Stunning St Tropez!

St Tropez was our first stop after leaving Italy and we extended our stay from two nights to three. In all honesty, we could easily have made it longer but we had to get to Spain by a fixed date and needed to ensure we had enough travel time.

Finding aires or campsites out of season can be a bit challenging. We decided that we weren't going to park anywhere unless it was listed in one of the search sites we used and had a decent enough review eg you didn't have to be a mountain goat to access it or 'the view was great but we were unhappy that the local police moved us on'! We found a a private aire called Chez Marcel at Roquebrune-sur-Argens a stone's throw from the beach. We received a warm welcome and the opportunity to order croissants and bread each evening for the next day.

As we set off for St Tropez we drove along the coast road that borders the Gulf of St Tropez and passed through a town called St Maxime, making a note to come back and visit - hence our decision to stay another day. Parking up in St. Tropez we walked to the main square which has a sense of surrealism to it. It is traditionally French although bordered by boutiques from all the famous names - Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Jimmy Choo, Dior etc etc many are closed and will reopen next spring. Even in their closed state they have been carefully mothballed for the winter months.

We made our way to the harbour and it was no surprise to see the large boats moored up alongside small fishing boats, we walked all the way around to the light house on the entrance to the harbour. In the distance we could see two boats which appeared to be listing heavily in the sea. After our lunch we made our way to the other side of the harbour and saw the two boats which had collided during heavy winds in May and were moored up awaiting salvage/insurance. Cafés and restaurants were open on the harbour side and were very busy. Experience has shown us that the restaurants away from the madding crowds are often better value and serve delicious food. This was true in the case of L'Annexe which sits in a little square just behind the harbour. We had an excellent plat du jour and a very pleasant bottle of Rosé wine in their conservatory terrace.

After viewing the shipwrecked boats we drove a little further around the headland from the town and found a beach which we're sure in the summer would be very busy, but there was just us and a couple walking their dog, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine and the view.

The following day we made our way back to St Maxime. The weather had changed, following an evening of winds gusting up to 60km per hour, to cloudy and drizzly. By mid morning though this had cleared again to bright sunshine and blue skies. We parked in the harbour and walked into the town. The harbour being home to more large boats. St Maxime was more 'open' than St Tropez with small shops and a sense of business as usual. There are lots of little back streets which we loved exploring and on balance we enjoyed this town more than St Tropez mainly due to its activity and variety. In a small back street we found a little restaurant called Le Stephanos. Interestingly this was formed of their covered terrace on the street front and the what looked to be the front room of the property was the bar, kitchen and bathroom, run by a husband and wife team. The plat du jour was again great value and excellent.

The beach at St Maxime was principal in Operation Dragoon in WWII for the invasion and liberation of southern France by allied troops. Although much of the town was damaged in house to house fighting some of the beautiful art deco buildings survived including the Casino Barrière which sits on the sea front. The sailing centre is called La Batterie as it was the location of the German artillery battery

Minorquina fishing boat called St Tropez

The white house painted white with white doors, shutters and windows.

Town houses and balconies

Harbour view with large boat forefront

Harbour view, fishing boats moored along the quayside

Harbour view with menorquina boats moored up

A beautiful original Fiat 500 in cream

A glass of rose - don't mind if I do!

John looking cool in his new sunglasses

A red brick double fronted town house in St Tropez with blue shutters and a balcony above the front door.

The shipwrecked boat listing heavily to starboard

White diplodenia flowering in November

A colourful row of townhouses in yellow, peach and green

A jetty from the beach

View across the Gulf of St Tropez towards St Maxime

Sunset across the Gulf of St Tropez

Large boats moored in St Maxime harbour

View across St Maxime harbour