Saint Tropez

Sun, beach and this very bearable lightness of being: with this mix - as well as the young Brigitte Bardot - "Saint-Trop" became the favorite destination of (life) artists and a hotspot for high society in the 1950s. The world's most glamorous fishing village has not lost its myth and magic since then ...

Saint Tropez. Eight o'clock in the morning. A narrow passageway by the harbor. Right behind the red-chaired Café Sénéquier and the mega yachts bobbing along just a shell's throw away: The small fish market between Rue Victor Laugier and Place aux Herbes has been bustling for hours. Local housewives haggle over the best red mullets and sardines. Top chefs try to push down the prices of the sole and gilthead seabream that are so popular with tourists and push up the quantities sold. People know each other - and at least at this time of day, they still keep to themselves. Just like a few hundred meters away on the Place des Lices, where the pastis is already flowing in "Le Sporting" and the pétanque balls are clattering under the plane tree roofs. For an hour, maybe an hour and a half, the city still belongs to the Tropéziens and the villa owners who have settled permanently on the peninsula. Then they will disappear back into their kitchens, stores and pools and leave the town to the tourists.

This has been going on for seven decades - or something like that. Because this summer things are different: the Russians are missing, but more French people are coming again. And because they don't want to miss out on their favorite Parisian addresses on the Côte, more and more well-known names from the capital are popping up in the city and on the beaches. The most recent examples: "La Pâtisserie" by star chef and master baker Cyril Lignac, "LouLou Ramatuelle", a summer-fresh beach offshoot of the Parisian "in" restaurant in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs or the high-end Japanese restaurant "Kinugawa", whose fine sushi is now served not only on Place Vêndome and the "it" island of St. Barths, but also in a magnificent garden just outside Saint Tropez.

Sleep in the harbor?
In Saint Tropez, this costs at least 2,500 euros.

But back to the harbor. To the place where Sartre, Colette and Boris Vian once spent nights over cheap wine pondering the meaning of life and where Matisse, Braque and Picabia could not take their eyes off the gleaming facades of the houses and the radiant light above the citadel. The fact that the big show takes place here every evening and that a berth on the quay costs from 2,500 euros per night is actually due to a declaration of love. Or rather, two declarations of love. With his 1956 film "Und immer lockt das Weib" (original title: "Et Dieu créa la femme"), director Roger Vadim wanted to create a cinematic monument not only to his wife Brigitte Bardot, but also to St. Tropez. And he succeeded. Did he have any idea that a new life would begin for both the actress and the town? Aucune idée ...What is certain is that Saint Tropez is still basking in its retro glow today, while Bardot bitterly retreated to the shady chambers of her villa La Madrague above the Baie des Canebiers. In one of her rare interviews, the famous resident described her hometown as a "luxury showcase without a soul". And she is not wrong about the "luxury showcase". From Gucci to Pucci, there is hardly a major fashion label that is not represented with its own stores in St. Tropez, which has a population of 4,000. When it comes to "soulless", on the other hand, it's true that they still exist, of course, the picture-perfect old town alleyways that wind their way up the hillside, crooked, free of commerce and populated by locals in multi-generational numbers. And, oh yes, if you really want to let your soul dangle forever in St. Tropez, you will find one of the most panoramic cemeteries in the world below the fortress, with a dream view of the sunset over the sea and all the yachts that inevitably have to pass by here on their way from the bay to the Plage de Pampelonne.

From a drop-out's dream to the hippest beach club in the world

Which brings us to the most famous beach on the Côte d'Azur . Whether jetsetters, families, gays, dog owners or naturists: Pampelonne is almost five kilometers long and has something for everyone - and enough space to build sandcastles even at the height of summer. However, choosing the perfect beach club is at least as important as finding the right spot in the sun. Gigi, Tiki, Nikki, LouLou or La Réserve, the list of the best addresses for sun loungers and lunches by the truly azure blue sea is long - and subject to the whims of the "beautiful beach people". Where "tout le monde" met last summer and the Zodiacs hopped back and forth like water fleas between the Club Jetty and the yachts anchored outside, a season later the tables may be empty again - or vice versa.

The only evergreen on the snow-white sand is the "55", whose story is as easy to tell as the origin of its name: in 1953, a couple who had dropped out bought three huts on the beach without electricity or running water. One for themselves. One for the children. And one for their private kitchen, where they also liked to cook for friends. One day, the de Colmont family was once again sitting together in a large circle, eating, drinking and laughing, when a certain Roger Vadim came by. As he thought the kitchen hut was a pretty little beach bar, he simply sat down and was entertained like a friend. At the end, he asked Madame de Colmont whether she might be able to cook for a film crew of eighty. She was - and thus founded the legendary "55", named after the year in which it was entered in the St. Tropez business register as a beach restaurant.

Much has changed since then. The three huts without electricity and water have long since become permanent bungalows surrounded by a bamboo grove. However, the spirit has remained, as has the one-point house rules, which are still clearly visible at the entrance: "The boss doesn't cook here, and the guest is not a king. He is a friend." Nobody is bothered by the fact that Patrice de Colmont, who now wields the sceptre as patron, charges his many "friends" 20 euros for a slice of Tarte Tropézienne Rouge or that, despite a reservation, you sometimes have to wait an hour for one of the rustic wooden tables beautifully laid with coarse linen and colorful field flowers. As host, Monsieur Patrice is charm personified. Whether Hollywood star, business mogul, crowned head or ordinary vacationer - his philosophy is: "Everyone is welcome - the first time. After that, we'll see ..." St. Tropez. Eight o'clock in the evening. In the glow of the lights from the many restaurants and brightly lit yachts, the harbor now looks like a movie set just waiting for filming to begin. "And always Saint Tropez beckons" - the title has already been found.

Text: Jörg Bertram