Best Mediterranean Beaches in France from St Tropez to Menton

Flash, cheeky St. Tropez, Nice, Cannes, Monte Carlo; The stretch of the French Riviera that stretches from St Trop, as it is known locally, to the Italian border is packed with cities that the international jet set has loved for decades. But even along this coastline, which gets crowded to the breaking point in July and August, there are little beaches that you have to look for and then you can make your own. Small towns like Villefranche-sur-Mer cling to the coast; others have gently sloping sandy beaches that meet the beautiful azure blue of the Mediterranean, and the French Riviera ends in conservative and charming Menton.

San tropez

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Saint-Tropez conjures up beautiful bodies sunbathing on blue and white striped loungers, megayachts and very rich and famous people. The resort town, once a small seaside town, may have lost some of its luster since the heady days of Brigitte Bardot, but Saint-Tropez remains a magnet in this part of the French Riviera. La Plage de Pampelonne is the beach that you can see, but in summer it is a wall-to-wall body. The public stretches of sand are among the 27 private beach clubs; If you want to use one of those (Le Club 55 is the place to go), you will need a healthy credit card.

Alternatively, take the 7-mile hike around the headlands, le Sentier du Littoral, to see the wonderful scenery and coastal flora. And you can enjoy the small beaches that are not crowded like Plage Graviers and Plage des Salins. It is a hidden part of the landscape around St. Tropez that few people see.

Sainte-Maxime

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Just minutes from glam St, Tropez, Sainte-Maxime is much more relaxed than its neighbor. Sainte-Maxime stretches for 11 km (6.8 miles) along the Mediterranean coast and has 5 km (3.1 miles) of sandy beaches. It is a charming resort town easily accessible from Nice, in the heart of the French Riviera, as well as Cannes and the recently revitalized city of Marseille.

If you get tired of the beaches here, take a trip to the Porquerolles Islands or the secret islands near Cannes, the Lerins Islands, famous for hosting the Man in the Iron Mask. Or get a yacht and sail to find your own place.

Estagnol beach, Bormes-les-Mimosas

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Just 3 miles south of Bormes-les-Mimosas, between Toulon and Le Lavandou, you’ll find this sandy beach, hidden from the site but glorious as it curves around the bay. It is one of the French president’s favorite places (they have use of the nearby Fort de Brégançon). You probably won’t see them, but it adds that touch of glamor.

Garoupe beach, Cap d’Antibes

Just outside the charming town of Antibes, the sandy beach of La Garoupe fills up in the summer with locals and tourists. The sea is warm; the views are wonderful and there is a very good beach stall called Chez Jozy for a skillet and container of excellent frites for lunch (right across from Hotel Josse). Right around the bay and up the hillside are the villas of the rich: Roman Abramovich has one of his many houses here and his extraordinary yacht is often seen moored off shore.

More about Antibes

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Top attractions and things to do in Antibes

Top 10 hotels in Antibes

Villefranche sur mer

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Just a few minutes from Nice, this is a quiet alternative to its more popular neighbor. Ignore the main sandy beach at Villefranche and head to the pebble beach called plage de Passable. You can hire sun loungers at the Passable restaurant. It’s quite elegant around here and is surrounded by villas like Nelcotte (Keith Richards’ former mansion) and the Villa des Cedres, where King Leopold II of Belgium used to spend his summers. You can also walk to Cap Ferrat and follow its public footpath around the bay.

Paloma Plage, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

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Cap Ferrat is one of the richest areas in Europe, where villas like the fabulous Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild face the sea. It is a beautiful headland and is worth looking for. In Saint-Jean, the locals gather at the Paloma Beach club, but there is a public stretch so you can lay your towel on the cove’s pebble shoreline. If you want to protect yourself from knotty stones, you can get some mattresses or sun loungers for 16 euros at the Paloma Beach restaurant. There is also a public trail ( Sentier Edmund Davis ) around the rocks at Paloma Point where you can dive into the crystal clear waters.

Menton, French Riviera

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Menton, the last French city before the Italian border, is a charming city, famous for its gardens and lemon trees. There is a pretty harbor and a pebble beach that is a real trap for the sun. If you come here in February, be sure to make it to the Lemon Festival.