Hello everyone đ Would you like to spend a weekend on the Saint-Tropez peninsula?
It’s the destination we’ve chosen to celebrate our first wedding anniversary â€ïž and my birthday. The two dates are juxtaposed, which between us is an excellent thing, it’s bound to be a good, positive and festive time (I even forgot I’d turned a year older đ).
First and foremost, as with other CĂŽte d’Azur destinations, I strongly advise against visiting Saint-Tropez during the school vacations, especially July/August. Needless to say, it’s an extremely popular destination, so I can’t imagine how busy it’ll be at the height of summer.
For our part, we had targeted the last weekend of June 2023, and it really was ideal.
Friday, June 23 : La Croix Valmer and Gigaro
Here we go đ! We’re leaving the house in the early afternoon to make sure we can enjoy a bit of the area when we arrive.
Allow around 1h30 by car to reach the Gulf of Saint-Tropez from Nice, more like 2h from Vence or Tourrettes sur loup. The Saint-Tropez exit on the A8 đȘ§ is a sight to behold, but you’ll still have a few kilometers to go before you reach your destination.
In this case, our GPS was in an adventurous mood as it took us down (very) small roads to our arrival point; we realized the next day that another route was possible đ€.
We were staying at the Hotel de L’Orangeraie, located in La Croix Valmer, on the south coast of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. The hotel is an elegant building with a beautiful swimming pool and restaurant.
We had a beautiful view from the room over the bay of Cavalaire and the Golden Isles. Nothing less!
As soon as we’d dropped off our luggage, we headed for the coast to enjoy the beach â± yes, but which one?
It’s true that there’s an embarrassment of riches to choose from in the surrounding area: the famous Ramatuelle beach, the Plage du DĂ©barquement, the Plage de SylvabelleâŠ
However, one of our friends had strongly recommended the Gigaro beach, less than 10 minutes from our hotel, so without much hesitation we headed in that direction.
On arrival, we found a parking space in the small Saint Michel parking lot right next to the beach. There are also plenty of single-file parking spaces along the beach.
But let’s talk about Gigaro: this beach is everything we love! Sand, peace and quiet, in an unspoilt area surrounded by a beautiful pine forest, with a few restaurants and deckchairs if you like a little extra comfort. Oh, and I almost forgot, the beach faces south-west, so it benefits from ideal sunshine, especially if, like us, you prefer to laze on the sand in the late afternoon/early evening.
In short, for us it’s the perfect combo: we put down our foutas and spent the rest of Friday there, it was so nice.
You won’t believe it, but this beach is so close to nature that a family of wild boars visited us several times. As this article testifies, it seems that the mother boar and her 3 pups have been the attraction on the beach for a few weeks now đœ.
Of course, we didn’t want to leave and naturally headed for the nearby restaurants to prolong our pleasure.
We took a seat at PĂ©pĂ©, the Lily of the Valley hotel’s no-reservations restaurant, where we were able to quench our thirst and eat copiously with our feet in the sand.
We promised ourselves we’d come back the next day, it was so good!
Saturday, June 24 : Saint-Tropez and back to Gigaro
Off to Saint-Tropez! And I should point out that this was a first for both of us.
When we arrived, we found a spot in the big parking lot at the new port and then walked to the town harbor (follow the yachts đ).
This is the liveliest part of town, especially at lunchtime, when you’ll find plenty of restaurants.
The most famous of these is the Sénéquier, with its long red façade.
The stroll around the little port is pleasant but quick, so you might as well extend the walk to the Tour du Portalet and the big anchors; you’ll no doubt have the chance to watch some fine regattas sailing offshore.
Right next to the Tower, you’ll find Plage de la Glaye, a pretty cove nestled in the town; we didn’t linger, but the place is charming and deserved a few photos.
We then returned to the port for lunch, choosing the Italian restaurant Marcellino.
After lunch, we wandered through the narrow streets of Saint-Tropez, a cute village that becomes significantly less crowded after lunchtime (everyone off to the beach or for a siesta?).
As we wandered the streets by chance, it was easy for us to stumble across places that no longer need to be introduced:
-Louis de FunĂšs’s Gendarmerie
-CafĂ© Dior des Lices and the luxury boutiques you’ll find on your way up to the Place des Lices.
The Place des Lices, with all its plane trees, is very pleasant when the weather’s warm, and I remember it being particularly quiet in the afternoon. Petanque players make no mistake, it’s the best place to play. This is also where the Saint-Tropez market is held every Tuesday and Saturday morning.
We had a drink at the Café Renaissance before making our way quietly back to our car.
Our favorite spot hasn’t changed, and it’s time to go back.
Remember ? Yes, Gigaro!
We follow the coast to get there, passing close to the many vineyards and the great beach of Pampelonne in Ramatuelle. In fact, this may have been the only thing missing from our trip, but we preferred Gigaro.
Note: there’s an embarrassment of riches when it comes to restaurants/private beaches in Ramatuelle, but if you’re looking for a place to chill out that’s not too show-offish and doesn’t have loud music, here are the ones we recommended (reservations strongly advised):
Arriving in Gigaro, we rented sunbeds at the Lily of the Valley beachclub and took a dip in the 23-degree water. It was paradise!
Then, once again, we dined with our feet in the sand (you can’t change a winning team). Everything we tasted at PĂ©pĂ©’s was good, but my favorites were the houmous and moutabal to share, and their hearty Fattouche salad!
Of course, there are other nice restaurants in Gigaro; below you’ll find L’Orangeraie’s hotel recommendations:
Sunday, June 25 : back home by the sea
The return trip along the seafront đ is very pleasant, although the road through Sainte Maxime is often busy. A must if you have the time! Otherwise, join the A8 freeway as on the outward journey.
I’d also recommend finding a nice spot for lunch and a good time between Sainte Maxime and FrĂ©jus. Just to prolong the pleasure to the end.
There were plenty of seaside restaurants đœ that looked really nice!
We opted for a stop in Fréjus, next to the beach.
Time to go home đ
Are you tempted by the Saint Tropez peninsula? Any other favorites to share for a romantic weekend?
See you soon!
Julie
