Vieux Port de Saint-Tropez
The Môle du Portalet has stood at the harbour entrance since the end of the 15th century, its lighthouse tower modified so many times that the stonework reads like a palimpsest of the port's changing fortunes. What was once a working Genoese anchorage — wine, cork, and wood moving through its cellars, ranked among France's twenty most important merchant ports by the First World War — is now lined with yachts so large they dwarf the ochre-fronted buildings behind them.
The quai Jean Jaurès runs the length of the harbour's most photographed side, where the café Sénéquier's red terrace has been a fixture long enough to be furniture. The Bailli de Suffren statue, cast from 19th-century cannon, stands at the water's edge — a 17th-century naval hero rendered in the metal of a later war.
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Return visitors tend to arrive early, before the tour groups, and head straight to Place aux Herbes — the daily fish market under the archway beside the tourist office — then walk the stone docks when the light is still low. The floating wooden wharves creak differently in the morning quiet. Café Sénéquier comes later, once the terrace has warmed up.
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Book directly at the providerHow Vieux Port de Saint-Tropez came to be
Genoese seamen established the port at the close of the 15th century, and the waterfront buildings they raised still stand — their ground-floor cellars once held the goods moving in and out. Through the 18th century the trade was wine, cork, and wood. By 1914 the port ranked among France's twenty most important commercial harbours.
Both World Wars gradually stripped it of that purpose. Shipyards fell quiet. In 1963, Mayor Louis Fabre proposed an extension; the work began in 1965 under Mayor Jean Lescudier, the same year the port received its official name — Vieux Port — and its first dedicated pleasure pool on the western side. It now covers nine hectares with 734 moorings across two pools.
Who and what shaped it
People who shaped it
Landmark buildings
Plan your visit
On the map
When to go
Summer runs warm and dry — highs between 23 and 27°C, with August offering over 350 hours of sunshine — but the port is also at its most crowded. September offers similar temperatures with noticeably fewer boats. October is the rainiest month, and by November most waterfront restaurants have closed for winter.
Right now
Background & history adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · specs from Wikidata (CC0) · weather from Open-Meteo · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · photos from Wikimedia Commons / Unsplash with per-image credit. No third-party reviews or social posts reproduced.