We spent 5 days mid-June in Sainte-Maxime, a delightful, slightly more low-key resort town than St Tropez and its cousin, on the Cote d’Azur. We travelled 90 minutes from the busy port town (with the most chaotic traffic we have ever seen) of Toulon to Sainte-Maxime in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur department in the l’Aquittane region.
We stayed in the nifty little Hotel Le Revest (super friendly owners and a little rooftop pool a bonus) just a few blocks from the main beach that was in a great position not only due to the proximity to the beach but also as it had a massive (mostly free) car park nearby and a big Carrefour supermarket. We had a fabulous three days and nights walking, swimming, shopping and catching up with friends. Sainte-Maxime is directly across the Golfe de Saint Tropez to the more famous resort in the area – Saint Tropez, There’s a ferry that takes you between both but we never took it as we filled our time in the Sainte-Maxime area quite nicely!
We did drive one day up the coast a little to go to Plage de la Garonette (middle pic) to sit on the nice sandy beach and swim in the clear waters (and gawk at the expensive beach clubs – pictured) but the beach – Plage du centre Ville (third pic below), right at the end of our street was pretty nice too (though the sand was a bit gritty and more like dirt) but the water was lovely and clear and deep and we did some laps each morning when it was calm.
The small streets of the old town are filled with lovely produce stores (don’t miss the amazing olive oil from a recently opened providore (Oliviers & Co.) and there are many pretty jewellery stores, clothing boutiques and accessories shops. You can walk along the coast road in both directions to discover more beaches. It’s pretty busy with traffic but flat and around each bend is another beach. We tended to head right (facing the beach) and walked over the Le Presconil waterway and the first thing you’ll see is a queue outside a boulangerie, it’s called 100% Maison by Laveissiere, and the queue is justified as it makes fresh salads, baguettes, pastries and bread to die for (not cheap but worth every euro!) Keep walking and you’ll find cove after cove of beaches and beach clubs – our friends swear by Club Maxime, and eventually you’ll get to St Tropez. Though catching the ferry would be easier! There’s also a lovely walk along the marina past all the schmancy boats which is nice to do at sunset to see the golden glow on the water.
Saint Maxime has a good local vibe with plenty of Petanque games, boat trips out on the Med, ferry to St Tropez and a few rather nice-looking beach clubs that serve lunch and cocktails. The only slight on the area is the Casino (but this is typical French low-key) and there’s no neon lights or riff-raff that we saw hanging around.
Yes, there are also a few ancient, historical sites such as the Museum of the Square Tower in Sainte-Maxime, but really most people come here to enjoy the weather the food, the shops and the beaches. We succumbed to all four!
