Welcome.....to.... Saaaaaaaint Trooooooopez

Saint-Tropez -the city that has it all!! -- The side streets are lined with galleries and boutiques selling this season’s hottest exotic and local designs. There are sequins, beads and leather everywhere, as silver and gold compete with classic beige and brown.

  The buildings, painted varying shades of pink and orange, cast the overall effect of a breath-taking sunset and the ancient structures are now home to modern-day businesses, a strange, yet perfect blend of old and new.

The roads, seemingly just wide enough for a car, somehow manage to make way for trucks, mopeds and pedestrians armed with giant baskets and strollers.

And the dock, the very heart of the city, is crowded but peaceful as people line up on shore to watch the yachts ready for departure, intrigued by the extravagant boats that fill the harbor and provide a waterborne hideaway for those who can afford it. Welcome to Saint-Tropez, luxe town of the French Riviera.

  Arriving in St. Tropez on a recent evening, I made my way through beautiful twisting corridors to my hotel room, and realized that I was holding a real key, something that seems hard to come by in these days of electronic cards and motion sensors. Once inside, the sea-green balcony shutters opened to reveal a beautiful ocean view and the smell of salt air. Getting ready to go out for the night, I heard something slowly rise over the sound of the waves: someone was playing a violin in the streets below. It seemed too perfect to be real - this really was the St. Tropez that I had heard so much about.

Once just a remote fishing village in the south of France, St. Tropez struck gold in 1956 when Bridget Bardot’s “And God Created Woman” hit the movie screens, inadvertently portraying the city as a beachfront beginning to the sexual liberation that was to come in the sixties.

Everywhere, interspersed among those who are forever wishing, are those whose tans and diamonds are permanent. All the designer name brands intermingle as patrons sip their drinks and eye the competition surrounding them. Here people watching is vicious and bloodthirsty- one can feel the eyes as they search over you looking for fault or the brand names that say it all. Frequenters of the city dress the part, giving observers something to talk about in this town renowned for its scandalous soirées and nude beaches.

  St. Tropez has often been referred to as “St. Trop”, the city of excess. Just when one thinks enough is enough, Saint-Tropez will surprise, as it seems people here can never be too tan or spend too much money –- especially in the summer months as the population peaks and the temperatures rise. There are over forty beaches on the peninsula, many of them privately owned, but it is the beach clubs that are most well known. The most notable are Club 55, Nikki Beach and La Voile Rouge, all three along the Baie de Pampelonne, all three legendary. Nude sunbathing, champagne and the fight for a spot in the sun always make for interesting and sometimes outrageous situations, even after the sun goes down and the music crescendos.

But for those that wish to see Saint-Tropez in all of its glory, one need only sit at a portside café and watch, perhaps with a drink at the famous Café de Paris or even a glace at one of the many ice cream stands along the port. The sailboats glide in and out of the harbour and one cannot help but feel as though the Impressionist paintings have come to life right before your eyes.

  The harbour here has been the source of inspiration for artists throughout history. One can see this in many of the beautiful paintings found at the Musée de l’Annonciade where one can admire Paul Signac’s “Saint-Tropez, L’Orage” and his “Le Port, St. Tropez” along with other works of the local area by Henri-Edmond Cross and Albert Marquet to name a few. Signac himself was actually a sailor and he frequented Saint-Tropez where he kept his boat. By World War I, Saint-Tropez had become something of a bohemia, housing or entertaining many painters and writers including novelist Guy de Maupassant who also saw Saint-Tropez as the perfect place to berth his yacht.

Legend has it that even the town’s patron saint, Caïus Silvius Toretius, arrived by boat on May 17th 68 A.D. Toretius had converted to Christianity and was beheaded as punishment. His remains were put in a rowboat with a rooster and a dog and were then set loose on the river. When the current took his boat to the shores of what is now Saint-Tropez, the starving animals had not touched the corpse and he was therefore proclaimed a saint – and the name of the town was born.

