Some of the best days in Provence are the ones with a loose structure and a clear direction.
This is one of them. The commune of Grimaud contains two places that most visitors treat as alternatives rather than companions: a medieval hilltop village that has barely changed in centuries and a lakeside town built from scratch in 1966. They are four kilometres apart, entirely different in character, and together they make for one of the most satisfying day trips in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. Most people choose one or the other. The better approach is to do both, in order, without rushing either.
Why is this day trip worth doing?
It's a fair question. The Gulf of Saint-Tropez has no shortage of things to do, and the beaches alone could fill a week. But Grimaud offers something the coast cannot: contrast. You begin the day in a medieval village that feels genuinely removed from the summer season, with castle ramparts to yourself and coffee on a quiet terrace. You end it on a canal with a glass of rosé, watching the afternoon light drop across the water. The journey between the two - all of four kilometres - is one of the more pleasing transitions you will make on a Riviera holiday. Does the idea of breakfast on a medieval castle rampart followed by a boat trip through a 1960s Venetian canal system sound like a worthwhile way to spend a day? It is.
Getting there from Sainte-Maxime or Sainte Tropez| a note on timing and traffic
If you are staying in Sainte-Maxime, the medieval village of Grimaud is approximately 15 kilometres away - around twenty minutes by car outside of peak hours. If you are staying in Saint-Tropez, the drive is shorter at around ten kilometres, but the road situation in high season requires the same consideration.
The route that most navigation apps will suggest from both directions follows the D98 coast road, which in July and August becomes slow by nine o'clock and genuinely unpleasant by ten. From Sainte-Maxime, the better option is to take the D25 inland through the Maures foothills via La Garde-Freinet. It's a more enjoyable drive regardless of the season - the road climbs through oak forest, the views open out towards the Gulf, and there is almost no traffic on it before mid-morning.
From Saint-Tropez, leave early and take the D98A towards Cogolin before turning onto the D14 towards Grimaud village. It adds a few minutes compared to the coast road but is considerably more reliable in peak season. Both routes converge at the village and both reward an early start. Set your navigation to avoid the coast road entirely and aim to arrive at the village by 9am, because at this time you will have the castle largely to yourself.
Morning | breakfast in Village de Grimaud
A picnic on the ramparts
Before you do anything else, stop at the boulangerie on the way into the village and pick up pastries. Croissants, a pain au chocolat, a ficelle if they have one. Carry them up to the Château de Grimaud and eat breakfast on the ramparts with the Gulf of Saint-Tropez laid out below you. It sounds simple because it is. It also happens to be one of the finer breakfast experiences available in the Var, it costs almost nothing and at that hour there is almost no one else there. The castle is free to enter and takes around thirty minutes to explore properly. The views take in the Gulf, the Maures hills and the terracotta rooftops of the village below. The quietness at that hour is part of the appeal - by mid-morning the first day-trippers begin to arrive, and the ramparts feel noticeably different.
Coffee at the Place Neuve - 09:30
Take a stroll down from the castle through the village - the Rue des Templiers is the most characterful street - arcaded, narrow, with the Maison des Arcades gallery at one end. The Church of Saint-Michel, built in the 12th century, is worth stepping inside: the stone vaulting is well-preserved and the recently restored frescoes in the adjacent Chapelle Saint-Roch, completed in 2021, are a quietly impressive addition to the village. The Place Neuve has a café that opens early. Sit down and have a coffee. The terrace looks down through the village towards the coast, and on a clear morning the light on the stone is genuinely good. There is no particular hurry at this stage - Port Grimaud is ten minutes away and lunch is still two hours ahead. This is the part of the day where you let the pace of the village do its work. The contrast with Saint-Tropez is palpable and deliberate.
Late morning | drive to Port Grimaud
The drive between the two villages is four kilometres and takes between about 10/15 minutes, depending on the time of year. In July and August, allow a few extra minutes for the car park at the entrance to Port Grimaud, which fills quickly after ten o'clock. If you are travelling in peak season, the tourist train that runs between the two villages in summer is a useful alternative, it departs near the Place Neuve and drops you at the port entrance without the parking question.
When you arrive, cross the bridge between the Place des Artisans and the Place du Marché. First-time visitors often stop here longer than they expected to. The cast-iron pillars, the canal view stretching away on both sides, the coloured facades, it is the moment when Port Grimaud makes its case most clearly, and most people find themselves reaching for their camera before they have consciously decided to. Spend a few minutes here, then explore on foot.
The details in Port Grimaud reward attention: the trompe-l'oeil of a Provençal woman painted on the wall at the market square, Spoerry's own creation, the pebble pathway under the covered arcade, the stained glass by Victor Vasarely in the Church of Saint-François d'Assise. Climb the 78 steps to the church tower. The view from the top is the clearest explanation of what Spoerry built and why it works, the whole town laid out below, the canals readable as a system, the Gulf beyond.
Lunch | 13:00
La Table du Mareyeur has been on the canal at 10-11 Rue des Artisans since 1989 and remains one of the most reliable lunch addresses in Port Grimaud. The menu is built around fresh fish and seafood - grilled daily catch, seafood platters, simply prepared and well-sourced - and the terrace sits directly on the water with boats passing at arm's length. On Thursday and Sunday market days between mid-June and mid-September, there is a three-course lunch menu with wine and coffee included, which represents good value for this part of the Riviera. Book ahead in summer. If you are coming from Saint-Tropez, the restaurant can arrange a water taxi to bring you directly to the door - worth asking about when you reserve.
Honestly though with that recommendation in mind - Port Grimaud has no shortage of canal-side restaurants and, frankly, you cannot go wrong for lunch on the water here. Lily's at 14 Place des Artisans, La Calypso in Port Grimaud South and Le Plaisancier in the pedestrian zone are all worth knowing. The setting does a great deal of the work wherever you sit. Pick a terrace over the canal, order the fish and a glass of local rosé, and let the afternoon take its time.
Afternoon | the boat trip
Hire an electric boat
After lunch, hire an electric boat from one of the operators at the port entrance. No licence is required. Allow an hour to cover the main canals and reach the outer basin from the water you see the private jetties, the terraced gardens and the canal-facing facades of houses that the walking routes do not reach. The scale of Port Grimaud changes entirely when you are on the water: the buildings feel taller, the canals narrower, the whole project more extraordinary. If the restaurant will put together a bottle of rosé and two glasses for the trip, let them. It is that kind of afternoon.
The beach and a glass of rosé
Port Grimaud's main beach is a short walk from the port entrance. It's sandy, calm and faces directly across the bay towards Saint-Tropez. Port Grimaud South beach is quieter and less visited. Both are free to access. In the late afternoon, when the day-trippers have largely left and the light drops behind the Maures hills, the beach here is at its most appealing. The view across the Gulf at that hour - Saint-Tropez visible on the far side of the water, the bay catching the last of the afternoon light - is worth staying for.
A day like this one is, frankly, one of the better arguments for basing yourself in this part of Provence rather than on the coast. The coast is beautiful. But having a medieval village four kilometres from a canal town, with the Maures hills behind you and the Gulf of Saint-Tropez in front, is a combination that is difficult to find elsewhere on the Riviera.
À bientôt
