Port Grimaud | ten reasons this is the Gulf of Saint-Tropez's best-kept secret
Most people drive straight past it. The signs point to Saint-Tropez, the sat-nav follows the coast road, and Port Grimaud slips by unnoticed four kilometres to the left. First-time visitors rarely stop. Those who do rarely leave without a plan to come back. Built entirely from scratch in 1966 on a stretch of marshland, with canals instead of roads and boats at every door, Port Grimaud is one of the most distinctive and enjoyable places on the French Riviera - and one of the least visited relative to what it offers. Here are ten reasons to put that right this summer.
1. There are no cars
Port Grimaud is entirely pedestrianised. Once you have parked at the entrance and walked through the gate, the town belongs entirely to people and boats. No traffic, no engine noise, no pavements to navigate. The effect on the atmosphere is immediate and hard to describe until you have experienced it - a kind of stillness that most Riviera towns have long since lost. Children can walk ahead freely. Adults slow down without deciding to. It is one of the most immediately relaxing places to arrive in the south of France.
2. It was built in 1966 - and it looks nothing like 1966
The Alsatian architect François Spoerry broke ground on a stretch of marshland in 1966 with a concept that had no precedent: a lakeside town where every house had private water access, canals replaced roads, and the Provençal architectural tradition guided every facade without making any two of them alike. The result earned the French state classification Remarkable Contemporary Architecture, one of the highest designations a modern building can receive. Port Grimaud is formally twinned with Venice. Standing on the main bridge and looking down the canal at the coloured houses, the iron balconies and the boats tied at every door, it is difficult to believe the whole thing was drawn on paper sixty years ago and built, precisely as designed, on what used to be a swamp.
3. Anyone can hire a boat
No licence. No experience required. The electric boats available for hire at the port entrance are easy to handle and the canal system is forgiving and well-marked. An hour on the water gives you a completely different view of the town - private jetties, terraced gardens, the canal-facing facades of houses that the walking routes never reach. The outer basin opens onto the Gulf of Saint-Tropez with views across to the hills. It is the single best way to understand what Spoerry built and why it works, and it is available to anyone who turns up and asks for a boat.
4. The market is one of the best in the Gulf
Between April and October, Port Grimaud holds a Provençal market on Thursday and Sunday mornings at the Place du Marché. Fresh produce, local cheese, charcuterie, honey, olives - the kind of market that rewards arriving early and leaving slowly. In July and August, the same dockside space becomes an artisan night market on Monday evenings, organised by Plein v'Arts, with makers in wood, iron, glass, leather and fabric taking over the quays. Two entirely different reasons to be in Port Grimaud on the same week.
5. The church tower is worth 78 steps
The Church of Saint-François d'Assise contains stained glass by the Hungarian-French artist Victor Vasarely - vivid, geometric and completely unexpected in a canal-side Provençal church. It is worth a few minutes of stillness at ground level before you climb. Then climb: 78 steps to the top of the tower earns the best view of Port Grimaud available anywhere, with the entire canal system laid out below, the Gulf of Saint-Tropez beyond and a sudden, clear understanding of exactly what Spoerry was building and why it works. Children tend to count the steps on the way up and race each other back down. Budget twenty minutes and go before noon, when the light on the water is at its best.
6. The canal-side restaurants are genuinely good
Port Grimaud has a stretch of canal-side restaurants that would hold their own anywhere on the Riviera. Fresh fish and seafood dominate the menus, the terraces sit directly over the water and the local Côtes de Provence rosé is poured by the glass at prices that reflect where you are rather than where you are not. Whether you want a short, focused menu at a quiet table away from the main canals or a lively terrace right on the Place des Artisans, the options here are good and the setting does a great deal of the work. Order the fish, take the rosé and absolutely do not rush.
7. The beach is calm and the views across the bay are extraordinary
Port Grimaud's main beach sits at the port entrance: a wide, sandy stretch that faces directly across the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. Port Grimaud South beach is quieter still, and neither charges an entry fee. In the late afternoon, when the light drops behind the Maures hills and the bay catches the last of the sun, the view across the water is one of the finer free things available on the Côte d'Azur. Bring a towel and stay longer than you planned to.
8. It is one of the best places on the Riviera for families
Port Grimaud holds children's attention without requiring any effort from the adults around them. The boats are interesting. The bridges are satisfying to cross. The canal-side fish tanks at several restaurants are a reliable distraction at the right moment. The church tower has 78 steps and a view. The electric boats require no licence and produce no anxiety. The town is entirely pedestrianised, the scale is human and the pace is slow. A half day here with children is a half day that does not require managing - which, on a Riviera holiday in August, is worth a considerable amount. Plus - there's lots of ice cream.
9. It pairs perfectly with the medieval village four kilometres inland
The commune of Grimaud includes both Port Grimaud and a medieval hilltop village four kilometres inland, connected by a ten-minute drive or the tourist train that runs between them in summer. Spend a morning in the village... 11th-century castle ramparts, a 12th-century church, coffee on the Place Neuve with a view down to the coast, and an afternoon on the canals. The contrast between the two is one of the most satisfying combinations available in a single day in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. Most people who do both wish they had known about it sooner.
10. It rewards repeat visits
The first visit to Port Grimaud tends to be a half day. The second tends to include a lunch reservation. The third tends to include a boat, a market morning and a plan to come back the following week. It is the kind of place that reveals itself gradually - a restaurant you missed the first time, a canal you did not walk down, a corner of Port Grimaud South that feels entirely removed from the busier central zone. There is more here than a single visit covers, which in the context of a Riviera itinerary is a useful thing to know before you arrive.
Port Grimaud is one of those places that repays the decision to treat it seriously rather than fit it in. Come for a half day and you will leave wishing you had stayed for lunch. Come for the day and you will leave planning to return. Bring the family, hire a boat, sit on a canal terrace with a glass of Côtes de Provence and let the afternoon go where it wants to. This is one of the most distinctive and enjoyable places on the French Riviera. We look forward to helping you plan your time here.
À bientôt,