  There is always something happening in this famous French town and mid-June plays host to the Giraglia Rolex Cup, providing one of the best times to visit the city, as the regatta attracts hundreds of beautiful boats. Close to 200 boats, ranging from small boats to large maxi yachts, fill the port to compete in the annual Giraglia Rolex Cup. Organized by the Yacht Club Italiano and the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, and sponsored by Rolex since 1997, the highlight of the regatta is the 243-mile race for the Cup, with a variety of sailboats competing.

By 11 am one can already find tourists streaming down rue Victor Laugier towards the port, and the summer rush does not even officially start until July! If one wants to avoid the large flood of sightseers, the best months to visit are June and September and one should start the day early and end it late, making sure to get a real taste of the Tropézien life. Keep in mind that Saint-Tropez is notorious for incredibly large summer crowds in July and August, when the population of the fishing port jumps from 6,000 residents to over 60,000 visitors per day!

  In Saint-Tropez there is never a lack of people to see, things to do, and places to go. Following the “Masion des Papillions” sign along rue des Charrons, one will find a long, quiet alley of backdoors and wrought-iron gated windows. The path leads straight into la Place de Lices where, on Tuesday and Saturday mornings, there is an open-air market. When the market is not running, you’ll find the locals playing boules or lounging in the square with the trees overhead casting a layer of cool shade, perfect for the hot summer months.

Browsing the market, I was instantly surrounded by the bustle of those scouting for the perfect gift. With French shouted on one corner and Italian on another, it was difficult to know where to look first. The people on my left debated whether to buy the jam or the cheese while those on my right eyed artisan goods and fresh flowers.

Excitement mounts in the village during the week Giraglia Rolex Cup and as everyone prepares for the offshore race, the sailors, media and guests pour into the park around the towns’ Citadel for the Gala open-air dinner. Everything is perfectly coordinated in red and white, right down to the ribbons around the napkins bearing the race’s crossed burgee logo.

Champagne is poured upon arrival, while lightning lights up the sky and thunder rumbles menacingly in the distance. The 2,000 guests gradually take their seats around the tables as the sun sets behind the fortress, the dark sky set alight with a vibrant yellow that is carried out onto the distant hills by the mist.

  After the delightful sit-down dinner the tables are cleared, and the entertainment begins with unexpected live music and dancing. The night is completed with a fantastic fireworks display and the usually beautiful weather. It is a night of class, adventure and of course, surprise, everything one should expect of an evening in Saint-Tropez.

During the day I found myself passing by a boutique offering the most incredible variety of beige, grey and cream colored clothing, an impressive match to the different coloured sails that can be seen on the yachts out on the water. But as the yachts leave the dock, the crowds turn their attention to other things, no longer interested in the empty harbour. Even the cafés, with their view of the water, lose a part of their charm without the gorgeous boats that normally fill the port. But during race week one only need look out into the bay to see where the yachts have gone. Congregating in preparation for the start of the big race, the boats near the starting line, and people gather to watch from shore with cameras and binoculars. Crowds linger to enjoy the view as the yachts of all sizes begin their zigzag trip from Saint-Tropez to Ile du Levant, La Giraglia and finally Genoa where the race will finish. From the shore, the boats race out of the bay in the breeze and the shimmering distant sails complete the picture of a perfect afternoon in Saint-Tropez.

  One is reminded that there is more than movies sets, celebrities and topless beaches to St. Tropez – there is culture and history specific to the village. In 2005 June 15th was the official start of the Giraglia Rolex Cup, but June 15th is also a notable local holiday: La Bravade Des Espagnols. That morning, as the celebration neared, one could hear a loud boom every few minutes. The locals were dressed in full 18th century garb playing instruments and parading around the town with beautiful busts of the Saints. Every few minutes the parade would pause and a few blank rounds would be fired into the ground and up into the air, a celebration of the triumph of the Tropéziens in a battle against 21 Spanish galleons on June 15, 1637. The tradition continues every year and, despite the heavy influx of tourists, the heritage in the lives of the locals has remained as important as ever.

  In the end, one can see both the historical beauty of Saint-Tropez and enjoy the modern day luxury that has also become a part of the daily life here in the French Riviera. For those who worry about never having the opportunity to return, artists line the edge of the harbor, their paintings putting the blues, reds and yellows of St. Tropez up for sale, so that one will ever forget the beauty of this dream getaway, the city that has it all.