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St Tropez: Annonciade Museum

Enter the Musée de l'Annonciade in Saint-Tropez at the edge of the town's old port, and you enter a small, intimate two-floored house with white arched walls, high ceilings and a special aura. The museum is a former 16C chapel. In the 1950's, art-lover Georges Grammont transformed the building into a museum and doted the former chapel with 56 paintings from his personal collection.

Today, the little museum houses an impressive collection of paintings by neo-impressionist artists.

Browse around. You admire paintings of the village of St Tropez as it was 100 years ago. 

Paul Signac painted it, from his St Tropez house "La Hune" where he invited many of his artist friends. Pierre Bonnard painted it. Albert Marquet painted it. Jean Puy painted it. André Derain painted it. Henri Matisse painted St Tropez too.

Meander around St Tropez through these paintings at the museum and you realize that not much has changed. In the morning and especially in the evening, St Tropez drapes itself in a special natural light, an enhancing glow. Erase the neon around the handful of more obnoxious shops in town, and you find that same glow.

St Tropez, at its heart, remains a magical village. It's a magical village with a magical little museum.

The Museum of l'Annonciade, St Tropez
You'll find the museum tucked on the side of the old port at the end of Quai Suffren, at Place Grammont. The museum closes in November and stays otherwisde open from 10AM to Noon and 2PM to 6PM every day except Tuesdays. Phone: 04 94 17 84 10.

View AzurAlive.com: Annonciade Museum, Saint-Tropez in a larger map

Christmas in Saint-Tropez

Visitors to the French Riviera often ask: "How is St-Tropez in December?" The frequently heard answer is that Saint-Tropez in December is quiet, flat, boring. That's not the whole story. St-Tropez in December has nothing to do with the vibrant sizzling town of mid-summer. Not all restaurants are open. You can easily find a parking spot at the port or at Place des Lices. The famed Barbarac ice-cream shop is closed. Yet the little town has a lot going for it around Christmas time.

This December 22nd 2011, St Tropez sports a cool light show projected on the facades of the peach and cream colored houses lining the port. Down rue Georges Clémenceau, shops like Marinette Decoration display a festive spirit with snow-capped trees and shining Santas. And at the Place des Lices, the ice ring fills with a happy bunch. Kids inch their way up the free rock climbing wall at the corner of the place.

Only the pooch in front of the shoe store looked bored today!

 

 

St Tropez: La Voile Rouge

As of this Fall, the famous beach bar and restaurant on the St Tropez beach of Pampelonne is no more. Paul Tomaselli opened the Voile Rouge restaurant in the 60's right on the St Tropez beach. It quickly earned a reputation for fun-filled exuberance, but also for good food as Paul's mom was a mighty cook.

In the 21st century, La Voile Rouge wasn't nearly as excentric as its reputation would lead to believe. Folks would hang-out around its open-air tables or lounge on its rented beach mattresses.

Sure, champagne could start flowing, and when a celebrity like Paris Hilton or Bruce Willis dropped by, the place would go hay-wire. But that's St Tropez in the summertime.

La Voile Rouge shut down a couple of weeks ago. Long-lasting legal battles over permits for operating on public domain seaside grounds forced it to close. La Voile Rouge has unrigged, but the legend remains.

St Tropez Fife and Drums

St Tropez sits still in the late fall. The Place des Lices, filled to the brim during warm summer days, breathes peacefully with just a few boulistes and a few locals and passer-bys.

Noon on a late November Sunday, parking is a breeze at the Place des Lices. The only cafés still abuzz for lunch on the plaza are Le Clemenceau and Le Sporting (both very nice spots for lunch off season).

Then out of nowhere rise the whistle of fife and gentle rhythm of drum. It's the fife and drum corps happily singing along on its way from Place des Lices to the Citadel.

Along the way, a few of the musicians stop at the Clemenceau for a coffee before heading down again.

Yes, life in St Tropez takes on a whole different rhythm from its Summer buzz during the late Fall and Winter.

Coastal Walks: Trail Maintenance

 

Officials for the municipality of St Tropez claim that 15,000 visitors stroll along the St Tropez coastal footpaths, but I think it's way more than that. At least, more folks hike the section from St Tropez to Pampelonne that the others (see Hikes 11, 12, 13 and 14 for details, available in the guidebook: 26 Gorgeous Hikes on the Western Côte d'Azur).

No matter how many lucky visitors enjoy these beautiful coastal hikes, the trails ("sentiers du littoral") get quite a beating. It's hard to imagine on a calm spring day like today, but these trails get whipped hard by waves and wind. And the ones by St Tropez meander close to the edge of the sea. So they need regular maintenance.

Right now, work is under way to solidify steps, retaining walls, to clear vegetation where it has taken over the trails, to add informational panels. All for our benefit. The work will cost €45,000 and should conclude before May.

Hiking by St Tropez: Closer to the sea

 
The coastal path that leads you by gently gurgling Mediterranean waves along the shore of the French Riviera (actually, through a portion of coastal France altogether), also meanders through human squabbles.

Much of the time, the coastal path or "sentier des douaniers" sits on private property. According to French law, a path must be maintained by property owners all along the coast. The original idea was protective in nature: coast guards had to be able to patrol on foot all along this giant stretch of seaside land. The law remains today, albeit with a more democratic interpretation: seaviews belong to everyone, especially hikers (ok, that last part is mine).

Problem is, in some areas private properties want more privacy.

Take St Tropez, for example. For years now, some seaside property owners have tried to chop off the coastal path from their land. They've encountered resistance from local groups. As of recently, a tall gate stretches across the path between the Canoubiers and the Graniers bay. You can still get to the other side, by heading down towards the sea and getting your feet wet.

