes land at 11:30 and sail back at 16:30. Here is one way to use the five hours, with the reason for each step.

On other days, swap the market for the art museum, then take the hill in the afternoon as before.

Is it a market day?

The market fills Place des Lices every Tuesday and Saturday from 8:00 to 13:00, all year: produce, fish, charcuterie, clothes, crafts and flowers. Browsing costs you nothing. Land at 11:30 and you get the last hour and a half, so walk there first and leave the port for later.

On other days the square is quiet. The town's electric bus, which seats 22, leaves from it Monday to Saturday and costs €0.50 a ride.

Is the citadel worth the climb?

For the view and the museum, yes. The Citadelle de Saint-Tropez has held the town's museum of maritime history in its keep since 2013, and your €5 ticket covers the ramparts too. Under-12s go free. It opens 10:00 to 18:30 from April to September and 10:00 to 17:30 from October to March, with last entry half an hour before closing.

It closes on 1 January, 1 May, 17 May, 11 November and 25 December. The walk up the hill is free whether or not you go in, and the regatta's organisers name the citadel as one of the places to watch the racing from.

What if you only have three hours?

Choose two things, not five. On a market morning, walk the port and then the market square before it packs up at 13:00. On other days, walk the port and climb to the citadel for the museum and the view over the gulf.

Skip the long beach and the villages entirely: they need a car or a tour, and three hours will not stretch to them. A private van tour covers the town, Grimaud and Port Grimaud in three hours and forty minutes if you would rather see more and walk less.

Where is the old fishermen's quarter?

La Ponche is the oldest quarter of the town, a knot of fishermen's houses between the Portalet tower and the Tour Vieille. It has two small beaches of coarse sand, La Ponche and La Fontanette, both free, and dogs are not allowed on the sand.

If you came without a beach day, this is where you can still get your feet wet. Take a towel in your bag and you can fit a swim into the walk back to the quay.

Is the art museum open?

Most of the year. The Musée de l'Annonciade charges €5, or €6 during a major exhibition, with a reduced rate of €3.50. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00 from November to March and 10:00 to 18:00 from April to June and in October, and every day from 10:00 to 19:00 from July to September.

It shuts from 15 January to 10 February and from 15 to 30 November, and on 1 January, 1 May, 17 May and 25 December. Some works are away for study and restoration, so check before you plan a visit around one painting.

What about the Gendarmerie museum?

The Musée de la Gendarmerie et du Cinéma is the town's third museum. It costs €5, or €3 for 12 to 18s and students under 26, and under-12s go free. It opens 10:00 to 19:00 in July and August, until 21:00 on Thursdays, then 10:00 to 18:00 in September and October and 10:00 to 17:00 from November to February.

With five hours, you have time for one museum, not three. Pick the citadel for the view, the art museum for the paintings, or this one if you like film.

Where do you have lunch?

Anywhere in the old town or on the quays: no tour includes lunch, so the choice is yours. Eat once the market packs up at 13:00 and you have the afternoon free for the hill and the old quarter.

If you spend the day on the bay boat instead, its skipper can book you a table at the beach restaurant at Les Graniers, which you pay for yourself.

Is the long beach worth the trip for a day?

Only if the beach is the point of your day. It covers 27 hectares of sand over several kilometres, but from the town without a car it is a trip in itself, and with five hours ashore it would take most of them.

The full-day Pershings anchor off it for two hours, which is the easy way to see it on a short stay. Our post on how to visit sets out what is free in town instead.

Would a day on the water be better?

If you have seen the town before, yes. The bay boat gives you three or four hours on the gulf with the port, two swim stops and an hour ashore in Port Grimaud, for $435 a group plus fuel. The half-day catamaran costs $74 a head for three hours under sail.

Neither starts in town: they berth round the gulf, so they suit a stay nearby rather than a day trip from Nice. Our post on the canal town weighs Port Grimaud against the old port if you are choosing where to spend the hours.

How do you get back for 16:30?

Aim to be on the quay by 16:15. The boats sail back at 16:30, reach Cannes at 17:45 and Nice at 19:00.

The road day from Nice keeps its own timetable: about four hours in town, then Port Grimaud on the way home. Your guide tells you the meeting time when you land.

What changes with children?

The pace, mostly. Under-12s go free at the citadel and the Gendarmerie museum, the small beaches of the old quarter are right by the lanes, and the electric bus costs €0.50 when legs give out.

A private van tour saves the walking: the town, Grimaud and Port Grimaud in three hours and forty minutes, with strollers and infant seats welcome. Our post on bringing children covers the boats' age rules.

What about July and August?

Highs average 29.1 °C in July and 29.3 °C in August on the Météo-France normals for Fréjus, the nearest coastal station, and rain is rare: 15.6 mm in July. The museums keep their longest hours then. The art museum opens every day, and the Gendarmerie museum stays open to 21:00 on Thursdays.

Carry water and a hat, and take the hill early in your five hours, before the afternoon heat settles on the lanes.

Frequently asked questions

Tours that give you a day in town

From Nice: Round-Trip Transportation to Saint Tropez by Boat

A scheduled boat from the Port of Nice at 09:00: two and a half hours along the coast, five hours ashore, and back by 19:00. There is no guide; a bar sells drinks.

From $112 per person

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Cannes: Round-Trip Boat Transfer to Saint Tropez

A scheduled boat from the Old Port of Cannes: an hour and a quarter each way and five hours ashore on your own. There is no guide, and drinks are sold on board.

From $93 per person

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Private tour in Saint-Tropez

Three hours and forty minutes with your own driver-guide: the town, the hilltop village of Grimaud and the canal town, with pickup where you are staying. Infant seats and strollers are fine.

From $170 per person

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