Saint Tropez, France

Saint-Tropez was a sleepy Provençal fishing village until Brigitte Bardot arrived in the summer of 1956 to film And God Created Woman, and everything changed. Within a decade, this tiny port on the Côte d'Azur had become the most glamorous address on the Mediterranean — a place where artists, intellectuals, rock stars, and royalty mingled in cafés that smelled of pastis and Gauloises, and where the line between celebrity and spectacle dissolved entirely. Yet beneath the mythology of the mega-yachts and the paparazzi, Saint-Tropez remains, stubbornly and delightfully, a working fishing port — a place where the morning catch still arrives at the Vieux Port before dawn, and where the Provençal light that captivated Paul Signac in the 1890s continues to cast its spell.

The old town of Saint-Tropez climbs the hillside behind the harbour in a cascade of ochre, salmon, and terracotta façades, its narrow streets too tight for cars and just wide enough for a local cat to stretch in the shade. The Citadelle, a sixteenth-century fortress perched above the town, houses a maritime museum and offers views across the Golfe de Saint-Tropez that explain, in a single panoramic sweep, why this particular cove has inspired so many painters. The Musée de l'Annonciade, tucked into a former chapel on the harbour, holds an extraordinary collection of Post-Impressionist and Fauvist works by Signac, Matisse, Bonnard, and Derain — artists who came for the light and left behind canvases that glow with the colours of the Mediterranean.

The food of Saint-Tropez is Provençal at its purest, elevated by proximity to both the sea and the rich agricultural hinterland of the Var. The morning fish market on the Vieux Port offers the day's catch directly from the fishermen's boats — rouget, loup de mer, and the small rock fish that are essential for a proper bouillabaisse. Tarte tropézienne, the cream-filled brioche cake invented by a Polish baker in 1955 and given its name by Bardot herself, remains the town's signature sweet. The Place des Lices, a shaded square of plane trees where Tropéziens have played pétanque for generations, hosts a twice-weekly market (Tuesday and Saturday) that overflows with olives, tapenade, local rosé, lavender honey, and the ripe, sun-warmed tomatoes that are the soul of Provençal cooking.

The beaches of Saint-Tropez are legendary, and for good reason. Pampelonne Beach, a five-kilometre stretch of golden sand south of town, is where the Riviera's famous beach clubs — Club 55, Nikki Beach, Tahiti Beach — serve lobster salads and rosé wine to a clientele that treats sunbathing as competitive sport. But there are quieter alternatives: the Sentier du Littoral, a coastal footpath, winds around the peninsula past hidden coves, rocky inlets, and turquoise swimming spots that feel a world away from the glamour. The nearby hilltop villages of Ramatuelle and Gassin, perched above vineyards that produce the rosé for which Provence is increasingly famous, offer pastoral charm and spectacular views.

Saint-Tropez is a port of call for an impressive roster of cruise lines, including Azamara, Emerald Yacht Cruises, Explora Journeys, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Holland America Line, Marella Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Ponant, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Scenic Ocean Cruises. Ships anchor in the Golfe de Saint-Tropez and tender passengers to the Vieux Port, an arrival that feels suitably cinematic. The best time to visit is May through June and September through October, when the weather is glorious, the light is at its most luminous, and the summer crowds have either not yet arrived or gracefully departed.