This affects hike #11 in the hiking guidebook: 26 Gorgeous Hikes on the Western Côte d'Azur.

 

If this latest path restriction makes you feel like walking the plank as is does for us, keep in mind that the port of St Tropez includes some of the longest plushest planks to walk from. All is not lost :)

 

 

 

Eurofestival rolls into Port-Grimaud

Starting tomorrow, Thursday May 6th 2010, and running for four days, thousands of Harley Davidsons will roar on down the coastal road by Sainte-Maxime and Grimaud in South-Eastern France to gather at Port-Grimaud's Prairie de la Mer campground.

Why? It's the famous annual HOG (Harley Owners Group) Eurofest meeting.

Every night from around 9PM, the Port-Grimaud "rock beach" will feature a rock'n roll band to dance the night away. Some of the bands planned: The Road Kings and Katy Shotter on Thursday, May 6; Johnny Gallagher and Mods Band on Friday, May 7; 4 Bills and a Ben and Gotthard on Saturday.
Tickets aren't cheap; they're 50€ for HOG members and 70€ for non-members for the three days

Favorite hang-out? The restaurant "Le Sun" at Prairie de la Mer (phone: 04 94 56 24 53), and the discotheque "Canopy" (Phone: 06 01 05 16 77) that are also sure to fill up with party goers.

Other than rock-and-roll, the French Riviera village of Grimaud hosts a "Custom Bike Show" that starts at 1PM on Friday, May 7.

And the whole event culminates on Sunday morning with a parade of Harleys riding down the coast in great fanfare. Quite impressive, unless you're driving a car.

Which reminds me: by all means, if you're not on a Harley, use your feet or public transport if visiting this weekend. The roads around Sainte-Maxime, Port-Grimaud, Grimaud will be grid-locked all weekend long.

Simply Strapped in St Tropez

If you think of St Tropez as pompous, take a peek into master shoe craftsman Alain Rondini's shop on rue Clémenceau. The little shop is full of pumps (sandals actually), but it's anything but pompous.

The front of its 60 square meters serves as a friendly and unassuming sales center, with traditional Tropézienne sandals arranged in the small window display, set on a wooden shelf to the side and hung on the all. The back of the shop serves as a crafting room, with seven shoemakers working the leather into some thirty colorful models.

 

"We make our leather sandals by hand here in St Tropez, with lots of attention to quality," says Alain, grand on of Dominique Rondini who first opened the shop in 1927. When Alain's father, Serge Rondini later took over the shop from Dominique, he introduced new designs, but remained faithful to the credo of hand-made quality and care. Alain follows in the family's heart-felt tradition.

 

"We don't have any distributors", explains Alain. "Our clients purchase their sandals here in our shop. We do ship them around the world, but to customers. We want to stay this way: a local St Tropez producer in touch with our customers."

 

Despite its unpretentious ways, the Atelier Rondini has fitted a good number of famous feet: those of author Colette, an early-adopter of the Tropézienne sandals, Marlene Dietrich, and more recently Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Kate Moss who enjoys a pair of brown-strapped spartan-styled Tropéziennes.

 

Another St Tropez success story that's non-pompous and inscribed in tradition...

 

Atelier Rondini
16 Rue Georges Clémenceau
83990 Saint Tropez
04 94 97 19 55

 

St Tropez in Winter

As with many trendy French Riviera villages, the St Tropez of winter time has little to do with the busy, bustling, bursting St Tropez of summer months.

Yet on a winter open market day, St Tropez's Place des Lices pulsates heartily. Under the square's plane trees, folks wrapped in colorful scarves and high boots fill their baskets with shiny mandarins, hams from Corsica, rounded gourds. Between the cheese and sausage stands, cubes of Aleppo Pine soaps pile up. They're a rarity: made from scratch on the St Tropez peninsula.

"Where can I find a dog sweater?", asks a lady at the Pulls: Cashmere et Soie stand.
"Ma chérie," answers the lovely sweaters lady as she winks over to my side, "just buy two cashmere scarves and have your seamstress make one."

The marché winds down and St Tropez makes its way into the cafés around the plaza*. This isn't exactly rush hour: no need to wait in line for a table. I settle for a coffee at one of my favorites for its friendly atmosphere, Le Sporting café.

"What are you writing about?" asks my sly-eyed neighbor, as I scribble on paper. I explain. The waiter pitches in: "If you're writing about St Tropez, it's a little quiet right now, at least until the February school break."

Quiet? It's relaxed, personal, perfect.

• Open Market Days in St Tropez on Place des Lices: Saturday and Tuesday mornings, until 1PM.
• A sample of coffee shops around Place des Lices: Le Clémenceau, Le Sporting, Bistro, Café des Arts at the corner, Le Café and its boules available for playing on the plaza. In summer, all are busy. Off-season, the ones facing the sun fill more sun-ray-loving hearts.

St Tropez Bubbly Nights

   Summer nights in St Tropez can be wild.  Champagne flows like water at a village fountain, celebs dance around, rounds of drinks on them.

Last Friday night, American singer Usher and rapper Snoop Dogg made the rounds at the VIP room, but this was just the beginning.

What followed was a very generous round of free champagne bottles delivered to all tables, all night long. Reports tell us that 300 bottles of Louis Roederer Cristal champagne, 24 jeroboams (3-liter bottles), 10 mathusalems (6-liter bottles) popped open as a gift to the public.

Who was handing the bubbly?

Javed Fiyaz, an entrepreneur who is fan of St Tropez summer nights. It cost him just shy of 1 Million euros for the night.

It's not unusual to see gifted champagne appear at the VIP or Caves du Roy tables in St Tropez. This many is unusual though... cheers!